UK · ResourcesThat still leaves a real question: why did the check say NOT OK, and is it right? The answer depends on which check produced it and on what EES knows about your previous trips.
Where an OK or NOT OK answer comes from
There are two checks that give this kind of answer, and they test different things.
The first is the EES online tool on the EU's official Travel to Europe site, also available on equipment at some external borders. You enter the country you plan to visit, your travel document (type, number and issuing country) and your intended dates. It tells you whether your entry is allowed, as "OK" or "not OK", and how many days you are still allowed to stay.
The second is the carrier check. Airlines and other carriers query EES before you board, at the earliest 48 hours before departure, to see whether a traveller with a single-entry or double-entry visa is "OK" or "NOT OK" to travel, according to eu-LISA's information for carriers. That check is about whether your visa's permitted entries have already been used.
What a NOT OK usually points to
The tool does not tell you the reason. Check these three things, in this order, against the visa sticker in your passport:
- Entries. A visa marked for one entry cannot be reused once you have left the Schengen area. If you have already made the trip it was issued for, a carrier check will see the entry as used.
- Days. Short stays are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period. If your planned dates would take you past the days you have left, the tool answers not OK.
- Dates. Your planned dates must sit inside the validity printed on the visa.
If all three look fine, the answer may be wrong, and the next section explains why that happens.
Does EES NOT OK mean your Schengen visa was refused?
That result alone is not a visa refusal decision. Check the visa dates and permitted stay in your passport, and contact the relevant authorities if the EES result seems wrong.
Why the answer can be wrong
The EU's own tool page names two limits.
- Stays before 10 April 2026 are not counted. The remaining-stay figure does not reflect time in the Schengen area that began before 10 April 2026, whether that visit ended before the date or continued after it.
- Some early entries were not recorded. Until 6 October 2026, the EU warned that an "OK" answer might be unreliable for holders of single-entry or double-entry visas who had used an entry between 12 October 2025 and 9 April 2026, because those entries were not recorded in EES at the time.
The most common cause, though, is simpler: a mistyped document number, the wrong issuing country or a date in the wrong field. Check the input before anything else.
What to do if the result looks wrong
- Run the check again with the details copied from your passport, not typed from memory.
- Compare it with your visa sticker: number of entries, validity dates and duration of stay.
- Ask at the border. Passport control officers can tell you how many days you are still allowed to stay.
- Ask for the record to be corrected. You have the right to access your EES data and to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected. You can send the request to the authorities of any Schengen country using EES. According to the Romanian Border Police guidance, the authority checks within 30 days, or passes the request to the country that entered the data within 7 days, and the reply is due within 45 days.
If a carrier tells you that you are NOT OK, show them your visa and ask them to check the visa details. A carrier answer is not a border decision. It is a check on your visa's entries.
NOT OK, a refused visa and a refused entry are three different things
A NOT OK is a check result. It can be corrected, and it does not change your visa.
A refused visa is a decision on your application. Under the EU Visa Code, the refusal and its reasons are notified on the standard form set out in Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 810/2009, and you have the right to appeal.
A refused entry is a separate decision taken at the border when you arrive.
If you are holding a NOT OK and no refusal form, you have not been refused a visa.
If you need a new visa
If the check confirms that your single-entry visa is used up and you have another trip coming, you will need a new application and a new appointment. On busy routes the appointment is often the slow part. A Schengen visa appointment checker watches the calendar for you, and the page for Schengen visa appointments in the UK lists the routes Visard covers. If you travel often, read about the multiple-entry Schengen visa before you apply.
For what EES records at the border, see the Schengen visa guide for UK applicants.
Frequently asked questions
Does EES NOT OK mean my Schengen visa was refused?
No. It is a check result, not a decision on your visa. A visa refusal is notified on a standard refusal form.
Can I still travel if the EES tool says not OK?
Find out why first. Check the entries, days and dates on your visa against your plan, then ask the border authorities if the result still looks wrong.
Why does EES show fewer days than I expected?
Time spent in the Schengen area before 10 April 2026 is not reflected in the remaining-stay figure. A typing error in your document details can also change the result.
How do I correct wrong EES data?
Ask the authorities of a Schengen country using EES to access and correct your data. The reply is due within 45 days.