Solutions · Digital Nomads
Work from anywhere. The border is counting.
A few months in Lisbon, a few weeks in Barcelona, a hop out and back. If you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, every one of those days comes out of the same 90.
One allowance, 29 countries
The Schengen area treats 29 countries as one for short stays. If you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you can spend 90 days in any 180 there, in total, not per country. Moving from Portugal to Spain doesn’t start a new count, and neither does a week in London.
Since 10 April 2026 the EU’s Entry/Exit System has replaced passport stamps. Every entry and exit is recorded, and the European Commission says it allows “the automatic detection of overstayers”.
The rules
The 90 days are pooled
Every day in any Schengen country comes out of one allowance. Moving from Portugal to Spain doesn’t start a new count.
Entry and exit days both count
Enter on 1 March and leave on 29 May, and you’ve used 90 days, not 89. Leave on 30 May and that’s day 91.
The window rolls
On any day, look back over the 180 days ending that day: no more than 90 of them may be in Schengen. Nothing resets on a fixed date; days come back one at a time, 180 days after you spent them.
A permit changes it
Days covered by a residence permit or long-stay visa don’t count toward the 90.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/399 (Schengen Borders Code), Article 6.
Check your Schengen days
Enter your trips; entry and exit days both count. Nothing you enter is stored: your dates stay in this page, and in the one email if you ask for it.
What this check leaves out.
It counts the days you enter, from one pooled allowance, with entry and exit days both counted. It doesn’t separate days covered by a residence permit or long-stay visa, doesn’t work out microstates or territories with their own arrangements, and doesn’t check visas, permission to work, or any rule specific to your nationality. It says nothing about tax. Midnights counts from your trips and keeps the count up to date.
For a one-off answer from the EU itself, there is the European Commission’s short-stay calculator.
Answer the first question and enter a trip to see your days used and left.
Tax is a different count
Schengen days decide how long you can stay, not where you pay tax. Many countries use 183 days, but not all of them, and not all count the same way.
Midnights shows your day count for every country. Where a flat 183-day rule is known to be wrong, it marks the count “Estimate only” and withholds a status: “We can’t give a reliable residency status for this country yet.” That includes the Schengen countries, Cyprus and Ireland, plus Australia, Georgia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. It gives a full status only under the UK, US and Schengen rules.
What’s at stake
Overstaying is the expensive way to miscount. For example, in Spain, staying on without permission can mean a fine of €501 to €10,000, or expulsion with a ban on returning of up to five years. The UK government tells British visitors that overstaying can mean a ban from Schengen countries of up to 3 years.
The cheaper mistake is the cautious one: leaving early, or rebooking, because you weren’t sure of the count. And the count is never done: it changes every day you’re inside and every day an old one drops out of the window.
Illustration only; penalties vary by country and case. Sources: Spain, Ley Orgánica 4/2000, arts. 53, 55, 57 and 58 (BOE); GOV.UK, Spain entry requirements.
What Midnights shows you
Where you stand, today
Your pooled Schengen count, with entry and exit days both counted. Free.
A trip log that keeps itself
Add stays by hand, or turn on location tracking: opt-in and off by default. Your position is never sent to us or included in cloud sync; to name the country, it may be sent to Apple’s or Google’s mapping service. How your data moves.
Warnings before the line
Local alerts at 10, 5 and 3 days left. Pro.
Plan the next stop
See what a trip would do to your count before you book it. Pro.
Tax days, honestly
A day count for every country, and “Estimate only” where a flat 183-day rule would mislead.
What it won’t tell you
- Whether you need a visa, whether you may work, or whether a stay will be allowed. It counts days; it doesn’t check immigration status.
- A tax residency status for countries it doesn’t model. You’ll see the day count and a note instead.
- Tax, legal or immigration advice. Check with the country you’re visiting, or a qualified adviser, before you act.
Questions
Is it 90 days per country?
No. It’s 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area, pooled, if you’re not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen.
Do the days I enter and leave count?
Yes, both. Entry and exit days both count: a trip from 1 to 3 March is 3 days.
Does leaving and coming back reset the count?
No. The window rolls: on any day, look back over the 180 days ending that day. Days come back one at a time, 180 days after you spent them.
Does the UK count? Ireland? Cyprus?
No. The UK and Ireland aren’t in the Schengen area, and Cyprus hasn’t fully joined it.
What about tax?
Schengen days and tax days are different counts. Midnights shows a day count for every country, and marks it “Estimate only” where a flat 183-day rule would mislead.
Is anything I enter saved?
No. Your dates stay in this page. If you email yourself the summary, we use your address once to send it and don’t keep it unless you tick the updates box.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It’s informational. It is not tax, legal or immigration advice: check with the country you’re visiting, or a qualified adviser, before you act.
Keep the count all year, not just before the next booking.
Where you stand is free. Pro is £39.99 a year or £4.99 a month (US: $39.99 / $4.99; other regions see their local price in the App Store), after a 14-day free trial for new subscribers, and renews until you cancel in your App Store account.
iOS now, Android in progress.