The EU’s Entry/Exit System is meant to digitise Schengen border checks, but reported missing departure records are putting some British travellers at risk of being treated as overstayers. That is an unacceptable reversal of responsibility: a traveller should not face a fine or exclusion because a border system failed to record their exit.
The Guardian reports that EES, which replaced passport stamps with biometric records at Schengen borders, has incorrectly shown some Britons as having used their 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. The practical consequence is immediate. A record that does not show a departure can make a lawful traveller appear to have remained in the EU.
Author Jojo Moyes said she had spent 23 days in the EU over six months, but found that her May departure from Portugal had not been logged. She said a senior French border officer warned her not to try to re-enter until the record was corrected, citing a possible €10,000 fine and two-year ban. Her account is a reported individual case, not evidence that every British traveller faces the same problem.
The UK Foreign Office said it knew of reports of incomplete and inaccurate EES records affecting British nationals and was raising the matter with the European Commission. It advised travellers to retain evidence of their last EU departure and to raise discrepancies with border officials. The Guardian also reports that travellers can check their remaining allowance through the EES website and seek a correction through the data-protection contact route for the last country visited.
Those steps may help, but they do not solve the central flaw. A correction route that is hard to navigate, slow to answer or dependent on hiring a lawyer leaves the burden with the wrong party. The EU and national authorities need a traceable, timely process that lets travellers resolve an erroneous record before they reach a border. Until then, digitising the 90-day rule risks making compliance depend on a database travellers cannot control.
Sources
- The Guardian · UK · Source date: 2026-11-10
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-10