Hi everyone! I have a massive problem and I feel so upset and desperate.
Basically, I always use the Schengen Calculator to make sure Im not overstaying and based on the actual, correct dates, I should have 56 days left in the Schengen Zone.
However, I came to Germany yesterday and first they told me I overstayed, and then they said to me that I can only stay till 6th of March. My plan was to stay until the end of March but they said it's not possible, and after speaking to the police, I realized what the mistake was.
On the 3rd of January I was leaving the EU from Greece and the border officer put in a completely wrong date both on my passport stamp and in the system. Instead of putting the exit date as 03/01/25, he put 13/02/25, causing me to barely have 15 days left, and on top of that making it look like I overstayed 12 days. I have flight tickets to prove I left the EU, and I can request entrance stamps from my country of residence (everything is electronic there now). I told the police I can get this proof for them, but they said the only thing that counts is what's in the EU system.
Is there anyone I could lodge a complaint to? I was thinking to contact my country's embassy in Greece to explain the situation, to see if they could help?
I really think I shouldn't have to suffer for someone else's terrible mistake. I wouldn't bother if the only issue was a shorter holiday, but the fact I may be accused of overstaying when I never did that is something I am extremely worried about, and that in the future I will have big issues.
Also, Im not sure if this is relevant but up until November 30th, 2024 I had a valid Spanish residence permit. I showed it to the border control yesterday, even though it was expired, and then they said that I didn't overstay and it's fine as I had a valid permit. However, I am worried I did because I traveled a lot between Germany and Spain (whilst having my residence permit) and so I always counted all the dates I've been to while in Germany (despite there being no border control, I still counted them since my residency permit was for Spain, not Germany), and then it shows on the calculator that I overstayed by 12 days.
Basically, I always use the Schengen Calculator to make sure Im not overstaying and based on the actual, correct dates, I should have 56 days left in the Schengen Zone.
However, I came to Germany yesterday and first they told me I overstayed, and then they said to me that I can only stay till 6th of March. My plan was to stay until the end of March but they said it's not possible, and after speaking to the police, I realized what the mistake was.
On the 3rd of January I was leaving the EU from Greece and the border officer put in a completely wrong date both on my passport stamp and in the system. Instead of putting the exit date as 03/01/25, he put 13/02/25, causing me to barely have 15 days left, and on top of that making it look like I overstayed 12 days. I have flight tickets to prove I left the EU, and I can request entrance stamps from my country of residence (everything is electronic there now). I told the police I can get this proof for them, but they said the only thing that counts is what's in the EU system.
Is there anyone I could lodge a complaint to? I was thinking to contact my country's embassy in Greece to explain the situation, to see if they could help?
I really think I shouldn't have to suffer for someone else's terrible mistake. I wouldn't bother if the only issue was a shorter holiday, but the fact I may be accused of overstaying when I never did that is something I am extremely worried about, and that in the future I will have big issues.
Also, Im not sure if this is relevant but up until November 30th, 2024 I had a valid Spanish residence permit. I showed it to the border control yesterday, even though it was expired, and then they said that I didn't overstay and it's fine as I had a valid permit. However, I am worried I did because I traveled a lot between Germany and Spain (whilst having my residence permit) and so I always counted all the dates I've been to while in Germany (despite there being no border control, I still counted them since my residency permit was for Spain, not Germany), and then it shows on the calculator that I overstayed by 12 days.