Originally Posted by
halls120
Ever since the Schengen treaty went into effect, I've had my passport stamped upon my first arrival in the zone. Until last month. Arriving at CDG on an AF flight from the US, we were not required to go through any kind of immigration check - just security before re-entering the departure area for our connecting flight. Upon our return to CDG from Africa, we were met at the end of the air bridge by French police, where our passports were checked, but there was no stamp provided, and the passports were not electronically screened.
Interesting that in the rest of the EU, the immigration checkpoint remains in operation.
Before reaquiring an Italian passport I was not stamped at FCO at least half a dozen times. I've witnessed many an American passport waived through. Happens in Italy fairly often.
Once when I lived in Germany I got "Ingrid the modern Gestapo agent wannabe" at departure check at MUC. She took 20 minutes looking at every stamp demanding to know my last dates of entry to schengen; At that time I had NATO orders granting me free range but I played to her a bit as Italy had not stamped my tourist passport two weeks prior on entry. She was dumbfounded and couldn't believe the Italians wouldn't stamp, she really didn't believe me. Then she saw my FRA exit stamp from 4 weeks before but no entrance after a two month old exit from AMS and again said it was impossible for a schengen agent to not stamp a passport. When she glimpsed the US government ID and Official Passport and Italian ID card as I put my passport back in my travel wallet she then freaked again and told me next time to just show her that and saver her time. BUt I find the games amusing...LOL...when one is "legal" of course.