Got a multiple-entry Schengen visa and a habit of going back? Then you've probably done the maths on a napkin at least once: "I was in Paris for 21 days in April, Italy for most of July... can I do Christmas in Vienna?"
The answer depends on a rolling window that's surprisingly easy to get wrong. So we built a calculator. Add your past stays, pick a date, and it tells you how many days you've used, how many are left and the latest date you can stay until if you go in on a particular day.
Loading calculator…
How to use the calculator
- Add every Schengen stay from the last 180 days. Enter the date you entered the Schengen area and the date you left. If you hopped from France to Italy to Switzerland without leaving the area, that's one stay.
- Pick a check date. It defaults to today. Change it to any date to see where you'd stand then.
- Add a planned entry date (optional). The calculator works out the latest date you could stay until, assuming you stay continuously from that day.
It runs entirely in your browser and doesn't store anything.
The 90/180 rule in plain English
The official wording is that you can stay "no more than 90 days in any 180-day period". In practice, it works like this:
- Pick any day of your stay. Look back over that day and the 179 days before it. That's your 180-day window.
- Count every day you were in the Schengen area in that window. The day you arrived and the day you left both count as full days.
- That count must never go above 90. Not on any single day of your trip.
Because the window moves forward one day at a time, old days "fall off" the back as new ones are added at the front. That's why the rule feels slippery. There's no fixed reset date, and leaving the area for a week doesn't wipe the slate clean.
One handy shortcut from the European Commission's own guidance (it also runs an official short-stay calculator): if you've been out of the Schengen area for 90 days in a row, you can come back for a full 90-day stay.
Which countries count?
All 29 Schengen countries count towards the same 90 days: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Days in Ireland, Cyprus and the UK don't count, because they aren't part of the Schengen area. So a London leg in the middle of a Europe trip actually gives your Schengen counter a break.
Your visa has its own limits too
The 90/180 rule is a ceiling, not an entitlement. Your Schengen visa sticker also shows its validity dates and the number of days you're allowed to stay. If your visa says 15 days, you get 15 days, even if the 90/180 rule would allow more. The calculator checks the 90/180 rule only, so always compare its answer with what's printed on your visa.
Worked example 1: a Delhi family's second trip
The Kapoors from Delhi have a two-year multiple-entry visa. In 2026 they've already been to Europe twice:
- 10 to 30 April: 21 days in Switzerland and Austria
- 1 July to 15 August: 46 days in France, Italy and Spain
On 20 September they start planning a third trip. How long can they go for?
- Days used in the window (25 March to 20 September): 21 + 46 = 67
- Unused days in that window: 90 − 67 = 23
So 23 days, right? Not quite, and this is where most napkin maths goes wrong. If they enter on 20 September, their April days begin dropping out of the window from 7 October, freeing up a day for every day that falls away. Run it through the calculator and the latest exit date is 2 November: a 44-day trip, not 23.
And if they can wait, a full 90-day stay opens up from 14 November, because by then they'll have been outside the Schengen area for 90 days in a row.
Worked example 2: a Bengaluru consultant's timing problem
Priya, an SAP consultant in Bengaluru, travels to Germany and the Netherlands for client work on a multiple-entry visa. Her 2026 stays so far:
- 5 to 14 January: 10 days
- 2 to 31 March: 30 days
- 4 May to 12 June: 40 days
Her client wants her back for a long stint. Here's how the start date changes everything:
| If Priya enters on | Days already used | Longest stay allowed | Latest exit date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 June 2026 | 80 | 10 days | 1 July 2026 |
| 4 July 2026 | 79 | 20 days | 23 July 2026 |
| 29 August 2026 | 69 | 50 days | 17 October 2026 |
| 11 September 2026 | 56 | 90 days | 9 December 2026 |
Going in on 22 June gets her just 10 days, because the January days don't start dropping off until 4 July. Waiting until 29 August, when the March block starts expiring, gets her 50. And from 11 September she's had 90 clear days outside the area, so a full 90-day stay is possible. Moving a project start by a few weeks can be worth a lot more than asking the client for a split trip.
The EES now counts your days for you (and for border guards)
Since 10 April 2026, the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) is fully operational at Schengen external borders. Instead of passport stamps, your entries and exits are recorded digitally along with your fingerprints and a facial image. In practice that means two things:
- Overstays are spotted automatically. There's no relying on a border officer squinting at faded stamps.
- Your first EES entry takes longer. Plan for extra time at passport control the first time you're registered.
What about ETIAS? It's the new travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, like Americans or Singaporeans. It doesn't apply to Indians, who need a Schengen visa anyway. As of October 2026 it isn't operating, and the EU says it will announce a start date several months in advance. The official ETIAS website currently says no applications are being collected, so ignore any site that offers to sell you one.
Common mistakes with the 90/180 rule
- Forgetting that entry and exit days both count. A Friday-to-Sunday trip to Amsterdam is 3 days, not 2.
- Thinking it resets every 180 days. It doesn't. It's a rolling window, checked on every day you're in the area.
- Counting from your visa's start date. The window looks back from each day of your stay, not forward from when the visa became valid.
- Leaving out short trips. That weekend in Prague counts.
- Counting UK or Irish days. They don't count towards Schengen.
- Ignoring the visa's own permitted days. The sticker may allow fewer days than the 90/180 rule.
Getting a multiple-entry visa as an Indian applicant
Since April 2024, the EU has applied a "cascade" approach for Indian residents applying in India. If you've obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas within the previous three years, you can generally be issued a two-year multiple-entry visa. Use that well, and a five-year visa can follow, as long as your passport has enough validity left. That's exactly when a 90/180 calculator becomes essential, and clean travel history is what earns the next visa.
If you're still at the first-visa stage, Krosz's starter guide on the Schengen visa for Indian passport holders is the place to begin. Make sure your travel insurance meets visa rules, and read up on the common visa rejection reasons for Indian applicants before you submit. Wondering why Schengen still uses a sticker when so many countries have moved online? We cover that in e-visa vs sticker visa.
Need help with the visa itself?
The calculator is free and always will be. If you'd like help with the application, Krosz's managed visa support gives you one visa expert for your file, at ₹1,999 + 18% GST on the service fee (₹359.82). The Schengen visa fee (€90 for adults, €45 for children aged 6 to 12) is separate and shown before you pay. Start with an online visa consultation, there's a page for Delhi and other cities, or see the pricing page. More free tools live on the Krosz tools page. And if you just want a quick break without a visa application, here are the visa-free countries for Indian passport holders in 2026.