Schengen calculator for US citizens

On a US passport you can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen Area without a visa. The hard part is not the rule but the counting: every day of a stay is checked against its own 180-day look-back, so “90 minus what I've used” is usually the wrong answer.

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 US citizens?

Yes. The United States is on the EU's list of visa-exempt countries, so US citizens may make short visits — tourism, family, business meetings — of up to 90 days in any 180 across all 29 Schengen countries combined. Working needs a national permit.

Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave, and must have been issued within the last 10 years.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, Annex II (visa-exempt nationalities); US Embassy France: travel to France; Schengen Borders Code, Article 6

Worked example: a spring trip, a summer trip and a fall return

You spent 30 days in France and Italy in spring and 30 days in Portugal in June. You want to fly back to Europe on 15 September 2026 and stay as long as the rules allow.

On 15 September the 180-day window reaches back to 20 March, so the first ten days of the spring trip no longer count. Together with June, that is 50 days used.

The tempting answer is 90 − 50 = 40 days. But while you are in Europe, the rest of the spring days keep falling out of the window, one per day. The June days do not start falling out until late November, so the stay has to end on 13 November 2026: 60 days.

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

Bilateral agreements: Denmark yes, Poland no

Denmark's immigration service says US citizens may stay up to three months in Denmark counted from their first entry into Denmark, regardless of earlier time elsewhere in Schengen. Only time already spent in Denmark in the previous six months is deducted. It covers Denmark only.

The often-quoted US–Poland agreement is reported to no longer be applied since EES started in October 2025. Do not plan around it. The calculator always shows the standard 90/180 count — treat any bilateral time as an exception you confirm with that country first.

Source: Danish Immigration Service: visa-free visits

At the border as a US traveller

Most US travellers enter Schengen at a hub airport such as Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. That first Schengen airport is where EES takes your fingerprints and photo — even if you fly on to Rome or Lisbon the same day, the onward flight is a domestic Schengen hop with no further border check.

• Your 90-day count starts on the day you land at that first Schengen airport, not the day you reach your final destination.
• Time in the UK and Ireland does not count. A London stopover between two Schengen trips does not reset anything, but it does not use days either.
• The US Embassy in France recommends six months of passport validity to be safe, even though the rule is three months.

Sources: US Embassy Poland: Entry/Exit System; US Embassy France: travel to France; EU: EES FAQ

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 US 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

How do I calculate my Schengen days as a US citizen?

Take any day of a planned stay, look back 180 days including that day, and count every day you were in a Schengen country, arrival and departure days included. If any day of the stay goes over 90, the stay is too long.

Does a trip to London reset my Schengen days?

No. The UK is outside Schengen, so days there do not count, but leaving Schengen does not reset anything either. Your earlier Schengen days only stop counting when they are more than 180 days in the past.

Will the border guard count my days for me now?

Yes. Since April 2026 the Entry/Exit System logs every entry and exit and counts your days automatically. Overstays are flagged by the system, so it pays to know your own leave-by date before you travel.

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