The European Union’s new electronic entry and exit system (EES), introduced last year to replace passport stamps with biometric checks, has caused serious problems for travelers from the United Kingdom. Technical failures have led to incorrect records of arrivals and departures, leaving some Britons mistakenly flagged as having exceeded the 90‑day limit allowed for non‑citizens in the Schengen area.
Author Jojo Moyes, best known for her bestselling novels, is one of the high‑profile cases. After a holiday in Portugal, her departure was not logged by the system. When she returned to France, border guards accused her of overstaying. Moyes had spent only 23 days in the EU over a six‑month period, yet the EES recorded her as having used up her allowance. The French officer warned her that re‑entry could result in a €10,000 fine and a two‑year travel ban.
Similar issues have affected other travelers. Jane Nolan and her husband discovered that the system had incorrectly shown them as having used all 90 days of their stay, preventing them from booking a trip to France. They had actually spent 40 days in April and should have had 50 days remaining.
During the summer, several Schengen states temporarily suspended the EES and reverted to manual passport checks because of the glitches and staff shortages. The EU has now taken legal action against IBM and two other European firms, alleging that the failures in the system caused the misrecording of travel data.
Under the post‑Brexit rules, any traveler who is deemed to have stayed in the Schengen zone for more than 90 days within a 180‑day period faces potential deportation or fines up to €10,000. The EES is intended to automate this calculation, but the current technical problems have turned it into a source of uncertainty for many visitors.
Source: The Guardian World
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