What Happens If You Overstay in the Schengen Area

Short stays in the Schengen area are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period. This page sets out what the EU says happens when someone stays longer, and how the border now records it. It is not legal advice; for a specific case, the EU points travellers to the authorities of the Member State concerned.

To count your own days, use our Schengen 90/180-day calculator.

What counts as an overstay

Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code limits short stays to no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, "which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay". The date of entry counts as the first day of stay and the date of exit as the last. Time spent under a residence permit or a long-stay visa does not count.

So an overstay is any day on which the 180-day period ending that day holds more than 90 days of stay. If you hold a short-stay visa whose sticker allows fewer days than 90, the shorter period is your limit. The 90/180-day rule explained has worked examples.

What the EU says happens

The EU's FAQ on the Entry/Exit System answers this directly:

• If you are stopped and found to have stayed more than 90 days, you must be subjected to return procedures under the Return Directive (2008/115). As a general rule, preference is given to voluntary departure.
• Entry bans. A return decision is accompanied by an entry ban in certain cases: where no period for voluntary departure has been granted, or where the obligation to return has not been complied with. In other cases an entry ban may be issued. Both entry bans and return decisions are entered into the Schengen Information System (SIS). The length of a ban is set with due regard to all the circumstances of the case and shall not in principle exceed five years.
• Trying to enter again after using your 90 days. A person who has already stayed 90 days within 180 and tries to enter again will be refused entry at the border, and the refusal is registered in the EES.

How overstays are recorded now

Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational at all external border crossing points of the 29 countries using it. It registers non-EU visitors' entries and exits electronically instead of stamping passports, and the EU says that if you overstay, the system will identify you and record this information.

The EU's EES online tool shows how many days you are still allowed to stay, from that record. It does not reflect any time in the Schengen area that began before 10 April 2026. For questions about your remaining stay or the tool's result, the EU says to contact the competent authorities of the Member State where you last entered or exited the Schengen area.

Staying longer legally

The 90/180-day rule applies to short stays. The European Commission says that holders of an EU residence permit or a long-stay visa are not subject to it, as those documents allow a stay of more than 90 days. Time spent under them does not count towards the 90.

For British travellers

The UK government's travel advice for France and for Spain says that if you overstay the 90-day visa-free limit, you may be banned from entering Schengen countries for up to 3 years. If you cannot return to the UK before your limit runs out, it advises contacting the nearest local prefecture in France, or in Spain the Spanish government's national information service (dial 060 from a Spanish phone line). See Schengen rules for UK citizens.