What is the Schengen 90/180 rule?

Question

What does the "90/180" rule actually mean for travel in Europe?

Auranik Consulting & Management · Accepted Answer

## Short answer
Under the Schengen short-stay rule, a visitor without a long-stay authorization can spend a maximum of 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the Schengen area, whether travelling visa-free or on a Schengen (C) visa.

## What this depends on
The 180-day window is a rolling calculation, not a fixed calendar period -- for any given day, you look back 180 days and count how many of those days you were present in the Schengen area. This applies to short stays specifically -- see the related question on whether a Polish D visa or residence permit counts toward this limit.

## Official source
Straż Graniczna (Polish Border Guard), directly verified; European Commission short-stay calculator methodology.

## Related Auranik tool
[90/180 Stay Calculator](/poland/immigration/stay-calculator) calculates this live for your specific travel dates.

What is the Schengen 90/180 rule?

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