Externally applied helical magnetic fields are now often used on tokamaks for various purposes. This paper presents results of studies of the effect of the external fields, produced by the error field correction coils (EFCCs) on JET, on the plasma boundary shape. Significant 3D distortions, predicted in the previous studies, have been confirmed using upgraded magnetic diagnostics and high-resolution Thomson scattering diagnostics. A simple method of estimating the edge distortion using magnetic diagnostics calibrated on the kinetic measurements is proposed and demonstrated.