We’ve already covered plenty of stories about the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) causing delays at the border over the summer, with some countries easing checks to tackle queues.
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Now the UK-based consumer rights publication Which? is warning of another potential problem with the system: Travellers being incorrectly flagged as overstayers.
In case you missed it (those who subscribe to our weekly newsletter certainly won’t have), the EU began rolling out the EES in October 2025, becoming compulsory for 29 countries from 10 April this year.
Replacing passport stamps, the system digitally records entries and exits across all EU countries, excluding Cyprus and Ireland, as well as in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
It was introduced so that overstayers would be automatically detected. Non-EU citizens can stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
The problem is that some travellers are failing to have their exits recorded, meaning their days in the Schengen zone continue to rack up even after leaving.
As you won’t be directly contacted about your overstay, the issue is often discovered at the border, which is exactly what happened to British writer Jojo Moyes in October.
The Me Before You author had visited Portugal in May, and upon arrival in Marseille she discovered her exit had not been recorded. Officials warned her she could face a €10,000 fine and a two-year ban if she returns before it is fixed.
According to Which?, dozens of readers have been in touch with similar issues.
Euronews Travel has contacted the European Commission for comment.
As we explained in this piece about the “Schengen shuffle”, you can check how many days you have spent in the zone over the past 180 days on the EES website.
If you spot an error in the results – this could be an incorrect number of days, or the system may say it has ‘incomplete data’ – you will need to reach out to the Data Controller for the country in which you believe the error has occurred. The list of Data Controllers is available on the EES website.
In your email, you’ll need to include a passport scan and proof of your exit (i.e. a boarding pass for a flight, or a bus/train ticket) from the Schengen zone.