Urgent: Getting an EU Passport Stamp Retroactively
 

Hi:
We have an urgent issue regarding my son attending a summer intern program. When he arrived a Fiumicino they waved him through without a passport stamp.
It appears according to the people at the program he needs to have the stamp in order to perform some security sensitive duties. From what I read, not stamping passports is common here. Can we go back to Fiumicino and get a retroactive passport stamp?:confused:

Fly out to non-Schengen, fly back in? Mileage run. :)

Ah, the Italians. Don't you just love them? I was talking with an embassy vice consul in China last week about the Schengen area visa regime and she was complaining that the Italians don't even bother to show up to the EU meetings and then get huffy when new regulations or procedures come out. You know someone is slack when even the Estonian and Greek governments are outperforming them. :)

Not enforcing "security" regulations or procedures? My kind of place. :D

A quick check of AZ flights to nearby non-Schengen from FCO comes up with:

Belgrade
Skopje
Tirana
Podgorica
Tunis
Tripoli
Algiers
Oran

In case all else fails. :(

Edited to add: Don't bother checking the last three, Libya and Algeria require advance visas for US citizens. The others don't.

It ought to have been stamped and Italy is legally required to stamp US passports according to the Schengen Agreement.

According to the Schengen Manual for Boarder control Officers (translated from a German version I have seen)...

"Passports of third country nationals must generally be stamped when entering and leaving the Schengen Zone. Date and point of entry/exit can be ascertained by the stamp and the adherence to the authorized number of days of stay (90 days in 6 month) can be verified.
Border Police must therefore stamp the passport of third-country nationals even if controls have been relaxed due to exceptional circumstances.
The following documents may not be stamped:
-passports of citizens of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland
-passport of diplomats.....
Stamps should be, if possible, entered in chronological sequence, the exit should be documented by a stamp nearby the entry stamp to simplify the calculation of allowed stay. Stamps should be levelled horizontally."

This also explains why, my EU (UK) passport is never stamped. Even if you ask for a stamp they are not allowed to give you one. I guess that not having to stamp everyone's passport means some Boarder Guards forget to stamp those who they are supposed to stamp.

Are you sure they didn't stamp? When flipping through my passport after entering the Schengen area at FCO recently, I thought they didn't stamp, but then I found it on my third or fourth read through... they stamped over an existing US stamp with very faint ink. On the exit stamp, they got the date wrong.

Just don't fly back to the US on a US-flagged carrier out of FCO, there is a MMW in T5. Not sure if they actually use it or not, as only one lane was open at 6:45 AM when I went through. They also make you take out ALL your electronics (incl. phones, cameras, tablets, etc.) and place them in flimsy (think grocery store produce style) plastic bags before putting them in bins at security. It's like the 3-1-1 rule but stupider, the first thing a laptop does is shred right through the bag...

This happened to me with a france. I didn't get stamped on the way out. Out of precaution, I asked for a stamp when I returned to the US.

Nothing happened immigration at MAD asked me few months later in MAD. I told them - France didn't stamp me. That was the end of it, they stamped me back in, and have a nice day.

I have entered the Schengen zone via countries where I haven't always been stamped in. Those countries include Denmark, Netherlands, France, and Italy -- mostly the latter three.

Actually you may not even need to fly out. Buy refundable ticket out of Schengen, clear immigration out of Schengen, "change" your mind, clear immigration back into Schengen, refund ticket.

Many years ago after arriving in FRA long haul, completely forgot to claim checked baggage and realized right before I got on a regional train. Went back thru immigration out of Schengen, then back into Schengen to access baggage claim for my flight.

I've been stamped by Italy 100% (all arrival by air) but they, along with France, do stamp on random pages and orientation. The Germans and Swiss align their stamps not just along with the borders but also ensure entry/exit are adjacent with one and other.

A few years back (but still post 9/11), I was waved into Italy (from non Schengen) without the Immigration official even touching my passport. He saw it was Canadian and waves my wife and I in.

I've been flying in and out of Italy (going/coming from Non-Schengen) around 20 times.. if I remember correctly, about 6 times the immigration officer didn't wanted to see my passport all together, around 8 times he was already happy when I saw I had a big white cross on my passport hull (without taking the passport out - could have been anything), around 4 times he just had a look (from outside) on my passport, and at exactly 2 times my passport was actually (very quickly) opened :D

Sure, I don't need a stamp, but still, Italy's immigration always surprises me.. but then it's the same country that gives asylum seekers on a regular base some money and a ticket to France/Switzerland/Germany, despite all contracts they've signed.. :rolleyes:

Went on the Chanel Tunnel to France last year, drove upto the booth, didn't even stop and got waved me through. The UK isn't in the Schengen Area. Might as well have been!

When I was departing the Schengen area - from MUC - the officers asked where I entered, because there was no stamp. Long story short, Italian airports don't really care to stamp...

I fly into and out of the Schengen zone dozens of times each year for many years. A shrinking but still substantial proportion of my Schengen entries/exits do not get stamped (and I have no doubt that they didn't get stamped). Most of the Schengen zone passport control personnel either don't care to match my entry and exit stamps or they continue to give up looking to match my entries and exits (including for reasons related to non-stamping on various previous entries/exits). YMMV, but even the MUC, DUS, TXL, HAM and FRA passport control give up trying to match my entries and exits or even figuring out when I entered and exited.