Schengen 90/180 rule
How long can you stay in Bulgaria?
You can spend up to 90 days in Bulgaria within any rolling 180-day period. The allowance is shared across all 29 Schengen countries, not granted per country, and both your arrival and departure days count as full days.
- Schengen rules since
- 2025
- EU member
- Yes
- Short-stay limit
- 90 days in any 180
- Both travel days
- Counted in full
Free calculator
Check the days you have left
Add your recent stays — in Bulgaria or anywhere else in the Schengen Area — and see exactly how many days remain and whether your next trip fits.
Open the Schengen calculatorWorth knowing about Bulgaria
Land borders only opened on 1 January 2025. Guides written before then still list Bulgaria as a place where your days do not count — they now do.
Bulgaria has applied the Schengen rules since 2025 and is a member of the European Union. Either way, the same rolling window applies: 90 days in any 180.
The mistake people make counting Bulgaria
Bulgaria was for years the cheap place to sit out the window. Since land borders opened on 1 January 2025 those days count — and anyone still following older advice is accumulating days they believe are free.
Crossing Bulgaria’s borders
Bulgaria shares land borders with Romania and Greece — all of them inside the Schengen Area. Those crossings are internal: no passport check, no record, and no change to your count. The only borders that register are the ones taking you out of the area entirely.
Staying in Bulgaria for longer than 90 days
Once the 90 days are gone, the short-stay route is finished until old days age out. Staying longer means applying for a national long-stay visa or residence permit from Bulgaria’s own authorities, which takes you out of the 90/180 count for that country. Both are national decisions, so check the current requirements with the relevant consulate before you plan around them.
Where to go when your days run out
Days only come back 180 days after you spend them, so an absence stops the count rising rather than clearing it. From Bulgaria, these are the realistic places to wait — all outside the Schengen Area, so none of their days touch your 90:
- Turkey — outside the Schengen Area, so your count pauses while you are there.
- Serbia — outside the Schengen Area, so your count pauses while you are there.
- North Macedonia — outside the Schengen Area, so your count pauses while you are there.
Check each destination’s own entry rules before you book, and see how to time a reset trip so the absence actually buys you days.
Bulgaria: common questions
How long can I stay in Bulgaria without a visa?
Up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period, provided your nationality is visa-exempt. That allowance is shared across all 29 Schengen countries, so days spent elsewhere in the area count against the same total.
Is Bulgaria in the Schengen Area?
Yes. Bulgaria has applied the Schengen rules since 2025 and is an EU member state. Days spent there count towards the 90-day limit.
Do days in neighbouring countries count separately?
No. Bulgaria shares land borders with Romania and Greece, and every one of those is inside the Schengen Area. Crossing between them is not an entry or an exit, so nothing is recorded and your single 90-day allowance keeps running.
Can I reset my 90 days by leaving Bulgaria?
No. Leaving does not reset anything — each day stops counting exactly 180 days after you spent it. Travelling to a non-Schengen country such as Turkey stops days accruing, but it does not give back the days you have already used.
RoamPin is a travel-day tracking and planning tool, not legal or immigration advice. Entry decisions rest with border authorities — always confirm your situation with official sources.