Schengen counting

[lunghi rossi]

I know these calculations have been much discussed, but I am still hoping for some clarification.  I have actually called three consulates here in the US of three Schengen countries and have got-ten different answers.  Here are the facts:

I am a US citizen.

With no time "ticking" from prior travels, I entered the Schengen zone on April 25 and left on May 19.  (25 days)

I intend to re-enter the Schengen area on September 12 and depart on November 15.  From Sep-tember 12 to the end of my 180-day period on October 20, I will have used 40 days, for a total of 65 for the 180-day period that began on April 25. 

Does a new 6-month period begin on October 20 and do I just start recounting from October 20 until my departure on November 15 (25 days)?  Or do I look back from November 15 to the time I arrived in the Schengen area on September 12 (65)?  I realize that my stay in the Schengen area is not more than 90 days at any one time, so I am not worried about that.  I am trying to clarify how many days I have left on November 15 and when the end of the 180-day period occurs.  Does it make a difference that the period from May 19 to September 12, when I was out of the Schengen area, was 115 days?

Thanks,
lunghi rossi

[porsche]

The 180-day visa period does not get reset at some specific date, rather it is a moving period. To estimate your allowance for current or future stay, you count back. You count the days so that you do not stay over 90 days in any consecutive 180 days. It means that on November 15, you count November 15 minus 180 days and ask yourself how many days you have stayed within the Schengen zone. On November 16, you count November 16 minus 180 days and ask yourself how many days you have stayed within the Schengen zone. And so on. See here for more details and an excerpt from the Schengen Acquis: Schengen visa 90 180 rule.

[sathedo]

i will enter EU via Spain august 2 and have a ticket to leave EU via Amsterdam Nov. 13.  I plan to spend 2 weeks in Croatia between these dates as a way of not overstaying 90 days in the EU.  Will the tourist visa i receive in the airport in Barcelona permit me to leave the EU for 2 weeks and return again to complete my 90 days? Just checking that I dont need to seek a multiple entry visa before arriving in EU, and that my plan is a legitimate one. thanks.

[danisara]

You would need a multiple entry visa if you want to come to Spain, then leave to Croatia, and then come back to Netherlands.