New to Denmark

The counting of the 90 days in any 180-day period must include stays in all Schengen countries, unless you have stayed in Denmark or in another Schengen country on the basis of a residence permit or long-stay visa (D visa).

The 90 days may be spread across one or more visits; depending on the number of entries you have been granted (1,2 or MULT).

If the visa has been issued for several entries of 90 days with a validity of between 1 and 5 years, the validity of the permitted stay is always 90 days per 180 days.

If you are a citizen of a country with no visa requirement to enter Denmark, you can also stay in the Schengen region for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period.

If you are a citizen from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mauritius and the Seychelles you can stay in a Schengen country for up to 90 days per 6 months, see below.

A visa is granted in the form of a visa sticker which is placed in your passport. The visa sticker indicates a period of validity which typically is longer than the number of days you are allowed to stay in Denmark or in other Schengen countries, for example 90 days. This gives you some flexibility with regards to when the visa is used. In other words, you cannot necessarily stay in Denmark for the entire period of validity.

Both the entire entry day and the entire exit day are counted in when calculating the number of days you may stay in the Schengen region – regardless of the time of day you enter or exit the country, since the days are counted from midnight to midnight. Both the day of entry and the day of exit must fall within the period of validity. It is always your own responsibility to be aware how long you are allowed to stay in Denmark.

How is the 90 days in any 180-day period calculated?

All the days were you stay in a Schengen country will count, which means that both the entry day and the exit day are included in the 90 days. The entry day to a Schengen country is the first day and the exit day is the last day of the stay.

You must at any given time only have a maximum of 90 days stay in the Schengen region in any 180-day period. This is in other words a ‘rolling’ calculation by which the period of 180 days prior to each day of the stay are taken into account.

It is important to remember that your stay must not last longer than 90 consecutive days.

Example 1: You are applying for a visa (or do not require a visa) and wish to enter on 26 March 2017. You have previously stayed in the Schengen Area from 23 January 2017 until 2 February 2017 (11 days) and then for 7 and 13 days. This totals 31 days within the past 180 days calculated from 26 March 2017. Starting on 26 March 2017, you can spend 59 days in the Schengen Area.

Example 2: You are applying for a visa (or do not require a visa) and wish to enter on 15 March 2017. You have previously stayed in the Schengen Area from 19 October 2016 until 19 November 2016 (32 days) and then from 1 December 2016 until 14 December 2016 (14 days). Starting on 15 March 2017, you can spend 90 days in the Schengen Area. The rules permit you to stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days, exit the Schengen Area for 90 days and then re-enter and spend another 90 days here.

A short-stay (visa) calculator in English has been created to provide an indication of the length of the stay – both for visa applications and to control whether a stay complies with the rules. The visa calculator can also be used for the calculation of a visa-free stay.

Open the short-stay (visa) calculator

Read user manual for the short-stay (visa) calculator (pdf)

If you have a visa that is valid for several entries for at least 180 days you can hand in an application for a new visa before the current visa expires.

If you are granted a new visa so it is an extension of the current visa. You can enter on the first visa and then exit on the other visa provided that the conditions for both the visas including the rule of the 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen region are observed.

If you have stayed in Denmark on procedural stay e.g. if you have submitted an application for a residence permit in Denmark on a valid visa stay or as a visa-free person and has been allowed to stay in Denmark while the application is being considered this must be included in the 90 days. This means that if you e.g. have stayed in Denmark for 90 days or more on a procedural stay and your application for a residence permit is refused you need to leave Denmark and the Schengen-countries and wait 90 days before you can re-enter into Denmark as a visa-free or on a visa.

The same rules apply if your stay has been extended, for example due to serious illness of the person you have visited.

Residence not included in the 90 day period

If you have stayed in Denmark or in another Schengen country holding a residence permit or on the basis of a long-stay visa limited to another Schengen country (D-visa) this stay is not included in the maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period that you are allowed to stay in Denmark or the other Schengen countries on a visa or as a visa-free.

Visa-free foreigners whose residence permit or long-stay visa (D visa) in Denmark has expired, been revoked, denied an extension or lapsed can immediately thereafter reside in Denmark for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days as visa-free.

Foreigners who require a visa, and have a residence permit or a long-stay visa (D visa) issued by Denmark, must exit Denmark when the permit expires, but are allowed to submit an application for a visa in another country. If the requirements are met a visa for up to 90 days will be granted, regardless of whether the applicant has resided in Denmark for 90 days within the last 180 days on a residence permit or a long-term visa (D visa).

A visa application should normally be handed in, in the country where you have your legal residence. Applications may be submitted in another country where you have a legal residence if you can justify why the application is not handed in, in your country of residence.

For citizens from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mauritius and the Seychelles the following rules apply:

The 6 months are counted from the first day you enter into the Schengen region. The ‘first entry’ is:

the very first entry into the Schengen region, and then
any subsequent entry into the Schengen region when there has been more than 6 months since the last entry.

This means that if you enter for the first time in Denmark or in the Schengen countries on 1 February 2017 you can stay in Denmark for 3 months (90 days) within the 6 months period up to 31 July 2017.

If you return to Denmark on 1 October 2017 – more than 6 months after the first entry into the Schengen region – this date will act as a new ‘first entry’. Therefore the 1 October 2017 will be decisive for the calculation of a new 6 month period, were you can stay in the country for up to 3 months.

If you re-enter on 1 June 2018 this date will act as the new ‘first entry’ and so on.

If you have a visa that is valid for multiple entries for at least 6 months you can submit an application for a new visa before the current visa expires. If you are granted a new visa it will be an extension of the current visa. You can therefore enter on the first visa and then exit on the other visa provided that the requirements for both the visas including the rule of the 90 days within the 180 days in Schengen region are observed.

If you have stayed in Denmark or in another Schengen country holding a residence permit or on the basis of a long-stay visa limited to another Schengen country (D-visa) this stay is not included in the maximum of 90 days within the 6 month period that you are allowed to stay in Denmark on a visa or as a visa-free.

Residence permits issued by another Schengen country

If you have been granted certain types of residence or re-entry permits in another Schengen country, you do not need a visa to enter Denmark.

See Guidelines on the Processing of Applications for Visas for Denmark

Visa (short term) – How long are you allowed to stay in Denmark and the other Schengen countries?

How is the 90 days in any 180-day period calculated?

Residence permits issued by another Schengen country