Who this is for
Visa-exempt travellers — digital nomads, long-term travellers, people splitting their time between countries — who want to spend longer in Europe than the Schengen rule allows in one go, without applying for a long-stay visa.
Which countries are outside Schengen
The Schengen Area has 29 countries: 25 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Days anywhere else do not count towards your 90, but each of those countries sets its own entry rules and its own limits, which depend on your nationality.
- In the EU but outside Schengen: Ireland and Cyprus. Both apply their own entry rules, so days there do not use up your Schengen allowance.
- Outside the EU: the United Kingdom, where visitors can normally stay up to six months per visit and most now need an ETA, and Turkey.
- In the Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
- No longer an option: Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania are all in the Schengen Area now, so crossing into them does not take you out of it. The microstates — Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City — are reached through Schengen countries without border checks, so they will not help either.
Why a quick trip out does not reset anything
Say you have just spent 90 days in a row in Italy and Greece and take a week in Albania. When you come back, the rule still looks back 180 days, and all of those 90 days are still inside the window — you would be over the limit the moment you re-enter. Only days older than 180 days drop out, so a short trip frees up little or nothing. To get a full 90 days back, you need to stay outside Schengen for 90 days in a row.
Common questions
Does a trip to Turkey reset my days?
No. Turkey is outside the Schengen Area and applies its own rules, so time there does not use your 90 days. But it does not reset them either: your days only come back as they drop out of the 180-day window.
Can I alternate between the UK and Schengen indefinitely?
Time in the UK does not use Schengen days, and visitors can normally stay up to six months per visit. But the UK refuses visitors who appear to be living there through frequent or back-to-back visits, so alternating the two for years can cause problems at the UK border.
Is Ireland part of Schengen?
No. Ireland is in the EU but has opted out of the Schengen Area and runs its own border and visa policy. Days in Ireland do not count towards your Schengen allowance.
How do I know when my days come back?
Enter your trips in the Schengen calculator: it shows how many days you have left on any date, when each block of days returns, and how long you could stay if you entered on a given date.
Check it at the source
These are the official pages this guide is based on. Entry rules for countries outside Schengen depend on your nationality, so check them with each country before you go.