Sjoerd

Schengen is not the same as the EU. There are Schengen member states that are not EU members (Norway and Iceland), and there are EU member states that are not Schengen members (or have not implemented the Schengen agreement) (UK, Ireland, all of the more recent EU member states). Switzerland is planning to implement the Schengen agreement in the autumn of 2008. In the mean time, 90% of traffic in and out of Switzerland is waved through.

stut

Stamping also depends on how various countries track people going in and out: actually, a stamp's not the greatest way of doing it: they fade, they smudge, they are easily faked. Many countries track passport numbers electronically (I remember having my passport swiped on a device attached to a laptop, on entering pre-EU Slovenia), and so do not stamp as a result.

travellingcari

Interesting. I mistakenly thought they were one and the same. Thanks for the information. Having lived in the Czech Republic pre-EU and returned to study there this summer, it's been interesting to see the relative lack of border changes there to date. I wonder how it will evolve and when/if they'll start to use one stamp. Currently it's the "EU standard stamp" at Prague Airport and the old Czech stamp at the rail crossings into Poland and Germany. It's an odd inconsistency.

And Stut:
Completely agree on the electronic tracking. Japan does the same for entry at KIX (and I assume others but that's the only one with which I have personal experience) but they continue (as of June 06 when I was last living there) to be stamp happy.

Much as I love stamps, I wish some countries' visas weren't page hogs as has been discussed in another thread. My two work visas (followed by two re-entry permits) for Japan and a work visa and extended stay visa for Australia were far bigger culprits in the need for more pages than any stamps.

warheel

I crossed from Italy into Switzerland via land and while there was someone watching the cars crawl through the border station I didn't see anyone stop or get waved over.

I had a brand new passport with no stamps when I drove into Canada and asked for a stamp once. The agent told me to wait (for what, I don't know, he had already scanned our passports) and gave me a stamp.

I thought about going into that Mexican immigration office on the right when you walk across the border into Tijuana and asking for a stamp, but once I got a closer view of it, changed my mind....

Taiwaned

My wife who is a Canadian Landed immigrant always gets a stamp when she crosses between Canada and the USA. She needs it to prove her immigration status. There needs to be concrete proof that she is in the country for x amount of days in a year to qualify for Canadian Citizenship.

You always can request at the crossing and they will stamp it for you.

Mr H

I once heard that the only place in Western Europe that stamps other Western European passports is Liechtenstein. There is a machine there that you put your passport page under the stamper, put a coin in the slot, and Bob's your uncle. I did try collecting stamps for a while and you can ask EU customs officials to stamp your passport - often they will - but most of the EU stamps are the same design. I had a friend who went to Egypt and they put postage stamps in his passport and franked them. I thought that was pretty cool. I also like the care they take with stamps in Eesti. Neat rectangular entry and exit stamps, side by side on the back page, and each visit neatly under the last. A page of Eesti stamps really looks quite swish.

Pat89339

Crossing by car from Slovenia to Croatia and vice versa. Stop. Stamp. Drive 25 feet. Stop. Stamp. Proceed. The same on the return.