Long-stay visas and residence permits: which days count

The rule

Article 6(2) of the Schengen Borders Code says that periods of stay authorised under a residence permit or long-stay visa are not taken into account in the 90/180 count. That covers national long-stay visas (type D) and residence permits issued by a Schengen country.

In practice, that gives three rules of thumb:

1. Days in the country that issued it don't count, while the visa or permit is valid.
2. Days in other Schengen countries are a different matter. We still count them toward 90/180 (see below).
3. Days outside the validity dates count normally. Before it starts, and after it expires, you're a visitor again.

If you hold a French VLS-TS

A VLS-TS (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour) is a French long-stay visa that also acts as your residence permit while it's valid. Days you spend in France while it's valid don't use any of your 90. Follow the French instructions for validating it after you arrive, and keep the confirmation with your passport.

Days in other Schengen countries

Your French permit lets you live in France. When you visit Italy, Spain or Germany, you're generally treated as a short-stay visitor there, and the common reading is that those visits are limited to 90 days in any 180, just like any other visitor's. The details depend on the rules for traveling on a permit from another Schengen country, so check the official guidance of the country you're visiting if you plan long stays there.

Gaps, renewals and receipts

The most common trap is a gap in cover. If your permit expires before the new one starts, the days in between count as short-stay days, even in the country where you live. The same applies if you stay on after a permit ends.

While a renewal is being processed, you may be given a receipt (in France, a récépissé). What that receipt allows, including whether you can travel on it, depends on the country and on the document itself. Check with the office that issued it before you plan a trip, and keep it with your passport.

Why your own record matters more with a permit

The EU's Entry/Exit System records short-stay visitors. People with a residence permit or long-stay visa are outside it, and since passport stamping ended for visitors, a Schengen country only stamps permit holders' passports if its own law provides for it. So there may be no official record of your trips at all. If you ever need to show when you were away, for a permit renewal, a tax question or a border check, your own dated log and your travel documents are what you'll have. Our EES guide explains more.

Tracking it

Our free calculator doesn't know about permits, so leave out the days in the country that issued yours. With a free account, you can add your long-stay visa or permit with its dates, and we'll stop counting days in that country while it's valid and keep counting the rest.

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.