Last checked against official sources: 24 October 2026. Informational only, not legal or immigration advice.
Visitors who do not need a long-stay visa or residence permit may stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period. The tricky part is the word any: the 180-day period is not a fixed half-year, it moves with you every single day.
The European Commission describes the check as counting back 180 days from each day of your stay and making sure the total does not exceed 90. So to know whether day X is allowed, look at the 180 days ending on day X (day X and the 179 before it) and count the days you were inside the area.
You stayed 1–30 January 2026 (30 days) and 1 March–15 April 2026 (46 days). On 20 April 2026 the window runs from 23 October 2025 to 20 April 2026. Both stays are inside it, so 76 days are used and 14 remain. If you stay continuously from 20 April, the last allowed day is 3 May 2026. Load these dates in the 90/180 day calculator to see the calendar.
Because the window rolls, days only drop out of the count when they are more than 179 days in the past. Leaving for a week does not clear anything; only the passage of time does. Planning a return means finding the date when enough old days have fallen out of the window.
The European Commission publishes a short-stay calculator with a check mode (is a stay compliant on a given date) and a planning mode (how many days are possible from a future entry date). Use it as the authority, and use our calculator as a quick visual cross-check.
Which countries are in the area, whether you are subject to the rule, bilateral agreements, and national rules for longer stays depend on your nationality and status. Check the immigration authority of the country you are entering.