goatee

When I first went to France, the passport control officer at CDG glanced at my (Canadian) passport and then handed it back to me, unstamped. First of all, is this common practice? I thought they wanted a record of when I arrived. Second, would it be gauche of me to insist on having my passport stamped? Especially since I will be going to Spain as well during the same trip.

indytravel

I wouldn't ever "insist" that an officer do anything.

You may ask nicely if they will stamp it. They may or may not oblige you.

I've only had my passport stamped a few times in the last several years.

Unless your departure point is Spain you won't see anyone there to stamp it. There aren't any border checks between the EU countries now.

P_M

I was recently in Switzerland and they did not stamp my passport at the airport in Geneva. I asked the man politely if he would stamp it, and he said no. The same happened when I flew into Zurich 2 years ago. Switzerland is the only country I have ever flown into that didn't stamp my passport, and I too wondered about the reason for that.

Is it gauche to ask? No, I don't think so, it's not like you're asking them to do something really difficult or unreasonable.

As for Spain, they did stamp my passport when I flew into Madrid, but if you are travelling by car or train, chances are nobody will stamp it for you since you will not go through customs. If you stop and ask for a stamp, you probably won't get it. A few years ago my Mom and I drove from Germany to Austria. Mom wanted a stamp from Austria, so we stopped at the border to ask for one. They told us they don't keep stamps anymore as there are no longer any borders between those 2 countries. Therefore the same should apply when you travel from France to Spain.

Travelnut

Everything's in a computer now.. stamping is no longer the norm; once in a while I get one...it isn't important to me but some like to get them as a 'souvenir'.

suze

Rarely have I had my passport stamped in recent years. Is this a thing of the past? Because of the computer scan instead?

goatee

The reason I included the bit about Spain was because I was under the impression I had to carry my passport at all times there in case there were any requests to see my papers, and if there was no stamp in it showing when I arrived in the Schengen zone, I thought there would be questions. I'm leaving for Paris in two days, so what I will do is watch what happens to the passengers ahead of me.

bob_brown

In looking at my passport, the entry stamp is there some of the time and some of the time it is not. There are no stamps at all by Swiss authorities even though someone checked my passport every time I have entered. Just recently I flew into Gatwick Airport and the British official stamped my passport as did the Irish official last year at Shannon. I was glad both of them put a stamp on one of the pages because each time I have flown home from Munich, the German passport official looked for my entry stamp and then put on an exit stamp.

The last time I arrived in Paris my passport was not stamped. When I left from Munich to return home, the German official questioned me. Why no stamp?

So if you are flying home from Munich, I recommend having a date of entry stamp in your passport.

Grasshopper

I've gotten my passport stamped at airports more often than not. Always at CDG, LHR, AMS and Malpensa. I've also had it stamped on trains in a couple of places.

ira

Hi goatee,

I looked at my passport. They seem to have stopped stamping it about 2001.

TopMan

It may very well depend on where you enter. Stamps still occur at some airports.

offwego

Since 2001 no stamps? I've been to Italy, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Croatia since then and have gotten stamps everywhere except Austria. Got stamped upon re-entering USA also

In Germany I had to ask for the stamp.

It must depend on where you arrive?

sfowler

Times sure have changed. I remember when going in and out of the Skopje, Macedonia airport meant filling out a 2 part card, one part to be surrendered at exit OR ELSE!! PLUS up to an hour wait for a visa to be issued. Last time I left Skopje they didn't even bother to stamp!!!

goatee

Epilogue: Yes, my passport did indeed get stamped at CDG1 (after wading through the horrendously long line!!)