EES 'OK' or 'Not OK'? Stay Checker, Missing Passport Stamps and 90/180 Errors Explained (2026)

What 'OK' and 'Not OK' Mean in the EES Checker (Quick Answer)

'OK' or 'NOT OK' is the EU web service's answer about authorised short stay for the passport, dates and destination you enter. It is not a visa or entry decision: every result carries the EU disclaimer that the answer "cannot be interpreted as a decision to grant or refuse entry to the Schengen Area".

Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1409, Article 15, there are only three replies: 'OK' with remaining days, 'NOT OK' with 0 days, or 'Not available'. 'NOT OK' is required when a visa-required traveller has no valid visa on record (none issued, expired, revoked or annulled, or a limited-territorial-validity visa that does not cover the destination) or when the authorised days are used up.

The tool reads a separate read-only database, not the live border system, and visa data from the Visa Information System (VIS) reach it at least daily. With no entries recorded, remaining days are capped by the visa's expiry date, so in our reading they are not the stay printed on your visa.

We recommend not booking non-refundable travel on an 'OK', and a 'NOT OK' is no reason to panic: the visa in your passport is the decision. Rules are as of October 2026; check travel-europe.europa.eu before travelling.

How the EES Stay Calculator Counts 90 Days in 180

The official "Check how long you can stay" tool asks for your travel document type and number with the issuing country's three-letter code, the destination and, optionally, entry and exit dates, which EU rules default to Central European Time (CET). Without an entry date it uses today; results may vary with actual travel dates.

The count follows the Schengen Borders Code:

• no more than 90 days in any 180, looking back 180 days from each day of stay;
• entry and exit days both count;
• one single period across all EES countries, not per country;
• time on a residence permit or D visa does not count;
• the tool's figure ignores stays that began before 10 April 2026.

If a visa allows fewer than 90 days, the EES records the entries and duration shown on the sticker at first entry, and the Commission's separate manual calculator tells such holders to go by the sticker.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, travellers are puzzled by time zones (00:30 in Bulgaria is 23:30 CET) and by unexplained counts, such as 89 days left at entry but 75 at exit after an eight-day trip. We found no official EET-versus-CET rule; we suggest a day's margin and querying odd figures with a border officer or the authorities below.

Why the Checker Can Show 'Not OK' After a Visa Is Issued

The EU has published no statement linking the checker to visa applications, and no timings. Under Article 15 of Implementing Regulation 2022/1409, 'NOT OK' is the required answer while no valid visa is on record, and once an issued visa reaches the tool's database in the daily extract, 'OK' can follow. Applying this to pending applications is our reading, not an EU statement.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, the checker turned 'OK' one to five days before passports came back for Bulgarian, Czech, Swiss and French visas. Yet a two-year Netherlands visa and a six-month German business visa arrived while it still showed 'Not OK', and in one French family application the wife saw 'NOT OK', her husband 'OK', and both got visas.

Our own checklist of likely causes, based on the reply rules (the EU has not explained individual cases):

• dates entered outside the visa's validity;
• a destination outside a limited-territorial-validity visa;
• a passport number or issuing code that differs from the record;
• a daily extract that has not run yet (check again the next day).

The tool is built to check remaining stay, not visa validity, so we do not recommend probing dates to work it out.

Another message reads: "Your remaining authorised stay cannot currently be calculated due to temporary incomplete data in the Entry/Exit System." No EU page explains the trigger. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, it appeared after exits via Italy, including Milan Malpensa.

If a result persists, the EU directs questions to the authorities of your last Schengen entry or exit country (or, with no visit since 10 April 2026, the one you plan to visit), listed on its "Contact details for data protection matters" page.

No Passport Stamps - Proving Your Past Trips

Since 10 April 2026, manual stamping has been abolished in EES countries. Stamps still appear in three main cases:

• Cyprus and Ireland, EU countries outside the EES;
• a technical fall-back when data cannot be recorded electronically, with the data entered in the EES later;
• a national option, where national law provides, to stamp holders of the country's own residence permits or D visas.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, a Dubai-based Philippine traveller on a Swiss visa got no stamp at Milan Malpensa and worries about proving the trip. The week's most-discussed thread concerned a note with a six-month Swiss visa, read by the holder as asking for proof of previous travel; we have not seen it, and it is one applicant's account, not Swiss policy.

Under Article 12 of the Schengen Borders Code, authorities may presume an overstay when there is no EES file or no exit recorded after the authorised stay ended. Article 12(3) lets the traveller rebut this "by any means" with credible evidence, such as transport tickets or proof of presence outside the Schengen area. We suggest keeping boarding passes, e-tickets, hotel invoices and card statements for every trip.

Consulates see your EES history: visa authorities consult the EES under Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, and Article 21(4) of the Visa Code has them check previous stays. Under the Visa Code "cascade", longer multiple-entry visas depend on earlier visas being "obtained and lawfully used", and we found no official guidance on how lawful use is assessed without stamps.

Visarun can help prepare your next application and organise proof of past trips; decisions stay with the consulate, and no outcome is guaranteed.

Wrong or Incomplete EES Records - How to Get Them Corrected

The Dutch Royal Marechaussee warns of EES glitches: duplicate files, missing entries or exits and data differing from actual travel, which may cause eGate problems, wrong 90/180 counts and incorrect checker results.

You can ask for access to your EES data (also the way to get a copy of your record), correction of inaccurate or incomplete data and erasure of unlawfully processed data. Under Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226:

• any EES country's competent authority can receive the request and replies within 45 days;
• if it did not enter the data, it checks within 30 days or forwards the case to the responsible country within 7 days, which then has 30 days;
• a correction is confirmed in writing, and a refusal comes as a written decision explaining how to challenge it;
• Article 54 allows a complaint or court action in that country, including when no reply arrives in time.

In practice, we suggest writing to the data controller of the country where you last entered or exited, or where the faulty record was created. The EU page "Contact details for data protection matters", updated 12 October 2026, lists them for all 29 EES countries (for Italy, the Ministry of the Interior, Department of Public Security). The Marechaussee's guidance lists a passport copy plus boarding passes, tickets or other proof of actual travel, and warns that the full 45 days may be used.

A wrong overstay flag matters most, because overstayers go onto a list seen by border, immigration and visa staff. Under Article 35(5), the data must be removed and corrected where the traveller gives evidence of unforeseeable serious events, a legal right to stay, or "in case of errors".

D-Visa and Residence Permit Holders at EES Kiosks

The EES does not apply to holders of residence permits and long-stay (D) visas, under Article 2(3)(c) and (e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/2226. The European Commission confirmed on 27 July 2026 that their checks stay as before: passport plus D visa or permit, no fingerprints or facial scans. Permits and D visas issued by Cyprus or Ireland do not exempt the holder, and D-visa days do not count towards 90/180.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, D-visa holders entering Austria got no stamp, which fits the rules, while a student on an Italian Type D visa was sent into the EES booth at Fiumicino despite mentioning it. Kiosks, where available, need a biometric passport, and an officer still decides on entry.

Our reading, as no EU text covers this case directly: we suggest showing the D visa or permit to the officer, since Article 12(2) of the Schengen Borders Code rules out the overstay presumption for anyone with credible evidence of one, and, if a short-stay record was created anyway, asking that country's data controller to erase or correct it under Article 52.

Recent Changes (2025-2026)

• 12 October 2025: progressive start of the EES.
• 10 April 2026: full operation, replacing passport stamps; by then, according to eu-LISA, the EES ran at more than 1,800 external border crossing points.
• Until 6 October 2026, by our count: a 180-day transitional period when border guards also checked stamps.
• Early September 2026, by our count: the legal power to partially suspend the EES for up to six hours expired; a media report in August 2026 put the end at 6 September, and we found no official extension.
• As of 14 October 2026, the checker still warns that until 6 October 2026 'OK' may be unreliable for single- or double-entry visa holders who used an entry between 12 October 2025 and 9 April 2026. The date has passed without an update, and the EU has not said 'OK' is now reliable for everyone.
• Rollout-period records may be incomplete, and EU law tells authorities to take that into account.

Check travel-europe.europa.eu for updates before travelling.

FAQ

Does 'OK' in the EES checker mean my visa is ready?

Not necessarily. The EU says the answer is not an entry decision and says nothing about visa applications; the passport sticker is what counts.

Can I book flights once the checker shows 'OK'?

We recommend waiting until the passport with the visa is back before paying for anything non-refundable.

I have a new passport. Which one do I enter?

EU rules require the tool to say that the document entered has to be one used for previous stays. We did not find that wording on the live page in October 2026.

Can a border officer tell me my remaining days?

Yes. The EU says you can ask passport control officers at external borders how many days you have left.

Do airlines see the same answer?

Carriers use a separate EES check of unused entries on single- or double-entry visas. EU law says that answer is not an entry decision either.

How long does the EES keep my records?

Entry, exit and refusal records for 3 years; your file for 3 years and 1 day after your last exit; 5 years from the end of the authorised stay if no exit is recorded.

Do I need ETIAS yet?

No. As of 14 October 2026, ETIAS is not in operation; the EU will announce the start date several months ahead.

What is the Travel to Europe app?

An optional app for biometric passports that currently works only when entering Sweden and Portugal. It does not replace border checks.