Schengen 90/180 calculator for UK citizens

Since Brexit, British citizens count days like every other visa-free visitor: no more than 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen Area. For people who hop over for long weekends, those short trips quietly add up — each Friday-to-Sunday break uses three days.

Facts checked 5 October 2026. Entry rules change. Confirm them with the official source linked in each section before you travel.

Does the 90/180 rule apply to UK citizens?

Yes. Since 1 January 2021 UK citizens are visa-exempt visitors, limited to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen Area. Days in every Schengen country go into the same count.

Your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before the day you arrive and must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave. A passport can be in date and still fail the 10-year test.

Sources: GOV.UK: France entry requirements; Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex II (visa-exempt nationalities); Schengen Borders Code, Article 6

Worked example: weekends add up before a winter in Spain

You took four long weekends in Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona, plus a three-week summer holiday in France. You now want to spend the winter in Spain, arriving on 1 November 2026.

That is 34 days in total, but on 1 November the window starts on 6 May, so the April weekend and the early-May weekend no longer count: 28 days used.

During the winter the late-May weekend falls out of the window, adding three days back. The summer holiday and the October weekend still count, so your last legal day in Spain is 4 January 2027 — 65 days, which means home before the first week of January is over.

Figures computed with the same engine as the Stay180 calculator. Enter these stays yourself to see the day-by-day timeline.

No bilateral extras for British passports

UK citizens have no bilateral agreements that add time in any Schengen country. The UK government's advice is that to stay longer you need that country's own visa or residence permit, and Denmark's list of bilateral partners does not include the UK. The calculator's standard count is the whole story for you.

Sources: GOV.UK: France entry requirements; Danish Immigration Service: visa-free visits

At the border as a UK traveller

If you leave from Dover, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras, the French border check — including EES registration — happens in the UK before you travel. Your Schengen day still counts from the day you cross, so a Friday-evening Eurostar is a Schengen day.

• Ireland is not in Schengen. Days there never use your 90.
• The UK government warns that overstaying can lead to a ban from Schengen countries of up to three years.
• Allow extra time at Dover and St Pancras: the first EES registration takes longer than a passport stamp did.

Sources: GOV.UK: EU Entry/Exit System; GOV.UK: Ireland entry requirements; GOV.UK: France entry requirements

EES and ETIAS in one minute

The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational at every external Schengen border since 10 April 2026. It replaces passport stamps for UK citizens on short stays: your first entry records your passport, four fingerprints and a facial image, and every later entry and exit is logged. The system counts your days and flags an overstay automatically.

ETIAS is a separate, online travel authorisation that visa-exempt travellers will need once it starts. It will cost €20 and last three years or until your passport expires. At our last check, on 5 October 2026, it was not yet running, and the EU has said it will announce the start date several months in advance. Neither system changes the 90/180 rule itself.

Sources: EU: EES FAQ; European Commission: EES fully operational (10 April 2026); EU: what is ETIAS; European Commission: ETIAS will cost EUR 20; EU: ETIAS timeline explained

Check your own dates in three steps

1. Open the calculator and add every Schengen stay from the last six months, with the day you arrived and the day you left. Both count.
2. Read your days used in the last 180, and the last day you can stay if you entered today.
3. Use the planner to try a future trip. It checks every day of the trip against its own 180-day window, which is exactly what EES does at the border.

Common questions

Do day trips and weekends count toward the 90 days?

Yes. Any day you are in a Schengen country counts in full, including the day you arrive and the day you leave. A Friday-to-Sunday weekend uses three days, and a same-day trip uses one.

Can I spend 90 days in Spain and then 90 days in France?

No. There is one 90-day allowance for the whole Schengen Area. Moving from Spain to France does not start a new count. To stay longer you need a national visa or residence permit from the country concerned.

Is the Eurostar day counted as a Schengen day?

Yes. The French check at St Pancras happens in London, but the day you travel counts as a day in Schengen, just like a flight arrival day does. The day you return to the UK counts too.

For the full rules for your passport — passport validity, EES and every bilateral agreement we could confirm — read Schengen rules for UK citizens.