# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/61 "2012-04-30T06:59:24Z")
> [@compositejoe](#): > > 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! ☹ OK; but those are not “Euro ID cards”. They’re not provided by the EU, they’re not exclusive to EU countries, they are not recognized exclusively by EU countries and they’re not called “Euro ID cards”. They’re ID cards but nothing specially Euro about them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/62 "2012-04-30T07:58:32Z")
They were stamping at Heathrow yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![medicated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@medicated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medicated)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/63 "2012-04-30T10:15:40Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > 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. On my last visit to France, the customs guy at de Gaulle didn’t stamp my passport. This didn’t bother me until trying to cross into the UK, where the customs guy at Calais told me in an serious tone that I had technically been travelling illegally. When I explained that I had originally landed in Paris, he ranted about how the French customs people never bother to do their jobs. I have no idea whether I really had been committing some sort of offence, or whether he just enjoyed scaring tourists and disliking the French. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/64 "2012-04-30T10:40:17Z")
> [@medicated](#): > > On my last visit to France, the customs guy at de Gaulle didn’t stamp my passport. This didn’t bother me until trying to cross into the UK, where the customs guy at Calais told me in an serious tone that I had technically been travelling illegally. When I explained that I had originally landed in Paris, he ranted about how the French customs people never bother to do their jobs. > > I have no idea whether I really had been committing some sort of offence, or whether he just enjoyed scaring tourists and disliking the French. How could you have proved you didn’t illegally cross the border? On the other hand you were not likely to be challenged, seems like at least for some nationalities at some EU spots you basically have unlimited access(if they aren’t even bothering to track entry and exit). OR your passport is being scanned either through the barcode or RFID so France did indeed have a record of entry and exit, you just didn’t have the ability to prove it in your pocket. That might be what is going on and why less er technological nations are still fastidious about stamping. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/65 "2012-04-30T12:48:28Z")
> [@grude](#): > > How could you have proved you didn’t illegally cross the border? > > On the other hand you were not likely to be challenged, seems like at least for some nationalities at some EU spots you basically have unlimited access(if they aren’t even bothering to track entry and exit). Within much of Europe, you won’t even have to slow down at the border, much less show your passport. If you’re lucky you might notice a [blue EU sign](http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=50.028999,4.143863&spn=0.019298,0.051584&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=50.028997,4.144079&panoid=WftAEzB-UTyNqnY9DJCw_A&cbp=12,99.87,,0,12.01) marking the border, but you might not (heading in the [other direction](http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=50.028999,4.144549&spn=0.019298,0.051584&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=50.028993,4.144372&panoid=HjsghNFzPR8FylmRYBTcwg&cbp=12,269.69,,0,10.67) at the same spot, only the change in speed limit gives you any clue you’re entering France). A couple of years ago I travelled by train from my home in England to Croatia. I had to show my passport to get on the ferry to Holland, but then I passed through Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary without once having to show my passport at the borders. The first time it was examined (and stamped) was on the train from Budapest to Sarajevo, where it crosses a corner of Croatia en route to Bosnia. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/66 "2012-04-30T13:08:00Z")
What a coincidence. I just posted about this over in an _Inception_ thread in Cafe Society, because I was curious about Leonardo DiCaprio getting stamped into the countey at LAX, something that has never happened to me. I just posted: **"My wife and I entered the US through JFK Airport in New York City early last month. They let her stay with me in the line for US nationals since we’re married instead of making her go into the separate foreigners’ queue. We talked to the Immigration offical together. He didn’t stamp my passport, just gave me a “Welcome back,” but he did stamp my wife’s Thai passport."** I’ve never ever been stamped upon reentering the US, but I thought maybe 9/11 had prompted a change in procedure. But I reentered at Honolulu in 2005 and JFK in NYC last month and still no stamp. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/67 "2012-04-30T13:21:09Z")
The fact that passports don’t always get stamped is causing a serious headache for my wife and me. We are in Japan (which always, _always_, stamps passports on entry and exit), and applying to get Japanese driving licences on what is known as reciprocity. In order to get your Japanese licence you have to show your Irish licence and prove that you’ve lived in Ireland for 180 days since the licence was issued. Sounds easy, right. I’ve had my Irish licence for over 20 years. Hang on, _prove_ that you’ve lived in Ireland for that amount of time? Out comes the passport. Exit stamp from Ireland, no corresponding entry stamp. Another exit stamp. An entry stamp for Spain. Things aren’t looking good. The Japanese person at the desk has no conception that getting a stamp could be a “maybe, maybe not” thing. As far as she is concerned, my wife and I have spent almost the entire time, since our passports were issued, outside of Ireland. My wife now has a restricted, “learner”-type licence because she wasn’t able to prove 180 days. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/68 "2012-04-30T13:26:56Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > The fact that passports don’t always get stamped is causing a serious headache for my wife and me. It caused a small headache for us last month too. We rented a car online to be picked up last month in Philadelphia. This particular online rate was offered only to people outside of the US. But when we arrived in person, the rental company did not like my US passport/Thai driver’s license (with international driving permit) combination and wanted proof I had recently entered the US. I saw their point; I could have been someone logging in from Kansas trying to scam them for a cheaper rate. The first thing the lady at the counter mentioned was an entry stamp in my passport, but that was nonexistent. I finally had to go back to the place we were staying and get our airline tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/69 "2012-04-30T14:09:51Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Hang on, _prove_ that you’ve lived in Ireland for that amount of time? Out comes the passport. Exit stamp from Ireland, no corresponding entry stamp. Another exit stamp. An entry stamp for Spain. Things aren’t looking good. The Japanese person at the desk has no conception that getting a stamp could be a “maybe, maybe not” thing. As far as she is concerned, my wife and I have spent almost the entire time, since our passports were issued, outside of Ireland. My wife now has a restricted, “learner”-type licence because she wasn’t able to prove 180 days. Is that on an Irish or Japanese passport? I’d be amazed if Ireland ever stamps Irish passports either in or out. As far as I am aware, the UK never stamps its own passports. Certainly I’ve never had my British passport stamped by British officials when leaving or entering Britain, nor do I know anyone who has. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/70 "2012-04-30T14:18:26Z")
Too late for the edit - just to clarify I am not trying to conflate Ireland and the UK, just point out that in my experience EU countries do not stamp their own passports. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/71 "2012-04-30T14:29:28Z")
My wife’s passport is Japanese - mine is Irish. Her problem and mine are subtly different; she has some Irish exit stamps but no corresponding entry stamps (she often just gets waved through). Whereas I have some foreign entry stamps, but no corresponding exit stamps (making it look as if I spent a year in, say, Malta, before transferring directly from there to Spain). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/72 "2012-04-30T14:41:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’ve never ever been stamped upon reentering the US, but I thought maybe 9/11 had prompted a change in procedure. But I reentered at Honolulu in 2005 and JFK in NYC last month and still no stamp. Interesting. I wonder why there’s so much variation. Maybe O’Hare (where I normally enter) is just more stamp-happy than other airports. I double checked my passport from 2000-2010, and it’s actually seven entry stamps to the US I have. (Some the older rectangular red “Admitted” stamps, some the newer, blue oval “Homeland Security” stamps.) No exit stamps from the US, though. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/73 "2012-04-30T14:54:13Z")
They didn’t even stamp my wife out on Saturday when we flew out of the US at JFK. Nor in Honolulu seven years ago. In fact, we didn’t go through Immigration on leaving, just Security. I don’t think I have ever gone through Immigration upon leaving the US like you do in some countries such as Thailand. The airlines just make sure you’re able to enter wherever you’re flying to and I guess just report the data to Immigration later. Looking at my wife’s stamps now from Honolulu and NYC, I see they’re Homeland Security stamps. Neither lists how long she was allowed to stay for that trip. In the past, she received a stamp showing how long she’d be allowed in for. I think six months was the routine length of time. But these last two times, no length of time was listed, just the lone entry stamps. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/74 "2012-04-30T15:16:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They didn’t even stamp my wife out on Saturday when we flew out of the US at JFK. Nor in Honolulu seven years ago. In fact, we didn’t go through Immigration on leaving, just Security. I don’t think I have ever gone through Immigration upon leaving the US like you do in some countries such as Thailand. The airlines just make sure you’re able to enter wherever you’re flying to and I guess just report the data to Immigration later. Ah, that’s right. I don’t ever remember passing through immigration/passport control on the way _out_ of the US (like you do in some other countries), which would explain my lack of exit stamps for the US. But no lack of entry stamps on either my passport or my wife’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/75 "2012-04-30T15:40:12Z")
I only have 3 or 4 stamps in my passport – about a 1 in 10 stamping rate. Until I finally peeled them off I had more small stickers on the back of my passport than stamps inside it. Not sure what those stickers are about. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/76 "2012-04-30T15:53:02Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I only have 3 or 4 stamps in my passport – about a 1 in 10 stamping rate. > > Until I finally peeled them off I had more small stickers on the back of my passport than stamps inside it. Not sure what those stickers are about. Those are [ICTS](http://www.gadling.com/2012/04/03/instead-of-passport-stamps-lets-collect-icts-stickers/) stickers. Surprisingly, I only have three of them total on the last two passports. I don’t recall ever peeling them off. Total number of stamps on my old passport (in general, not just US), around 60-70. (I can’t make them all out. There’s pages with overlaid stamps and faded stamps.) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/77 "2012-04-30T17:24:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah, that’s right. I don’t ever remember passing through immigration/passport control on the way _out_ of the US (like you do in some other countries), which would explain my lack of exit stamps for the US. But no lack of entry stamps on either my passport or my wife’s. I do find that many countries are a lot keener to give out entry stamps than exit stamps - when you’re leaving, I guess they don’t care. I’ve got several lone entry stamps in my passport - off the top of my head, Mexico, Canada, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia (four entry stamps, two exit stamps, so inconsistent!) Re US stamps: I’ve been to the US four times (three of those on the same trip, separated by visits to Canada and Mexico). On each occasion I had my UK passport stamped both in and out. I remember that, when flying back from Canada, I was stamped _into_ the USA at Vancouver airport, which I thought was a bit odd. (I didn’t get a Canadian exit stamp, just a standard red USA admitted stamp, with the code VCV, I think.) Is this a common practice, for US immigration officials to stamp people in outside the country? BTW if you really want to rack up lots of stamps in your passport, spend a few days at Victoria Falls. Each time you cross the bridge, you’ll get an exit stamp and an entry stamp in each direction - big purple things. I was there for four or five days and I must have got about 20 stamps splodged across my passport. ---
**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 30, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/78 "2012-04-30T17:30:09Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Is this a common practice, for US immigration officials to stamp people in outside the country? Yes, for people flying from Canada to the US. Passenger’s clear US customs and immigration prior to bording the plane for the US, that way they can land at the domestic terminals at the US airports. Speeds things up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/79 "2012-04-30T17:33:39Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I > > I remember that, when flying back from Canada, I was stamped _into_ the USA at Vancouver airport, which I thought was a bit odd. (I didn’t get a Canadian exit stamp, just a standard red USA admitted stamp, with the code VCV, I think.) Is this a common practice, for US immigration officials to stamp people in outside the country? Sounds to me like you’re talking about [US border preclearance.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_border_preclearance). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949/80 "2012-04-30T18:11:58Z")
Same thing happens in London/Paris on the Eurostar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-stamp-passports-anymore/37949.md?page=3)