Need blank passport page for France?
 

When going through customs of any country, including our own, the agents seem to enjoy stamping all over the place. If I know the language, I ask them to please stamp on a specific page with other stamps, sometimes they do/sometimes not. But mostly they just stamp all over and there's nothing I can do about it. I had one empty page left on my most recent trip, but the Hungarian agent took my passport away and returned with a stamp on that page. I need my passport for Canada in July and can ask them to stamp elsewhere leaving only that one stamp on my last page. I'm going to France in Sep and wonder if I need to send in my passport and pay for new pages, hoping it will be returned in time for that trip or will France let me in with the one-stamped page?

Why do you care? They certainly don't.

I would think that they might look at you like you were nuts if you asked that. Half the time I have entered Europe recently, they haven't stamped my passport at all. I certainly wouldn't presume to tell an immigration inspector how to do her/his job!

I'm with Ack. What possible difference can it make. Or is this just a homage to self for the amount of travel you do!! LOL

This is one bizarre question! I'm not sure I understand where this is coming from! Why would France not let you in with the one-stamped page?

Why do you need a blank page?

I don't really understand the question. Are you asking if you can enter France with no blank pages in your passport? Of course you can. As you say, the immmigration officials stamp all over. I have one page with about 10 stamps on it. They certainly don't care.

A problem would occur when you need separate pages for certain countries. When I was going to Egypt I read that I needed 2 blank passport pages for Egypt visas (double entry) so I put post it notes over 2 blank pages and wrote reserved on the post its. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to Egypt.

Our daughter recently had to have pages added to her passport. The French embassy in DC told her when she got her visa that if she did not, she might soon be denied entry . I agree that stamping haphazardly uses up more pages than need be, and if you travel a lot, you run out of pages sooner. Not much you can do about it though. I would send in your passport for new pages. Our daughter sent her passport to the US Embassy in Paris while she was living in France and had it back in a week. Not a big deal.

I have heard of this too, in fact I have similar concerns for an upcoming cruise where I'm not sure how many countries may be stamping. I don't know the answer either - I won't ask it here though for those of you that had to make your snide little comments - plus there are no immigration officers logging on!

My French stamps are co-mingled with my German stamps, all on the same page.

I believe visa requirements for passports are different from non-visa entry into European countries.

a problem highlighted in a magazine article i read recently is that a number of countries [eg Sri Lanka] require you to have a passport that has at least 6 months until it expires before they will let you in and South Africa requires you to have 4 blank pages.

it is hard work keeping up with these arbitrary rules,and a worry or travelers like the OP and suec.

however, suec, as you are going to be on a cruise, your cruise company should surely be able to help you with the requirements of the countries you are visiting.

stilltravelling - for the reasons set out above I don't think that this is a silly question at all.

why not look at the french immigration website and see whether it specifies needing a plain page? or ask the airline?

Thank you for those who kindly responded to my reasonable question. I will look at the French immigration website as advised. And for those of you who apparently never use up their passports, please be advised that there are many countries that require at least one blank page for admission and also require you have at least 6 months left on your passport. I was just hoping that France was not one and that I could save the expense of adding pages (they do not do it for free, you know) and also not worry about its return in less than 6 wks. I do not think it impolite to kindly ask the customs agent to please stamp on a certain page; I do not demand or ask rudely and I do not know why you would assume I do.

I've been here for a good while and never saw this question. You have certainly plowed new ground. Given that our passports are often not stamped (already mentioned) these days it seemed as if it might be an esoteric--or even a troll question. AND in that vein, We all learn.

Most countries require that you have 2 - 4 blank pages in your passport.

My boss travels a lot, and he was told by passport control in Frankfurt (where he frequently goes on business) that he should get pages added to his passport. His passport wasn't due to expire for a couple of years, so he didn't think he had much choice. We sent it in (expedited service both directions) and got it back within a couple of weeks.

Someone most travel a LOT to fill up all the passport pages. I too have found that they often don;t stamp - or stamp on a page with multiple other stamps - often making both illegible - and no one seems to care. I know there are some countries with specific requirements - but mine was certainly never stamped going to Canada - either air or road.

I haven't run into the problem of needing a full page/two pages/or more for entry to countries in Europe, France included. Looking through my passport, I see many entry/exit stamps for France sharing pages with other European countries.

However, it's somewhat common in Africa and a valid concern for those who travel widely and/or often. South Africa requires two blank pages. Flipping through my most recent passport, I note that Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia each used 1-2 pages. Visas for Iran and India also took up full pages, plus they each required an additional page for entrance and exit stamps. Visa for Turkey plus entry stamp consumed a full page, as did Dubai. Etc, etc, etc...

I have had extra pages added to my last two passports because I simply won't consider travel outside my own country without at least a few blank pages remaining. The same idea of being prepared for the unexpected comes into play with the six-months-validity consideration, which is a common requirement for entry to many countries. Why expose yourself to the possibility of being refused entry (or of the airline refusing to transport you) if you ignore (or are ignorant of) passport requirements of the countries you are visiting?

It's certainly a valid and reasonable question...

Blank pages are only required for getting visas.

In any case, France stamps passports less and less -- it is even disappointing.

I'm going to S Africa and then Botswana this summer and as a French citizen, I do not require a visa, but each country requires 2 blank pages. It adds up quickly.

We had to ask for stamps at CDG in March 2011, my niece and nephew had newly issued passports and their first trip couldn't begin without that stamp! A simple request to be stamped as a souvenir was all it took. Our first trip my wife and I were in one line, our sons in the adjacent line. We got stamps, they didn't.

>>>In any case, France stamps passports less and less -- it is even disappointing.<<<

My sister-in-law was disappointed that her passport wasn't stamped when she went to France in April. It was her first trip out of the country. Although my passport doesn't usually get stamped in Italy, I thought perhaps hers wasn't stamped as she was traveling on a private jet and flew into Le Bourget airport.