What is the 180-Day Rule in Europe?

Thinking about traveling to Europe for a few months but don’t want to have to go through the hassle of getting a ton of visas? Lucky for you the Schengen zone allows visaless entry for Americans in line with the 180-day rule.

So, what is the 180-day rule in Europe, and what do you need to know about visa-free travel all around Europe? Let’s dive in and find out more. 

What is the 180-day rule?

Okay, so let’s get into it. The 180-day rule is sometimes called the 90/180-day rule because you can spend a maximum of 90 days in the Schengen area as a whole within a 180-day period. After the 180-day period, your 90-day allowance restarts all over again.

Not all European countries are in the Schengen area, so we’ll list the countries that are and aren’t in this zone below. What this does mean though, is that you can travel in and out of the Schengen Zone, providing you have either visa-less access or procure a visa for the country you’re going to. As soon as you’re out of the Schengen area, the 90-day clock stops and only restarts when you re-enter a Schengen country again.

However, even though the 90-day clock stops and starts when you hop borders out of the Schengen area, the 180-day period continues. That’s because the 180-day period starts the day you initially enter a Schengen country.

It doesn’t matter if you come and go from the Schengen area within Europe or fly back to the US and come back again, that clock keeps going. You could spend the full 90 days or you could spend five days and then return 150 days later and still spend another 25 days in the Schengen zone without breaking any laws. 

Don’t get me wrong, it can be confusing. If you’re traveling around a lot it can take a lot of forethought and maths along the way. Make sure you keep an accurate itinerary and make a note of when you need to be out of the Schengen area.

You do not want to overstay your welcome and risk getting fined or deported! You’ll also want to give yourself a couple of days grace just in case there are any delays or flight issues along the way.

Is it 90 days or three months, and why does it matter?

This might sound like a dumb question, but it’s such an important distinction. The Schengen rule is 90 days out of a 180-day period, not three months out of six months.

If you’re staying for months with 31 days in them, you’re not going to be able to stay the full three months. Similarly, if you’re in Europe around February, you might have a spare couple of days.

Which countries are in the Schengen Area?

Okay, so where can you go within the Schengen area? Here is a full list of the 27 different countries in this visa-free zone:

a body of water
  • Austria, 
  • Belgium, 
  • Czechia, 
  • Croatia, 
  • Denmark, 
  • Estonia, 
  • Finland, 
  • France, 
  • Germany, 
  • Greece, 
  • Hungary, 
  • Iceland, 
  • Italy, 
  • Latvia, 
  • Liechtenstein, 
  • Lithuania, 
  • Luxembourg, 
  • Malta, 
  • Netherlands, 
  • Norway, 
  • Poland, 
  • Portugal, 
  • Slovakia, 
  • Slovenia, 
  • Spain, 
  • Sweden, 
  • Switzerland.

As you can see, there are a ton of amazing countries that you can visit for 90 days without having to get a visa. You can visit a mix of these countries or just spend the whole time in one nation. It’s completely up to you!

In addition to these 27 countries, there are also smaller countries and principalities like Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, and Vatican City that are also within the Schengen zone. As you can access these countries through neighboring countries’ visa allowances, they’re included in the Schengen as well.

For instance, if you have a visa for Italy, you don’t need to get a separate one for San Marino or Vatican City – they’re included in Italy’s visa.

Can you jump borders to stay longer than 90 days?

Okay, so here’s the magic of the 90/180 rule. There are a grand total of 44 countries in Europe and only 27 of them are in the Schengen Zone. That means that there are plenty of countries you can visit once you’ve used up your 90-day Schengen allowance and need to wait another 90 days before returning again. 

flag of Europe

While some countries outside the Schengen Zone allow visa-less entry for US citizens for up to three months, some, like the UK allow for up to six months. So, if you don’t want to go back to the US after your 90-day jaunt around Europe, there are ways to stay without having to get a formal visa.

However, it does take some maths skills to make this work. If you leave the Schengen zone and stay in a non-Schengen country like Cyprus for the full 90-day visa-free allowance, you need to be out of Cyprus within those 90 days. However, you need to make sure that you stay out of the Schengen for the full 90 days to be able to get to the 180 restart limit. 

What you’re left with is a weird one-day switch where you need to be careful about timings. You might want to go to another visa-free, non-Schengen country like Montenegro for a couple of days before returning to Schengen for another 90-day visit, just to have a buffer in your allowances. 

But, using this method, you can stay in Europe without having to get a visa indefinitely, as long as you don’t need to work. Each time your Schengen clock hits that 180-day mark, it all restarts over again and you’re free to visit those 27 nations once more!

Which European countries are not in the Schengen Area?

So, if you’re looking to hop borders between Schengen and non-Schengen countries, you’re going to need to know which European countries are not in the Schengen area.

Honestly, there are so many to choose from and they’re located all around the continent, so if you need to dip in and out of the Schengen zone, it’s relatively simple and straightforward to do!

  • Ireland,
  • UK,
  • Cyprus,
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina,
  • Montenegro,
  • Albania,
  • Serbia,
  • Kosovo,
  • North Macedonia,
  • Belarus,
  • Ukraine,
  • Moldova,
  • Russia,
  • Turkey.

Some of these have visa-free travel for US citizens and some of them are a little less viable if you’re looking to avoid red tape, paperwork, and bureaucracy. We’ll dive into the visa-free allowances for US citizens in the next section, but this should give an idea of where you can go once your 90 days in the Schengen zone run out and you’re counting down your 180-day clock. 

As you can see, many of these Schengen-free states are non-EU nation-states and are predominantly in the beautiful Balkan region. This area is definitely growing in population thanks to the beautiful coastlines and natural wonders of countries like Montenegro and Albania, both of which are all over Instagram right now!

What are the visa-free allowances for non-Schengen area countries?

Thinking of hopping between Schengen and non-Schengen countries but aren’t sure what the visa situations are? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this handy table.

concrete buildings

Some countries, like Russia and Turkey, currently do not have visa-free stay options for US citizens, so if you want to check out these countries, you’re going to need to sort your visa way in advance. 

CountryVisa-less stay allowance
IrelandUp to 90 days
UKUp to six months
CyprusUp to 90 days
Bosnia and HerzegovinaUp to 90 days within a six-month period
MontenegroUp to 90 days
AlbaniaUp to 90 days
SerbiaUp to 90 days
KosovoUp to 90 days within a six-month period
North MacedoniaUp to 90 days within a six-month period
BelarusUp to 30 days
UkraineUp to 90 days
MoldovaUp to 90 days within a six month period
RussiaNo visa-free entry for US citizens and you need to apply in advance – there are no visas available upon entry!
TurkeyYou need to apply for an e-visa which lasts for up to 90 days.

As you can see, if you just want to spend the full waiting period in one country, you’ll want to go to the UK as they have the longest visa-less entry for US citizens. However, if you end your Schengen 90-day period in Greece, for instance, it’s convenient to pop across to North Macedonia or Albania as it’s literally one small border crossing. 

Of course, you don’t need to wait until your 90 days are up to move around between Schengen and non-Schengen countries. For instance, if you’re enjoying Croatia and you want to spend a couple of days down in Montenegro, your 90-day clock pauses until you return to a Schengen country, but the 180-day clock keeps ticking.

Example year-long, vise-free itineraries 

So, it can be really confusing to think about the 90/180-day rule in an abstract way, so we’ve put together a series of example itineraries to help you find your way. 

Itinerary 1

Spending the full Schengen period in one destination.

Okay, so the easiest way to think about the 90/180 rule is by picking two destinations. For instance, if you want to spend the full 90 days in Italy, you can do that as long as you can leave for a non-Schengen country by the 90th-day deadline. 

You can then spend up to 90 days in places like Montenegro, Albania, Cyprus, etc. Remember to move on again before you hit each country’s 90-day limit. This should bring you back to the 180-day period where you can return to the Schengen zone.

Once you reach that magic 180-day period, your 90-180 clock restarts. This means you can return to say, Italy, for another 90 days. Again, you can leave to another part of the non-Schengen block for the final 90 days of the year.

Despite having at least four moves within the year, this is actually one of the fewest amounts of country shifts if you want to spend the entire year in Europe without having to get a visa!

Itinerary 2

Spending the Schengen period in multiple Schengen countries.

If you want to see more of Europe during your Schengen zone stay, you can hop from one Schengen country to the next for up to 90 days out of a 180-day period. That means you can spend a couple of days in France before jumping on a train to Italy, then Germany, and so on.

Remember it’s not 90 days in each Schengen country, it’s 90 days in the zone as a whole. So you could spend 30 days in Denmark, then another 30 days in The Netherlands, and then finish off with 30 days in Germany.

You can spend as little time in each country as you like and even spend the bulk of your time in one Schengen country and just spend a weekend away in another one if you want to! It’s super flexible.

You can then leave and go to a non-Schengen nation or series of non-Schengen nations to fill out the necessary remaining 90 days of your 180-day period, before returning to check another few Schengen zone countries off your bucket list! 

Itinerary 3

Jumping between the Schengen zone and non-Schengen locations.

This is kind of known as the stop-the-clock way of using the Schengen zone and needs more organization and forethought so that you don’t overstay your visa-free allowance. For instance, you could spend 30 days in Greece, then hop the border into North Macedonia for another 30 days.

During this time, your 90-day Schengen clock is paused. You could then pop back to Greece for another 30 days, and even after that, you still have another 30 spare Schengen days to use up wherever you like.  At this point, you’ll have spent 90 days in Europe without a visa and still have a spare 30 days in the Schengen zone, and a spare 60 days left to use in North Macedonia. 

Even though your 90-day clock stops while you’re in North Macedonia, your 180-day clock is still running. So, in our example, if you hopped between Greece and North Macedonia every 30 days (for easy maths sake!), after your third 30-day stint in North Macedonia, your Schengen 180/90 clock restarts.

Logically, you could keep switching around this way indefinitely, but it certainly means that you need to keep a record of how long you’re staying in and out of the Schengen zone. 

By pausing the clock when you leave the Schengen block, you can eat up the time until the 180-day period restarts without having to spend huge chunks of time in different areas. Especially with the amount of easy-to-cross borders and visa-free, non-Schengen nations, it’s pretty straightforward to travel around without having to file any official paperwork or purchase any visas. 

Itinerary 4

Utilizing the UK’s longer visa-free stay

If you want to make sure that you don’t accidentally overstay your Schengen visa stay, take advantage of the UK’s six-month, visa-free stay for US citizens. So, if you’ve used up all 90 of your Schengen zone days and you want to wait out the next 90, Schengen-less days until your 180-day clock resets, heading to the UK is probably the easiest logistical way to do so. 

Many other non-Schengen countries only have 90-day visa-free stays for Americans, so that final day can be contentious about whether you’re overstaying one way or another. The normal way to combat this is to visit two non-Schengen, visa-free countries and give yourself a couple of days of buffer to ensure that your 180-day Schengen clock has restarted and that you’re not overstaying your visa-free stay in the non-Schengen country.

When you spend your non-Schengen waiting period in the UK, you don’t have to worry about this. You can check out Wales, Scotland, England, or Northern Ireland for a full six months, or just for 91 days until you’re eligible to return to the Schengen zone. 

Can you work on visa-less travel?

So, spending months and months on end zig-zagging around Europe sounds amazing, but if we’re being realistic, it’s out of reach for a lot of us. That’s because if you’re traveling visa-free, you cannot legally work in the vast majority of Europe.

That goes for online or digital nomad work that can sometimes fly under the radar when you’re traveling around from country to country. There are dedicated digital nomad visas if you want to live, travel, and work in individual European countries, but you really shouldn’t be trying to work on a Schengen visa or visa-less entry. If you get caught, you can be deported and even banned from returning. 

So, if you’re thinking about spending 90 days or more in Europe, chances are that you’re going to need a fair amount of savings. If you’re thinking about visiting Western Europe or Scandinavia, it can get super expensive really quickly. With accommodation, transport, food, activities, and more, it soon adds up!

How much do you need for 180 days in Europe?

It’s hardly news to say that Europe is not cheap. Obviously, it depends on where in Europe you plan on visiting – it’s a huge place after all. As a rule of thumb, the east of Europe is cheaper than the west and Scandinavia is super expensive. So, if you’re looking to travel on a budget, you might want to ignore Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. 

person holding money

A three-month unlimited train pass for Europe costs €711 straight off the bat. There are cheaper passes if you’re thinking about staying in one country for the majority of your stay, but if you’re planning on seeing as much as possible, this is a cost-effective option. 

Depending on the type of accommodation you’re looking for, average per night stays in a hostel dorm room are around 20-35 Euros per night, but can be a lot cheaper in less popular cities. For example, Parisian stays are pretty much always going to be more expensive than staying in Bordeaux. 

For a budget hotel room, you’re looking at around $110 on average, per night for a double room. If you’re traveling as a couple or with friends, this might be a more viable option as you can split the cost, or if you don’t want to dive back into dorm life! 

Per day, you’re going to be looking at anywhere between 40-70 euros per person. Of course, this assumes that you’re having all three meals out in restaurants, cafes, or bakeries. If you’re cooking at a hostel, or buying breakfasts at the supermarket, or if they’re included with your accommodation costs. 

Adding in international flights of around $1000, you’re looking at anywhere between $12,000 and $18,000 for a six-month adventure around Europe. It’s not cheap at all, but when you think that you’re spending half a year essentially on vacation, it works out at around $2,000-3,000 per month. Honestly, with the rental costs in some parts of the US, it’s not far off many people’s monthly expenses!

Of course, you can’t legally work on visa-free travel, so you’re really going to have to save up before you commit to the long-term travel lifestyle around Europe!

What is the European travel authorization fee and when is it coming into effect?

You might have heard about US citizens needing to pay to visit Europe from 2024. This is not a paid visa by any means, it’s actually just a travel authorization called an ETIAS. You fill in a quick form online, pay seven Euros and you’re clear to travel to Europe at your leisure.

Once you’ve paid and filled out your ETIAS, it’s valid for three years. It’s a quick and easy form and you should get a response within a couple of days at most. 

It might be an extra step and an extra expense, but it’s honestly one of the cheapest travel authorizations out there at the moment, and pretty much every country has one at this point.

In fact, the US and Canada have had ESTA travel authorization fees for other countries that cost $14 and only last for two years for decades now. 

It’s nowhere near the expense of having to apply for a full visa which can easily run into the hundreds of dollars. So, for freedom of movement around Europe and the convenience of not having to apply for dozens of separate visas, it’s a small price to pay!

Final words on the 180-day rule in Europe

So, all in all, the 180-day rule in Europe might sound super complex but it boils down to the fact that you can stay in a group of 27 countries called the Schengen zone for up to 90 days out of a 180-day period. You can easily spend around three months traveling around Europe without having to get a visa. 

If you want to stay in Europe for longer than 90 days, you can easily hop around to countries that aren’t in the Schengen zone, and there are a ton of them including the UK, Montenegro, Cyprus, and more. After the 180-day period is up, your allowance restarts all over again and you can return to the Schengen block for another 90 days without having to apply for a visa. 

Of course, as you’re not getting a visa for these countries, you’re not really allowed to work while you’re there. If you work online, there aren’t a ton of ways to monitor this, but from a tax perspective, you could get in some real trouble as well as potentially getting deported. So, maybe get a digital nomad visa if you want to work while you travel!

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