Schengen entry rules for a UK resident with EU-citizen spouse

Question

I'm trying to get some clear information on what category I fall under with regards entering the Schengen Area, since the immigration offices I've called have not been very helpful.

I am a Brazilian national (Brazilian passport), married to an Italian woman and living in the UK. I have a UK residence card that says "Family member - EU residence" on the front and under remarks on the back "EU right to reside".

In the past year, I've been traveling alone to the EU quite a bit for personal reasons (mostly The Netherlands). I show my passport at border control, answer a couple questions and get the entry stamp. I've recently realized I might be bumping against the 90 day rule limit and don't want to risk an overstay.

So my questions are:

• Does the 90 day rule apply to me (when I travel alone), given the 2 documents I possess are a Brazilian passport and a UK residence card?

• How exactly is the rule applied? Based on my understanding of the rule, the calculator at https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm is incorrect, since it only factors in the last 90 days. Edit: this is the calculation I think is incorrect (for planning) https://ibb.co/mv4JG35

Answer 1

Does the 90 day rule apply to me (when I travel alone), given the 2 documents I possess are a Brazilian passport and a UK residence card?

Yes. You are exempt from the 90-day rule when you travel with (or to join) your Italian spouse. Otherwise, you are supposed to comply with it.

How exactly is the rule applied? Based on my understanding of the rule, the calculator at https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm is incorrect, since it only factors in the last 90 days. Edit: this is the calculation I think is incorrect (for planning) https://ibb.co/mv4JG35

The calculator is definitely correct, but it does not apply to you because you are Brazilian. If you read the user guide, you'll find this:

Please note that the change [effective October 18, 2013] does not apply to the visa waiver agreements concluded between the EU and Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mauritius, and Seychelles where the old definition ("3 months during a 6 months period following the date of first entry") continues to apply. For citizens of these 7 third countries the calculator is not recommended to be used.

For you, it works like this: The first time you enter the Schengen area, a 180-day period starts within which you may stay up to 90 days. If you are in the Schengen area 181 days later, a new 180-day period starts on that day. Otherwise, a new 180-day period starts when you next enter the Schengen area.

(The reason the calculator results can be confusing is that some days of presence that are less than 180 days before you enter will nonetheless be more than 180 days old before you get to the 90-day limit. For example, only the last one of those three days from 31 December to 2 January counts toward your total days of presence when you enter on 29 June, but on the next day it no longer does because it is 180 days old -- in a leap year, the 180-day period that ends on 30 June begins on 3 January. But as noted above, you don't need to worry about that.)