Expat Academy

The Schengen 90/180 rule for Americans, explained

How the Schengen 90 days in any 180 rule works for US citizens, how to count your days, the EU Entry/Exit System, and how to stay longer in France legally.

Updated · Expat Academy · Education, not advice

As an American visitor without a visa, you may stay in the Schengen area for at most 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. The Schengen area is 29 countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Greece, and they share one count.

How to count

On any day you're in the Schengen area, look back 180 days, today included, and count every day you were there. The total must be 90 or less.

  • Arrival and departure days both count, in full. Landing in Paris on 3 January and leaving on 1 April is 89 days, not 88.
  • The window rolls. It's not a calendar half-year. Ninety days from January to March, home in April, back in June: the January days are still inside the window in June.
  • All Schengen countries share one count. A week in Lisbon on the way home uses the same 90 days as your months in Nice.
  • Countries outside Schengen don't count: the UK, Ireland, Morocco, Turkey, and the Balkan countries outside the EU, such as Albania and Montenegro.

Our free Residency Day Counter does the rolling count for every day of your plan and tells you the last day you can stay.

The border now counts for you

Since 10 April 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records every entry and exit of non-EU visitors electronically, with fingerprints and a photo, and works out the time you have left. Overstays show up automatically at your next crossing, and passport stamps are being phased out. A separate pre-travel authorisation (ETIAS) is expected to start in the last quarter of 2026.

Staying longer than 90 days

To stay in France past the limit you need a French long-stay visa, applied for in the US before you go:

  • Temporary long-stay visitor visa (VLS-T): a single stay of more than three months, up to about six. It isn't a residence permit and can't be renewed in France; for the next season you apply again.
  • Long-stay visitor visa serving as a residence permit (VLS-TS): a year or more, for people moving to France.

Days on a French long-stay visa don't count toward the Schengen 90 while it's valid, and holders aren't registered in the EES. Your visitor days start counting again when the visa ends, and travel to other Schengen countries during a French visa still has limits.

Don't confuse it with the 183-day tax test

The 90/180 rule decides how long you may stay. It says nothing about tax. France's tax residence tests look at the calendar year, at where you mainly stay, and at things that aren't days at all, such as where your spouse lives. Days on a long-stay visa still count for France's tax tests. See France's tax residency rules.

A worked example

A couple wants 3 January to 30 April in Nice, 118 days. As visitors they'd pass 90 days in the window and must leave by 2 April. They can shorten the season, break it with a few weeks outside Schengen, or apply for a temporary long-stay visa for the four months. With the visa, they still spend most of the year in the US and stay well under 183 days in France, so they remain US tax residents only.

Questions

How does the 90/180 rule work?

On any given day, look back over the previous 180 days, including today. The number of days you were in the Schengen area in that window must not exceed 90. The window rolls forward every day, so days drop out of the count 180 days after they happened.

Do the day I arrive and the day I leave both count?

Yes. Any part of a day in the Schengen area counts as a full day, so a stay from 3 January to 1 April is 89 days.

Does time in the UK count toward the 90 days?

No. The UK, Ireland, Morocco and other countries outside the Schengen area don't count, which is why some people spend a few weeks there in the middle of a long trip.

Can I stay in France longer than 90 days as an American?

Yes, with a French long-stay visa. A temporary long-stay visitor visa covers a single stay of more than three months, up to about six. Days on a French long-stay visa don't count toward the Schengen 90 while it's valid.

Is the 90/180 rule the same as the 183-day tax rule?

No. The 90/180 rule is an immigration limit for visitors. France's 183 days is part of one of its four tax residence tests, counted by calendar year. They run at the same time and count differently.

Go deeper

  • A1 The day-count trap Free preview: Two different limits count your days in Europe, Schengen's 90 in 180 and each country's tax tests, and the EU now counts them for you at the border. How to plan a season around both.
  • A2 Visas that don't make you resident: France's temporary long-stay visa covers four to six months without starting residence. Why the year-long visitor visa, Spain's non-lucrative visa and Portugal's D7 are Track B routes, and where Portugal's Golden Visa fits.

Sources

Education, not advice. This guide explains general rules as of the date above. Rules change every year; confirm your own situation with a qualified adviser in the US and in France.