redhedgurrl

Hi - Do the schengen countries even stamp passports anymore? Our Cartes de sejour (sp) expired in France so we went to Brussels for a day specifically to get ours stamped in order to be on a tourist visa. Legally I know that we can then be here in aschengen country for 90 days but then are supposed to go to a non-schengen for 90 days before returning. We could find no way to get them stamped, and in fact everyone we have asked has said that within the schengen nobody cares and the only people who get checked (this is racist - but I'm just telling you what I've been told so don't hold it against me) are blacks and Arabs.
So what is the deal and if we want to be 'legal', how do we get stamped?
Thanks alot!

randola

we flew ny to munich to rome and our passports were stamped in germany...also were stamped upon re-entry to ny

ira

Hi R,

When you go to your non-S country, your passport will be scanned and the information entered into the database.

When you return to an S country, your passport will be scanned again.

They don't need to stamp your PP.

tcreath

Some do, some don't. We have stamps from Austria, Belgium, the UK and all three visits to Italy, only I got a stamp when we landed at CDG (DH was in a different line), and we didn't get one at all in the Netherlands or Germany. It seems to be hit or miss.

I personally love my passport stamps and wish they would always stamp, but I just go with the flow.

Tracy

Alec

ira

Scanning a passport doesn't necessarily enter your details into a database. For Schengen countries, it's usually a passive system of just looking up your details on Schengen Information System to see if they match anybody who should be flagged up - those banned from Schegen, wanted criminals, using a lost or stolen passport etc.
It's most unlikely that those who don't need a visa for Schengen, like Americans, have their entry and exit from Schengen area electronically recorded. Where there is still a manual system in use - like Spain where non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizens have to fill in an immigration card, there is a partial recording system but the record isn't complete as there is no control for those who enter or leave Spain via another Schengen state.

ira

Hi A,

Thanks for the info.

>It's most unlikely that those who don't need a visa for Schengen, like Americans, have their entry and exit from Schengen area electronically recorded.<

So how do they know if you have been gone for the proper amount of time if they don't stamp your PP either?

redhedgurrl

Hi - so am I to understand that Americans do not need visas to travel in the schengen countries even for months at a time? What if we end up stopping and renting a place for 6 months?
Thanks -

hetismij

You went from one Schengen country to another - so you wouldn't have your passport checked or stamped. If you leave Schengen your passport will be scanned and it is in the system when you arrived and how long you have stayed.
US citizens can stay 90 days in Schengen without a visa. Since your Carte de sejour has expired I think you can count your 90 days from the day it expired - but I would check on that. If you overstay there is a chance you will not be readmitted to Schengen countries.

tjenneke

redhedgurll, if you want to stay longer than 90 days, you will have to apply for a visa. And it will not be easy to get it.

Alec

'So how do they know if you have been gone for the proper amount of time if they don't stamp your PP either?'

With regard to those exempt from Schengen visa, the answer is they don't and frankly they don't care. They target those with visa, and those whom they suspect are more likely to break the law or cause trouble, using racial profiling as mentioned by another poster. You see this all the time on intra-Schengen trains (say France to Germany): where there is a spot check, they go down the train carriages looking out for Africans and Middle Easterns and check their IDs.

'If you leave Schengen your passport will be scanned and it is in the system when you arrived and how long you have stayed.'
As I've said, this isn't what usually happens. Schengen Information System, which is used in passport scanning, is a passive system. It's a way to check if the holder is on the wanted list or banned from Schengen because of previous immigration offence. There is no mechanism for recording everyone's entry and exit - otherwise there needs to be a colossal IT system and database linking every Schengen state, every border crossing point and airport, as well as wireless system for use when checking takes place on international trains (e.g. from Slovenia to Italy), and such system doesn't exist. As I've said, individual country may have its own system for recording entry and exit, but it isn't shared with other Schengen states so the record is often incomplete. Detection of overstay is more likely if you stay in just one Schengen state.

rhetorike

Hi there! Can anyone tell me if (in this case, American) passports are stamped and/or data recorded when you leave Brussels (Bruxelles-Midi) on Eurostar to go to London? Just curious what immigration is like leaving a Schengen country (specifically Belgium).

thank you!!

Gavin

Rhetorike: I have never entered the UK and not had my passport stamped.

GSteed

An entrance stamp is evidence that you have entered that country legally. It also establishes the date that you entered that country. Many countries mandate a 90 day visit limit.

Alec

Your passport will be examined prior to boarding your Eurostar train at Brussels, by a British official. He or she will scan it to compare details against their black list - those banned from entering UK because of previous immigration offence, on international wanted list, lost or stolen documents etc. If all is clear, they may ask a question about your intended length of stay, purpose etc before stamping (always) with a 6-month leave to enter (normally).