Author Jojo Moyes is among UK travellers who say their EU trips have not been properly recorded by the digital entry and exit system (EES); she told Which? a French border official warned her not to re-enter until the issue was sorted, or face a two-year ban and €10,000 fine.
Moyes was detained by French border guards after a holiday and accused of overstaying, though she had spent only 23 days in the EU over six months. She discovered that her departure from Portugal after a trip in May had not been logged on the system. “The clock had been ticking ever since,” she told the consumer organisation Which? “The border control senior officer at Marseille warned me that I should not attempt to re-enter Europe until it is sorted out, or face a €10,000 fine and a two-year ban.”
The EES, which replaced passport stamps with biometrics recorded at border control in Schengen zone countries last year, has had a botched rollout. Over the summer, some countries suspended the system and resorted to manual passport checks due to technical glitches and staff shortages. On Monday, it emerged that the EU is suing three firms over the failures.
The problem affects passengers whose biometrics were collected on arrival but not on departure. In some cases, this means the system has not recorded that they left. The rolling 180-day window starts on entry to the EU, and since Brexit, those deemed to have remained for more than 90 days face deportation or fines of up to €10,000.
Jane Nolan and her husband discovered the EES wrongly showed them as having used up their 90-day travel allowance, preventing them from booking a trip to France. “We travelled to France in April by LeShuttle and spent 40 days there,” she said. “We have made no subsequent Schengen visits. We should have 50 days remaining, but the EU’s ‘check how long you can stay’ tool says: ‘Authorised stay: not OK,’ and zero remaining days. It does not show us which entry or exit record produced that result.” The couple’s passports were manually stamped on their return to the UK in June as French authorities had suspended the EES to prevent long queues.
In a case reported by the Telegraph, a UK holidaymaker was detained at the Italian border and deported under police guard after a system error suggested she had overstayed.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, described the situation as unacceptable. “This is one of the most serious in a long line of European border control failures,” he said. “The lack of care and accountability shown towards travellers, who risk being locked up and fines of thousands of pounds for rules they have not broken, is utterly indefensible.”
Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Travellers should not be penalised for failures in a system that is entirely outside their control. There needs to be greater accountability, alongside a straightforward process to challenge and correct inaccurate records.”
The Foreign Office said the problem was concerning. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports of inaccuracies in some EES records affecting British nationals, including incomplete records and the registration of some individuals who are exempt from EES. We are raising these issues as part of our engagement with the European Commission.”
Travellers can check how many days of their allowance they have left by entering their passport number on the EES website, which records all visits to the Schengen zone since 10 April 2026. If there is an unexpected shortfall, they can ask to have their record corrected before travelling by selecting the last country they visited on the Travel to Europe data protection page and contacting the relevant data controller.
Moyes said her efforts to do this have so far been in vain. “In the last two weeks, I’ve tried every possible avenue,” she said. “I have now engaged an immigration lawyer, but not everyone is lucky enough to be able to afford this remedy. I have no idea how much time they think I have spent in Europe, and no idea whether I am safe to travel.”
The European Commission has been contacted for a comment.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- UK travellers who have followed the rules risk fines, deportation and bans due to border system errors beyond their control
- The problems undermine the post-Brexit visa-free travel arrangement and raise concerns about accountability for the EU's digital border rollout
- Without a straightforward correction process, many travellers may be deterred from visiting Europe or face legal costs to clear their records
Background
The EU's digital entry and exit system (EES) launched last year, replacing passport stamps with biometric checks at Schengen zone borders. Since Brexit, UK nationals can spend 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area without a visa. The system has suffered technical glitches since its introduction, leading some countries to temporarily suspend it and resort to manual checks. The EU is now suing three firms over the failures.
Key Perspectives
- Jojo Moyes: Has spent 23 days in the EU over six months but was accused of overstaying; has engaged an immigration lawyer after her efforts to correct the record failed
- Rory Boland (Which? Travel): Calls the situation unacceptable, saying the lack of care for travellers who risk fines and detention for rules they have not broken is indefensible
- Julia Lo Bue-Said (Advantage Travel Partnership): Says travellers should not be penalised for failures in a system outside their control, and there needs to be greater accountability and a straightforward correction process
- Foreign Office: Is aware of inaccuracies in some EES records and is raising the issues with the European Commission; advises travellers to carry evidence of departure and raise anomalies with border officials
What to Watch
- Whether the EU's lawsuit against three firms leads to system fixes or compensation for affected travellers
- Whether the European Commission responds to the Foreign Office's engagement with a plan to correct records and prevent future errors
- How many more UK travellers will be affected as the summer holiday season approaches, and whether countries will continue to suspend the EES in response to glitches
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedEU border glitches put some UK travellers at risk of bans and fines.UK news | The Guardian: “However, the botched rollout has led to some Britons being denied their post-Brexit right to spend 90 days out of 180 in Europe because the system falsely states they have used up their allowance.”
- SupportedMoyes is among UK travellers who say the EES has not properly recorded their EU trips, and a French border official warned her not to re-enter until the issue was sorted or she could face a €10,000 fine and a two-year ban.UK news | The Guardian: ““The border control senior officer at Marseille warned me that I should not attempt to re-enter Europe until it is sorted out, or face a €10,000 fine and a two-year ban.””
- SupportedMoyes was detained by French border guards and accused of overstaying despite spending only 23 days in the EU over six months.UK news | The Guardian: “Moyes, a bestselling novelist, was detained by French border guards after a holiday and accused of overstaying. She had spent only 23 days in the EU over six months.”
- SupportedMoyes discovered that her departure from Portugal after a May trip had not been logged.UK news | The Guardian: “She discovered that her departure from Portugal after a trip in May had not been logged on the system.”
- SupportedJane Nolan and her husband were shown as having no days remaining by the EU tool, which did not identify the entry or exit record behind the result.UK news | The Guardian: ““We should have 50 days remaining, but the EU’s ‘check how long you can stay’ tool says: ‘Authorised stay: not OK,’ and zero remaining days. It does not show us which entry or exit record produced that result.””
- SupportedThe EU is suing three firms over the EES failures.UK news | The Guardian: “On Monday, it emerged that the EU is suing three firms over the failures.”
- SupportedOver the summer, some countries suspended the EES and used manual passport checks because of technical glitches and staff shortages.UK news | The Guardian: “Over the summer, some countries suspended the EES and resorted to manual passport checks due to technical glitches and staff shortages.”
- SupportedA UK holidaymaker was detained at the Italian border and deported under police guard after a system error suggested she had overstayed.UK news | The Guardian: “In a case reported by the Telegraph a holidaymaker from the UK was detained at the Italian border and deported under police guard after a system error suggested she had overstayed in the EU.”
- SupportedRory Boland called the situation unacceptable and described the failures as among the most serious in a long line of European border control failures; he said travellers risk being locked up and fined for rules they have not broken.UK news | The Guardian: ““This is one of the most serious in a long line of European border control failures,” he said. “The lack of care and accountability shown towards travellers, who risk being locked up and fines of thousands of pounds for rules they have not broken, is utterly indefensible.””
- SupportedJulia Lo Bue-Said said travellers should not be penalised for failures outside their control and called for accountability and a process to correct inaccurate records.UK news | The Guardian: ““Travellers should not be penalised for failures in a system that is entirely outside their control. There needs to be greater accountability, alongside a straightforward process to challenge and correct inaccurate records.””
- SupportedThe Foreign Office said it was aware of reports of inaccurate EES records affecting British nationals, including incomplete records and the registration of some people exempt from EES, and was raising the issues with the European Commission.UK news | The Guardian: ““We are aware of reports of inaccuracies in some EES records affecting British nationals, including incomplete records and the registration of some individuals who are exempt from EES. We are raising these issues as part of our engagement with the European Commission.””
- SupportedMoyes said she had tried every possible avenue in the last two weeks, engaged an immigration lawyer, and did not know whether she was safe to travel.UK news | The Guardian: ““In the last two weeks, I’ve tried every possible avenue,” she said. “I have now engaged an immigration lawyer, but not everyone is lucky enough to be able to afford this remedy. I have no idea how much time they think I have spent in Europe, and no idea whether I am safe to travel.””