Does Monaco count toward the Schengen 90 days?
Monaco isn't a member of the Schengen area, so people often hope a stay there pauses the count. It doesn't. Here's why, and what that means for planning.
Yes. Every day you spend in Monaco counts toward your Schengen 90 days, exactly like a day in France. MyTravelStatus counts it that way too: a Monaco trip uses your allowance day for day, and the day you arrive and the day you leave both count in full.
Why Monaco counts
Monaco is a sovereign state and not formally one of the 29 Schengen countries. But it has no immigration border of its own with France. The UK government's travel advice says that Monaco follows Schengen area rules, that France handles immigration matters for Monaco, and that the Schengen area, for the 90-day limit, includes Monaco.
Monaco's own embassy in France says the same thing from the other side: a visitor who needs a visa needs a Schengen visa, and once you have one, you can visit Monaco with no additional formalities. There is no separate Monaco visa and no separate Monaco allowance.
So a stay in Monaco is a stay in the Schengen area for the purpose of the 90/180 rule. The same is true, in practice, of San Marino and the Vatican, which sit inside Italy. Our guide to the microstates and other edge cases covers those together.
How you get there, and the border you meet
Monaco sits on the coast inside France. Monaco's embassy describes the usual ways in: the A8 motorway or the coast roads, or the train on the line between Nice and Ventimiglia in Italy. Whichever you take, you meet no immigration check at Monaco, because France handles Monaco's immigration. Nobody records you leaving the Schengen area when you drive or take the train into Monaco, because in immigration terms you haven't left.
If you come from outside Europe, your entry is recorded where you enter the Schengen area, for example at Nice airport if you fly in from outside the area. Since the Entry/Exit System became fully operational in April 2026, that record is electronic. Monaco's embassy in the UK says the EES doesn't affect Monaco's own citizens and residents. For a visitor, the clock that started at the French border keeps running while you're in Monaco, and stops only when you leave the Schengen area.
How a Monaco trip shows up in MyTravelStatus
- In the calculator: choose Monaco as the country and every day of the trip counts, the same as France.
- On your Trips page: a Monaco trip is labeled "Counts toward 90/180".
- On the calendar: each Monaco day is marked as counting.
- Overlaps don't double count. If you enter a stay in Nice and a day trip to Monaco inside it, each date counts once. A day is either inside the area or it isn't; being in two counting places that day doesn't use two days.
You don't have to enter a Monaco day trip at all if it falls inside a French stay: those days already count. Enter it if you want the record to be accurate, for example for your own evidence of where you were.
A worked example
The common mistake is to plan a stay in Monaco as a way to rest your Schengen allowance. Here is what actually happens.
- You were in Italy from 1 March to 19 May 2026. That is 80 days, all inside the same 180-day window.
- On 25 May 2026 you plan twelve days in Monaco, from 1 to 12 June 2026, hoping they won't count.
- They do count. 1 June is day 81, and 10 June is day 90.
- 11 June would be day 91. The trip would end 2 days over the limit.
The longest stay that fits from 1 June is 10 days, ending on 10 June. A twelve-day stay first fits from 18 August 2026, once enough of the Italy days have left the window.
Swap Monaco for Nice in this example and every number stays the same. That is the easiest way to think about it.
What to do
- Count Monaco days the same as French days when you plan.
- Keep your arrival and departure records for the Schengen border you actually crossed, such as your flight into Nice. Those are the records the border guards and the EES rely on.
- If you're close to the limit, ask where you can go that doesn't count. The UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Andorra don't count toward the Schengen 90. See does Andorra count? for the nearest one.
Check your own dates
Put your trips into the free Schengen calculator, with Monaco as the country for your Monaco days, and it will tell you how many days you have used and how many are left. To keep your trips and get a warning before you run out, create a free account. For the rule itself, read the 90/180 rule, explained.
Not legal advice. This guide explains the published rules as we understand them on the date above. Rules and how they're applied change, and border officers make the final decision. Check the official sources below, and get professional advice for your own situation.
Try it with your dates
Enter your trips in the free calculator: no sign-up, and nothing is saved. Or create a free account to keep your trips and get an email before you run short.
Sources
Official sources
- GOV.UK: Monaco travel advice, entry requirements (opens in a new tab)
- Embassy of Monaco in France: visiting Monaco (opens in a new tab)
- Embassy of Monaco in the UK: the European Entry/Exit System (EES) (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Canada: Monaco travel advice (France handles immigration for Monaco) (opens in a new tab)
Keep reading
More guides
Microstates, Cyprus, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania: the edge cases
Which places count toward your Schengen 90 days and which don't: Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican, Andorra, Cyprus, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania.
Does Andorra count toward the Schengen 90 days?
No. Andorra is outside Schengen, so days there don't count, but the days you cross do. Border checks, the EES, and a worked example with real dates.
Does Cyprus count toward the Schengen 90 days?
No. Cyprus is in the EU but not in Schengen, so its days don't count. It has its own 90-day limit, which we count separately. A worked example.
Does Ireland count toward the Schengen 90 days?
No. Ireland is in the EU but outside Schengen, so days there don't count. Its own visitor rules, the Common Travel Area with the UK, and an example.
The Schengen 90/180 rule, explained
What the Schengen 90/180 rule says, who it applies to, which countries share the count, and the mistakes that catch visitors out.