Counting windows explained
Every rule counts days over some window of time — and the window shape is where rules differ most. Reset dates, rolling spans, weighted years: get the window wrong and the count is meaningless. Bounded implements each shape exactly, and every preset ships with the right one.
Rolling window
X days in the last Y days, measured back from today — the window moves forward every midnight, which is why these rules are so easy to miscalculate by hand. Days used near the start of the window “free up” as it slides past them. The classic example is Schengen’s 90 in 180.
Calendar year
X days per calendar year, resetting on January 1 — the shape of most 183-day tax-residency rules. On New Year’s Day the count starts from zero.
Tax year
Like a calendar year but with a country-specific start date — the UK tax year begins April 6, Australia’s July 1. The counter card shows the span, e.g. 12 / 90 in tax year 2026/27.
Per visit
A cap on each continuous stay, resetting when you leave — visa-free limits like US ESTA (90 days per visit) or the UK Visitor rule. Some rules stack a rolling or yearly cap on top: Schengen combines a 90-day visit cap with the 90/180 rolling budget, and India’s tourist visa adds a 180-day calendar-year aggregate. The card shows both: X / Y days this visit · A/B total.
Dual rolling windows
Two rolling caps evaluated together, exceeded if either trips — the shape of UK Naturalisation’s absence rule (at most 450 days away in 5 years and at most 90 days away in the final 12 months). The card shows two labeled bars:
Weighted years
A multi-year formula where past years count fractionally — the US Substantial Presence Test: all of this year’s days, plus a third of last year’s, plus a sixth of the year before, against 183.
Consecutive absence
The longest unbroken run of days away — the shape of residency-maintenance rules like the US Green Card’s 180-day absence concern. One qualifying return home resets the run. See absence counters.
Fixed window
Days within two fixed dates — a single-entry visa’s validity period, where both the day budget and the window come stamped by a consulate.
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