SINCE the introduction of EES, there have been reports of huge delays, missed flights – and now a new problem has arisen.
It appears that Brits aren’t being correctly recorded as leaving the Schengen Area, meaning they could be banned from entering the EU again and face a hefty fine.
The UK Foreign Office has altered its advice to Brits asking them to carry evidence of when they last left the EU, to avoid being wrongly refused entry.
Brits travelling from the UK to Europe can spend 90 days out of every 180 in the EU – staying over this limit will mean both refusal of entry and a fine.
In some cases a fine can be as much as £8,550.
Before the introduction of EES, Brits would be stamped in and out by officials at passport control.
Now Brits are being electronically recorded as leaving – but in some cases where EES has been suspended due to long queues, they aren’t.
Without being officially noted as returning home, the clock continues to count down which could cause problems when attempting to re-enter the EU.
Advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) reads: “If you believe you have been incorrectly entered into EES or your record of time spent in the Schengen area is incorrect, approach border officials when you next cross the Schengen border and request a correction.
“If you are exempt, carry documentation confirming your status. If you believe your time spent in the Schengen area has been recorded incorrectly, raise this with border officials and be prepared to provide supporting evidence if requested.”
It doesn’t explain what ‘evidence’ is needed but it’s likely to be confirmation of flights out of the country.
Some Brits who have either not been stamped out physically, or electronically by EES have revealed their issues in returning to the Schengen Area.
Talking to Sun Travel, one woman revealed how she got stuck entering Finland after a trip to Rome.
She explained: “I was stopped at the border in Finland last November by border control who said my record was showing I was still in Italy.
“While I had registered with EES going into Rome, it hadn’t recorded me leaving.”
She added: “After a lot of back and forth with border control officers and around 45-minutes of waiting, it was recognised as an error and I was let into the country.”
In another case, Martin Farrall told The Guardian, didn’t have his exit recorded for the Schengen zone.
Martin and his wife arrived by ferry at Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands.
He said that Dutch border officials enrolled them into EES, but that they had no entry stamp on their passports.
Then 55 days later when he returned to the UK via France, they were not given an exit stamp.
Back at home, Martin checked how many days he had left to travel through the Schengen – and it’s continuing to count down. Meanwhile his wife still has 90 days despite both having travelled the same route.
In another case, one passenger who had returned from Ibiza back in April had two entry stamps, but no exit stamps.
They told local media: “On my last two occasions visiting Ibiza on direct UK flights, my UK passport has not been exit-stamped by Spanish immigration authorities upon leaving Ibiza back to the UK.
“I now have two ‘un-closed’ Spanish visits in my UK passport, making a nonsense of the 90-day rule, and running the risk of me being accused of overstaying my rolling 90 days’ allowance. Which I haven’t.”
For more advice on travelling as a family and the new EES system, head here.