Division 1.4 Calculation of the length of stay authorised by a visa

In accordance with Article 5(1) of the Schengen Borders Code, the notion of ‘short stay’ means ‘90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay’.

The day of entry will be calculated as the first day of stay in the territory of the Member States and the day of exit will be calculated as the last day of stay in the territory of the Member States. The notion of ‘any’ implies the application of a ‘moving’ 180-day reference period, on each day of the stay looking back to the last 180-day period, in order to verify if the 90/180-day requirement continues to be fulfilled. That means that an absence in the territory of the Member States for an uninterrupted period of 90 days allows for a new stay of up to 90 days.

A short-stay calculator, which can be used for calculating the period of allowed stay under the new rules, can be found online at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/border-crossing/index_en.htm.

An example of a calculation of stay on the basis of the new definition is as follows:

A person holding a multiple-entry visa for one year (18.4.2014–18.4.2015) enters for the first time on 19.4.2014 and stays for three days. The same person then enters again on 18.6.2014 and stays for 86 days. In such case the situation on specific dates could be as follows:

• on 11.9.2014: over the last 180 days (16.3.2014–11.9.2014) the person had stayed for three days (19.4.2014–21.4.2014) plus 86 days (18.6.2014–11.9.2014) = 89 days = no overstay. The person may still stay for up to one day;

• as of 16.10.2014: the person might enter for a stay of three additional days (on 16.10.2014 the stay on 19.4.2014 becomes irrelevant (outside the 180-day period); on 17.10.2014 the stay on 20.4.2014 becomes irrelevant (outside the 180-day period, etc.));

• as of 15.12.2014: the person might enter for 86 additional days (on 15.12.2014 the stay on 18.6.2014 becomes irrelevant (outside the 180-day period); on 16.12.2014 the stay on 19.6.2014 becomes irrelevant, etc.).