Visa-free travel

Allowed period of stay

In the case of foreigners traveling in visa-free travel on general terms, the permitted period of stay under the visa-free regime is 90 days of stay during each 180-day period of stay.

The extension of the stay under the visa-free regime is possible only in the case of bilateral agreements signed by the Republic of Poland and notified by the Republic of Poland to the European Commission – a list of Member States’ bilateral visa waiver agreements with third countries allowing for an extension of the period of stay in accordance with Article 20(2), point (b) of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement (Journal of Laws EU of 8.4.2019, C130/17).

In the case of national derogations concerning visa-free stays of special categories of third-country nationals, the period of legal stay in visa-free travel may be less than 90 days.

Method of calculating the period of stay (90 days in every 180 days)

The legality of visa-free stay is determined by taking each 180-day period (180 consecutive days, e.g. from 1 March to 27 August, 20 June to 16 December, 15 August to 10 February) and checking whether the foreigner was staying on a given day in the territory of one of the Member States (including the day of entry and exit).

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Example:

• On June 15, a foreigner wants to check when they must leave the Schengen area. The foreigner stayed on the territory of various Schengen states from 12 March to 27 April; on the territory of Iceland from 5 to 13 May; on the territory of Ireland from 13 to 20 May; on the territory of Cyprus from 20 May to 5 June and on the territory of Germany from 5 June.

  Period of stay = 47 (12.03 to 27.04) + 9 (5 to 13.05) + 27 (from 20.03) = 83 days, as Ireland is not considered when examining the period of stay, but Iceland (a country belonging to the Schengen area) and Cyprus (an EU member state that is obliged to apply the Schengen acquis) are taken into account. The foreigner must therefore leave the territory of the Member States by 22 June.

• The same foreigner left on June 19 and is planning a 14-day holiday in Malta. They wonder when they will be able to start this holiday. Due to the fact that they stayed 87 days on the territory of the Member States in the period starting on March 12, they will be able to come for a 14-day holiday on September 5 at the earliest: the 180-day period ends on September 7, and 3 days of allowed stay remain.

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Combining the period of permitted stay with long-term stay

The period of stay based on a long-stay national visa or residence titles issued by a Member State or title shall not be counted towards the period of authorised stay under the visa-free regime.

Nationals of countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 may, as a rule, stay for 90 days in a further 180 days after the expiry of the validity of the long-term national visa or residence title; or after the expiry of the period of authorised stay indicated in the long-term national visa.