“No clear information was given about this ahead of the vote. People who voted for Brexit just didn’t know exactly how the new rules would impact them travel-wise.”“The 180 days are calculated on a rolling period, meaning you must count backward from your entry or exit date in the Schengen area. So count back 180 days and see how many of those days you’ve spent in the Schengen zone; if you’re over 90 days, you’ve breached the rule and have overstayed,” says Mr Taylor.
To make it easier, Mr Taylor uses a simple excel spreadsheet to plan holidays in advance for a whole year or more, “as days drop off from counting”. He recommends other Britons use one, try an online calendar with alerts or even one of the online “Mr Taylor’s homes in Cianciana, Sicily, left, and Alicante, Spain
Even though he admits the new rules “have put a dampener” on his travel plans, not being able to hop around Europe as he would like to, he has learnt to cope with them and has never been fined for overstays. Britons with holiday homes in Europe are having to use online calaculators to work out how long they can stay, or face hefty fines