The Schengen 90/180 rule for US citizens

The basics for Americans

The U.S. State Department summarises it the same way as EU law: up to 90 days in any 180-day period across all 29 Schengen countries together, not per country. Tourism, family visits and business meetings are fine; working for a European employer is not.

• Passport: valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen area, and issued within the last 10 years.
• No visa, no ETIAS yet: ETIAS has no start date, so there is nothing to apply for today.
• EES: since 12 October 2025 (fully since 10 April 2026) your fingerprints and photo are taken on your first entry, and your days are counted automatically.

Typical situations

Long summer in Europe. Three months is the maximum. If you also travelled to Europe in spring, those days are still inside your 180-day window and reduce your summer allowance.

Retirees and snowbirds. Spending winters in Spain, Portugal or Italy is possible in blocks of up to 90 days, followed by time outside. For longer stays, look at national long-stay visas such as non-lucrative or retirement visas.

Digital nomads. Moving between countries does not help: Lisbon, Barcelona and Berlin all draw on the same 90 days. Time in the UK, Ireland, Albania, Montenegro or Türkiye does not count.

How to count your days

On every day you are in the Schengen area, count the days you spent there in that day and the 179 days before it. The total must never go above 90. Entry and exit days both count, and days in all 29 countries are added together. The 90180.app calculator does this for every day of every trip, including trips you are only planning, and tells you your latest exit date.

Before you travel, you can confirm with the EU's official EES tool, which uses your border record. It does not include stays that began before 10 April 2026.