# Do they stamp passports anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2000, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949 "2000-10-23T05:50:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/21 "2012-04-27T20:41:10Z")
The zombies will stamp your passport after they eat your brains!!! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/22 "2012-04-27T21:06:03Z")
> [@compositejoe](#): > > It really, really does disappoint me that there are countries where a passport doesn’t get stamped any longer. Even worse, some countries will just wave you straight on in without even checking your passport! :eek: One of my friends told me that they travelled from the city of London in the UK to the city of Paris in France on a high speed "Eurostar"train and both ends, leaving, entering and returning, they didn’t even get asked to show their passport or Euro ID card! :eek: What’s an “Euro ID card”? 😕 The EU does not provide ID. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/23 "2012-04-27T21:26:54Z")
Travel more in Asia, your passport will look awesome, plenty of stamps. Anyone remember the full page Kingdom of Nepal one, it was loverly! ---
**Author:** ![compositejoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/compositejoe/32/7232_2.png) [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/24 "2012-04-27T21:27:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What’s an “Euro ID card”? 😕 The EU does not provide ID. Every country in the European Union apart from the United Kingdom and the Republic Of Ireland have a national ID card system, and the UK immigration authorities have come to an agreement so that say for example somebody from France could use their national ID card to enter the UK instead of using a passport to enter the UK. Unfortunately, because the UK doesn’t have a national ID card system like most other European Union countries do, a UK citizen must still have a passport to travel to France! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/25 "2012-04-27T21:33:54Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > My experience is that you get your passport stamped if the person in charge of doing the stamping feels like it. In countries where it’s not a big deal to enter, then you don’t get it stamped. > > Airport customs officials almost always stamp my passport. American officials in Canada are fanatical about it. > > I was on vacation in Finland and I took a boat ride to Estonia for a day. The Estonian customs official at the port asked me if I wanted my passport stamped. I said no, but I was quite seasick and really didn’t know what she was asking me. I’m from the US. Canada stamped my passport when I flew there in 2008 (on a US passport). US Preclearance just swiped it through the machine and let me through. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/26 "2012-04-27T21:34:35Z")
> [@compositejoe](#): > > It really, really does disappoint me that there are countries where a passport doesn’t get stamped any longer. Even worse, some countries will just wave you straight on in without even checking your passport! States finally start respecting the privacy of travellers (if only through negligence) and you’re _disappointed_ about it? I would _love_ to have the freedom of travel where I please without a “Papers, please!” check every time I cross an imaginary line on a map. You may not realize it, but the passport regime is a relatively recent invention; a hundred years ago it was possible to travel halfway around the world without one. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/27 "2012-04-27T21:44:08Z")
Mine (USA) gets stamps most places I go… it was stamped in Iran, UAE and Netherlands on my last trip. I have 72 pages in mine and only about 10 blank ones. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/28 "2012-04-27T22:57:35Z")
Way back when this thread started, I would have said that the USA doesn’t stamp your passport anymore. Recently this trend seems to have changed. Not sure if it’s a homeland security thing. And it’s not terribly consistent. Maybe it’s a zombie thing. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/29 "2012-04-28T10:02:28Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > traveling between countries of the EU you do not go through passport control any more. Or rather, traveling between countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, you do not go through passport control any more. Not all EU countries are Schengen countries, and not all Schengen countries are EU countries. We recently traveled from Norway, a Schengen country but not an EU country, to Ireland, which is in the EU but not in Schengen. They were definitely checking everyone’s passports at Dublin airport, although citizens of EU countries were in a separate line. None of us was a citizen of an EU country and we all got Irish entry stamps. On the way back home, our passports were also checked, although only I (the lone non-Norwegian-citizen of the bunch) got a passport stamp to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/30 "2012-04-28T10:21:26Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > Or rather, traveling between countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, you do not go through passport control any more. You certainly do have to if the border police happen to show up. Despite the supposedly open borders, it’s not at all uncommon for them to board trains and check passports (or national ID cards). ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/31 "2012-04-28T11:13:53Z")
I would be amused to see the pre and post 9/11 senario. I would wager most countries stamp now. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/32 "2012-04-28T12:24:17Z")
> [@Lucky](#): > > You don’t have to _buy_ extra pages for your passport. Any US Embassy or passport office will give them to you free. This is no longer true. Now the State Department charges $82 for what they once did for free. On one return trip to New York, the passport control guy just randomly found a blank page to stamp - not using the page opposite the Russian visa - which already had been stamped. Since then, to preserve pages, I politely ask the guy to stamp on the page already stamped for this trip. I’ll still need new pages after one more trip. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/33 "2012-04-28T14:01:12Z")
Mexico stamped us coming and going, but that’s the last time I’ve gotten stamped since Russia. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/34 "2012-04-28T14:26:12Z")
EU citizens can ask for their passport to be stamped when they land in a new EU country. A friend of mine does that. Although I’ve been in lots of different European countries I only have US and Canadian stamps in my passport. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/35 "2012-04-28T14:28:18Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Odd…I’ve been a lot of places in the last two years, and the only place that did **not** stamp my passport was France. One time when I traveled through the Paris airport, there was a lot of construction going on in the terminal, and I had to maneuver through some temporary passageways to get to customs. I had to take a raging pee when I got off the plane, and got lost looking for a bathroom. Somehow, I ended up past customs, and never got stamped entering the country. I was worried I might have a problem leaving, but it wasn’t problem. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/36 "2012-04-28T14:33:37Z")
Every country I’ve been to in Asia always stamps your passport even for countries like Thailand where you get a visa on arrival. It’s certainly true for China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Nepal and as far as I know for every other asian country. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/37 "2012-04-28T15:36:48Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Although I’ve been in lots of different European countries I only have US and Canadian stamps in my passport. I’ve had my Irish passport for over two and a half years now and I don’t have a single stamp on it! I’ve used it for every country I’ve travelled to, except the US. Even Macedonia didn’t stamp it although they’re outside the EU. It’s the one thing I (very moderately) regret about becoming an EU citizen. I miss collecting passport stamps. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/38 "2012-04-28T21:33:31Z")
My Israeli passport is stamped when leaving Israel and again upon my return. My U.S. passport was stamped when I entered the U.S., but not when I left. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/39 "2012-04-28T21:39:42Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > EU citizens can ask for their passport to be stamped when they land in a new EU country. A friend of mine does that. Although I’ve been in lots of different European countries I only have US and Canadian stamps in my passport. This has been my experience too. I suppose it’s because if you’re an EU citizen, it doesn’t usually matter when you entered another EU country since you can stay as long as you want to. When I entered Spain a few weeks ago with my wife (travelling on her Canadian passport) they waved me through with a cursory glance, but stamped her passport on entry and exit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/40 "2012-04-28T22:38:02Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > States finally start respecting the privacy of travellers (if only through negligence) and you’re _disappointed_ about it? I would _love_ to have the freedom of travel where I please without a “Papers, please!” check every time I cross an imaginary line on a map. > > You may not realize it, but the passport regime is a relatively recent invention; a hundred years ago it was possible to travel halfway around the world without one. I’d be kind of annoyed if I went to the trouble and expense of acquiring a passport and then the border guard didn’t bother to look at it. If it’s not important then don’t require me to have one. And if it is important enough to be mandatory, then do your job and pay some attention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949.md?page=3)