Track90 FLEET
Which countries count towards a UK driver's 90/180 limit
A transport office cannot run a 90/180 count until it knows which countries sit inside the Schengen Area. A day in France counts. A day in Ireland does not. Since 15 July 2026, time in Gibraltar counts alongside Schengen time for British nationals on a short stay. This post sets out the official lists as they stood on 11 November 2026.
Key takeaways
- The European Commission says the Schengen Area is composed of 29 countries, 25 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries.
- GOV.UK and the Commission both list the same 29 countries, including Bulgaria and Romania, which the Commission says joined on 1 January 2025.
- Ireland is an EU country that has opted out of applying the Schengen border rules. Time in Ireland does not count towards the Schengen 90/180 limit.
- Cyprus is an EU country that participates in Schengen cooperation, but the Commission says internal border controls have not yet been abolished. GOV.UK says Cyprus has its own 90 days in 180 days, and that time in the Schengen Area does not affect that Cyprus allowance.
- From 15 July 2026, GOV.UK says any time a British national spends in Gibraltar counts alongside time spent in the Schengen Area towards the 90-day limit in any 180-day period.
- Temporary checks at some internal Schengen borders do not take a driver out of the Area. Crossing from France into Germany is still movement inside Schengen.
The official list of 29 Schengen countries
On 11 November 2026, GOV.UK lists the countries in the Schengen Area as:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The European Commission's Schengen area page, updated 27 May 2025, gives the same picture: 29 countries, 25 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries, namely Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Bulgaria and Romania were the last to join, on 1 January 2025.
For a UK driver's short-stay count, a day in any of those 29 countries counts towards the same 90 days. GOV.UK is explicit: it does not matter how many of those countries the person visits.
The official EU Entry/Exit System pages use the same 29-country list for the countries that use EES.
Ireland
Ireland is a member of the European Union and is not in the Schengen Area. The Commission says Ireland is allowed, under the Schengen Protocol, not to apply the Schengen rules, and that it continues to enforce its own visa and border policies.
GOV.UK says the 90/180 short-stay rules on its travelling to the EU and Schengen area page do not apply to travelling and working in Ireland. The official EES pages also say that in Ireland passports will still be stamped manually.
For a UK fleet, this means a driver who spends days in Ireland is not using Schengen days on that part of the journey. The office should still check Ireland's own entry and work rules.
Cyprus
The Commission says Cyprus participates in Schengen cooperation, but internal border controls have not yet been abolished by the Council, and the integration process is underway.
GOV.UK treats Cyprus as being outside the Schengen Area for the 90/180 count. You can stay up to 90 days in a 180-day period in Cyprus without a visa. Any time you spend in the Schengen Area does not affect the number of days you can spend in Cyprus. The official EES pages say that in Cyprus, passports will still be stamped manually.
A driver who works both in Cyprus and in Schengen countries therefore has two separate short-stay counts. The office should record them separately, and should not fold Cyprus days into the Schengen 90.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory. It does not appear on GOV.UK's list of 29 Schengen countries. The entry rules for short-stay visitors have, however, changed.
GOV.UK's Gibraltar travel advice, still current on 11 November 2026 and updated on 14 July 2026, says that from 15 July 2026 the agreement between the UK and the EU in respect of Gibraltar applies provisionally. Gibraltar's entry conditions for short-stay visitors formally align with Schengen requirements. British nationals do not need a visa to enter Gibraltar for up to 90 days, for tourism, business or study, in any 180-day period. GOV.UK then states: any time you spend in Gibraltar will count alongside time spent in the Schengen Area towards this limit.
GOV.UK's Spain travel advice says that, from 15 July 2026, there are no longer entry and exit check booths at the land border for travellers between Gibraltar and Spain. Once a traveller has cleared the checks at Joshua Hassan Gibraltar International Airport, including Gibraltar immigration and Schengen immigration by the Spanish authorities, and EES registration where it applies, they can move freely across the land border into Spain and the wider Schengen Area.
From 15 July 2026, a day that a British driver who is not a Gibraltar resident spends in Gibraltar should be added to the same 90-day count as days in Spain, France or any other Schengen country. If earlier records treated Gibraltar time as time outside Schengen, those records need a review from that date.
GOV.UK says dual British and Irish nationals who travel on an Irish passport are treated as EU citizens on entry to Gibraltar and the Schengen Area, and are not subject to the 90-day limits, EES or ETIAS. The conditions above apply if they travel on a British passport.
Temporary internal border checks
The Commission notes that Schengen countries may temporarily reintroduce internal border controls as a last resort, and must inform the Council, the European Parliament, the Commission and the public. Those checks can add delay, but a driver who is checked between two Schengen countries remains inside the Area, and the 90/180 count keeps running.
Practical checklist
- Use the official 29-country list from GOV.UK or the European Commission, and date the copy you rely on.
- Count a day in any of those 29 countries towards the same 90-day total.
- Keep Ireland outside the Schengen count, and check Ireland's own rules separately.
- Keep a separate 90/180 count for Cyprus, in line with current GOV.UK guidance.
- From 15 July 2026, add Gibraltar days for British short-stay visitors to the same total as Schengen days, following GOV.UK's Gibraltar entry requirements.
- Do not treat an internal Schengen passport check as an exit from the Area.
How Track90 FLEET can help
Track90 FLEET lets a transport office record the countries on each driver's trips and see a rolling day count across the Schengen Area. You can start a 7-day free trial for up to 5 drivers, with no credit card, from the pricing page. A company record helps you plan routes and keep evidence, and it cannot guarantee entry at the border.
Sources
Facts in this post were checked on 11 November 2026 against the official pages below. Rules can change, so check the live pages.