DayCount EU

EES and the 90/180 rule: what changed in April 2026 and what didn't

Published 28 Oct 2026Last reviewed 28 Oct 2026

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) began operating on 12 October 2025 and was declared fully operational on 10 April 2026. If you are a non-EU traveller on a short stay, that changes how your days are recorded. It does not change how many days you are allowed.

What changed

  • Stamps are being replaced by records. At the external borders of the Schengen area, non-EU short-stay travellers are registered with their travel document details, a facial image and, for most people, fingerprints. Each later entry and exit adds to that record.
  • The system works out your days. Instead of an officer adding up stamps, the system holds your entries and exits and can calculate how many days you have used.
  • Mistakes are now data. A miscount that once depended on an officer reading stamps is now an entry in a database. A missing exit record can look like you are still in the area.

What did not change

  • The rule is the same. Non-EU short-stay visitors may stay up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. The day you enter and the day you leave both count as days of stay.
  • Long-stay visas and residence permits of a Schengen state still sit outside the short-stay count.
  • Not every EU country is in it. Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not in the Schengen area, so they are not part of the system. Bulgaria and Romania are.
  • Visa and entry conditions are separate matters. The count does not decide whether you may enter.

What to do about it

Keep your own record of dates, in the same terms the system uses: entry day counts, exit day counts, 180-day window. Compare it with your tickets. Keep proof of your exits (a boarding pass, a ticket, a photo of your passport page) in case a record has to be corrected. Our guide on what to do if EES misses your exit explains the steps.

You can use the free Schengen calculator to check your count, or the DayCount EU app to keep it on your phone.

Planning aid, not legal advice. Border authorities’ records are authoritative.

Sources

Related

Track your days in the appDayCount EU keeps your Schengen and tax-day counts on your phone, and your data never leaves it. See the features.

The iPhone and Android apps are launching soon. The free calculators on this site work today.

Planning aid, not legal or tax advice. Border authorities' records are authoritative.