Originally Posted by
KARFA
indeed and that is the farce of the current system which relies on counting stamps - my previous passport became rapidly full of schengen stamps such that i had to get a new one late last year despite having 5 years remaining. now i present a virtually empty passport and no one has a clue how many days in the last 180 i have spent in schengen. as bisonrav noted earlier, it is an archaic way of working. EES has been delayed so many times i can't see how anyone has any confidence of implementation in 2025/26.
i can also recommend getting an app to monitor your days within shchegen. as well as being useful for the user - if there are questions it is a useful thing to produce to show the immigration officer that you are within your limit.
Only 5 years early? Pah! One of my friends who I often travel with had to renew his after only 3 years IIRC... He was constantly cursing the inefficient stamp placement by certain countries' border officers.
And yes, he has a spreadsheet to keep track of the 90/180 day rule. No idea how that worked in the first 180 days of Bulgaria and Romania being in Schengen, mind you.