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CALCULATOR: How to work out your 90-day allowance in France

If you're visiting France and you're not a citizen of an EU country, your visits may be limited by the '90 day rule' - here's how it works, who is affected and how to calculate your trips so that you don't overstay your allowance.

Published: 19 April 2022 12:15 CEST
Updated: 15 May 2022 06:44 CEST
CALCULATOR: How to work out your 90-day allowance in France
Photo by Eduardo Soteras / AFP

Who?

If you have the passport of an EU country – including dual nationality – you are not covered by the 90-day rule and are free to come and go from France as you please.

Non-EU citizens fall into two categories – those covered by the 90-day allowance and those who are not.

Citizens of certain countries, including India, need a visa for any visit to France, even just a long weekend, but other countries allow up to 90 days of travel without the need for a visa.

Brits, Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders are all covered by the 90-day allowance – find the full list here. 

Blue marks the EU/Schengen zone, green is countries covered by the 90-day rule and citizens of red countries require a visa even for a short trip. Map: European Commission

What?

The 90-day rule states that you can spend 90 days out of every 180 in the EU or Schengen zone without needing to get a visa or residency card.

The allowance is for the whole Schengen zone, so if you’re travelling to multiple European countries your tally is for all the days you have spent within the Bloc.

For example, if you spent 85 days in France and then travelled to Spain for a fortnight, that would take you over your 90-day allowance because both France and Spain are Schengen zone countries. 

The allowance means that in total over the course of a year you can spend 180 days in the EU/Schengen zone without needing a visa – but the crucial point is that your 180 days cannot be all in a single block.

This means that, for example, you can’t spend the summer in France and the winter in the UK, or vice versa.

How?

So – the crucial bit – how do you go about calculating your allowance?

The people most likely to be affected by this are second-home owners and freelance workers or contractors who make multiple short work trips to the EU.

If you travel for work, it’s important to note that your 90-day allowance covers all trips for all reasons – so you need to add in any European holidays as well as work trips to your total. 

It’s when you’re making a series of short trips that things can get complicated, because the 90-day rule is calculated on a rolling calendar, so that at any point of the year you need to be able to count backwards by 180 days, and have only spent 90 of those days in the Schengen zone.

You also need to be aware that any time spent in the Schengen zone counts as one day – so even one-hour stopovers take one day off your allowance. 

The easiest way to keep on top of this is to keep a diary (paper or electronic) with your travel days marked in it, and then use the online Schengen calculator to check that you’re within your allowances.

Short stays and stopovers can add up more quickly than you might think.

The online Schengen calculator can be found HERE – simply input your travel dates and it will tell you how many days you have left. 

What if you have a visa?

People who want to spend more than 90 days at a time in France have two options – get a visa or move here full-time and get a residency card.

Visa – for second-home owners the 6-month visitor visa is a popular option. This allows you to keep your main residence in your home country, but spend plenty of time at your place in France. 

For the dates when your visa is valid, your trips to France do not count towards your 90 day allowance – but trips to any other EU/Schengen zone country still count towards that 90-day allowance. Once your visa runs out, the 90-day clock starts again, unless your get a new visa – more details here.

Residency – if you take up permanent residency in France any time spent in France obviously does not count towards your 90 days. However, it’s worth pointing out that you are still bound by the 90-day rule when travelling to other EU/Schengen zone countries – full details here.

Overstaying

Many readers, especially Brits who were previously in the happy position of not having to worry about calculating 90 days, have asked us whether they really need to go through all this hassle.

The unfortunate answer is yes – passports are checked regularly as you enter and leave the Schengen zone, and upcoming technical changes mean this will only get stricter.

People who spend more than 90 days at a time in the Schegen zone without having a visa are classed as overstayers, and passports are likely to be stamped or flagged.

Overstaying is usually punished by a fine, but having that ‘overstay’ on your passport also means that future travel is likely to be a lot more difficult, and you may also have trouble with any future visa applications.

People who travel for work should note that keeping track of your 90 days is your personal responsibility, not your employers’. It seems that many UK employers are still pretty clueless about post-Brexit changes, so don’t rely on your company’s HR department to calculate your allowance.

At present passport checking and stamping at the border is varied and variable, but changes to EU travel coming in later this year will mean that the process becomes more automated, and overstayers will have nowhere to hide. 

READ ALSO Passport scans and €7 fee: What changes for EU travel in 2022

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TRAVEL NEWS

Travel, events, closures: What to expect over France’s double public holiday this week

Workers in France will benefit from two back-to-back bank holidays this week, with many planning to take the day off on Friday too. From traffic to weather and closures plus strikes, here's what to expect during the public holidays.

Published: 6 May 2024 11:44 CEST
Travel, events, closures: What to expect over France's double public holiday this week

May 2024 is a special one for workers in France, with four public holidays scattered throughout the month, including two (VE Day and Ascension) being back-to-back.

The double bank holiday will lead to offices being closed across the country on Wednesday and Thursday. As such, many people will try to ‘faire le pont’ by taking Friday off as well, giving themselves five consecutive days off work.

In terms of planes and trains, there will likely be larger crowds and longer queues than normal. France’s national rail service SNCF say their trains will be at 95 percent capacity during the holiday period.

As for strikes, previously, French air traffic controllers had threatened to walk out over the jours fériés (bank holidays), but after reaching an agreement with management this was cancelled. 

French cabin crew of the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling did file a strike notice from Wednesday, May 8th to Sunday, May 12th, and this appears to be going forward. If you have a flight booked with Vueling, be sure to check its status before heading to the airport.

READ MORE: French airline staff file strike notice for May holiday weekend

Here is what you can expect in terms of traffic, weather, closures and other events during the first week of May.

Tuesday

Events and closures – Tuesday will be a normal working day, so you can expect shops and grocery stores to operate with normal hours.

Traffic – While Tuesday is not a jour férié, it is expected to be the big day for departures.

According to French traffic watchdog Bison Futé, traffic on French roads will be ‘very heavy’, as people head off on their short holidays.

Try to give yourself extra time to reach your destination.

Credit: Bison Futé

Weather – Forecasters expect rain across much of the country, with the exception of the far west which will start to see sunny skies. In southern France, storms are predicted from mid-afternoon and into the evening. 

Maximum temperatures are expected to range from 14C to 19C in the north of France, and from 11C to 20C in the southern half.

Wednesday (VE Day)

Events and closures – Most workers will have Wednesday off for VE (Victory in Europe) Day. This year will mark the 79th anniversary of the end of the war.

There will be parades and events commemorating the event across the country, but the main one will take place in Paris under the Arc de Triomphe, as a wreath is laid at the tomb of the unknown solider.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on French public television starting at 9.25am. This year President Emmanuel Macron will be in Marseille for the event, in part because it will also fall on the same day that the Olympic Torch will arrive in France. 

You may also see people wearing a bleuet (cornflower) in their lapel – this is the official flower of remembrance in France. Although the wearing of it is more widespread on November 11th – Armistice Day – some people also wear them on May 8th.

In smaller towns and villages, people might gather for drinks or lunch at local war memorials.

Because it is a public holiday, expect administrative offices in France to remain closed, and the same will go for banks and some shops.

Supermarkets usually remain open – often with reduced hours – while shops in the bigger cities are also likely to be open. In most places, cafés and restaurants open as normal so you can enjoy lunch or drinks with friends and family to celebrate the day off work.

Traffic – In terms of traffic, Bison Futé predicts that the situation will be moderately difficult for departures.

Credit: Bison Futé

Weather – People in France can rejoice as the sun makes its return. Other than in the far north early on in the day, expect sunshine and mostly blue skies – though occasionally stormy showers may develop in the southeast later on. 

Temperatures of between 17C and 20C are forecast in the northern half of the country, and between 18C and 21C further south.

Thursday (Ascension)

Events and closures – Expect banks and public services to be closed on Ascension Day (Thursday). Shops may operate reduced hours or services – supermarkets may close their Drive operations for the day, for example – but many open as normal.

As Ascension is a Christian festival, there will be special mass services at local churches. 

Traffic – Roads in France will be clear, with ‘normal’ traffic conditions according to Bison Futé.

Weather – Temperatures are expected to be mild, with sunny skies. There may be a few clouds in northern France, but the south is forecast to have wall-to-wall sunshine for most of the day. Isolated storms may develop in the southern Alps late in the day.

Temperatures of between 18C and 20C are forecast in the northern half of the country, and between 19C and 24C further south.

Friday

Events and closures – Even though Friday is not a public holiday, the fact that it straddles two days off and a weekend means that some public services and businesses may shut completely. Meanwhile, most schools give their pupils (and teachers) and extra day off on Friday to allow for a long weekend away.

Otherwise, you can expect the majority of stores, restaurants, supermarkets and cafés to open with normal operating hours.

Traffic – Another clear day. Bison Futé predicts normal traffic on French roads.

Weather – Forecasters predict that overcast conditions will return in the northern half of the country on Friday – perhaps to remind everyone that it’s not quite summer yet – but the skies are expected to remain clear in the south, with temperatures forecast to climb past 25C in the southwest of the country.

Saturday

Events and closures – Aside from extra crowds at popular holiday locations, there not are expected to be  any closures or changes to hours that are out of the ordinary for a Saturday.

Traffic – As people start heading home, slowdowns will increase on French motorways. Across the country, expect return trips to experience moderate to difficult traffic conditions.

Credit: Bison Futé

Weather – Other than a few thunderstorms in the south of the country, expect dry, warm, sunny weather across the whole of France over the weekend, with early summer temperatures reaching into the upper 20s celsius to match.

Sunday

Events and closures -There not are expected to be any closures or changes to hours that are out of the ordinary for a Sunday. However, if you are spending time in the French countryside and you hail from a city, remember that supermarkets and shops tend to close earlier than normal on Sundays.

Traffic – Bison Futé predicts that return travel will be congested on Sunday, as holidaymakers head home after enjoying the May public holidays. Traffic is expected to be ‘black’ (extremely slow) in the north-west, while the rest of the country has been marked in red for (very slow). You can consult their predictions here.

Credit: Bison Futé

Weather – Same forecast as Saturday.

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