Schengen 90/180 rule for US citizen

[france616]

Hello,

I am a US citizen who has been studying in the UK for the past 12 months under a valid student visa.  During this time, I have been traveling in and out of several Schengen countries for vacation (without any visa) for a few days at a time per country.  I am currently in France and plan to go home to the US after being here, but am unsure how long I can stay under the 90/180 rule.  I have tried looking online and calling embassies but with no clear answer!

In short - when does the 180 days start or how is it counted?  Does it start the first time I entered a Schengen country after I arrived to the UK last year for my studies?  What about the times I have traveled to Schengen territories in years prior to that - do those travel dates have to be considered also?

Many thanks in advance for your help!

[bugibar]

The 90/180 days rule does not emloy any counter in a sense that the period would start, end and got reset at some specific moment. The rule works in a way that if you look back at any given 180 calendar days - have you spent out of those 180 calendar days more than a total of 90 days in the Schengen territory? So, the period is a moving one. It moves every day by one day. See here for more details on the 90 180 schengen rule: schengen visa 90 180 rule. Also see other posts in this forum: Schengen visa forum (there are many posts on this topic there).

[france616]

Great - many thanks for your help!  I think I've gotten it figured out

[porsche]

Great - many thanks for your help!  I think I've gotten it figured out

See here for a hands on 90/180 visa rule calculation

Re: I overstayed by Schengen visa?? HOW??? HELP!