Passport stamping
Jul 24, 23, 3:11 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: BA, UA, Marriot
Posts: 2,195
Passport stamping
Drove back to the UK from Germany via DFDS's Dunkerque - Dover ferry service. On going through outbound French border control, the border official wanted to simply wave me through, but I asked for an exit stamp for my UK passport. We then had an odd 2 minute conversation about why I wanted a stamp.... It has been my understanding that post-Brexit a stamp is required for both entry and exit into the Schengen zone to ensure that as a UK citizen I remain within the 90/180 day rule. Have I got this wrong, or has this changed and I'm not ware of it? (Btw, he did eventually stamp me).
Jul 24, 23, 1:45 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Paris, France
Programs: Flying Blue, Accor Silver
Posts: 290
Border crossings are now controlled electronically in most cases so stamps are not required. If you feel that you look like a suspicious character; keep hotel and other receipts to be able to prove when and where you have been.
But in any case, if the French border control did not care about your status, why on earth would you think that the British authorities would care how long you had been in the EU? It is not a UK problem if you exceeded the limit in the EU.
But in any case, if the French border control did not care about your status, why on earth would you think that the British authorities would care how long you had been in the EU? It is not a UK problem if you exceeded the limit in the EU.
Jul 24, 23, 4:07 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: FB Gold, Accor Gold, IHG One Rewards Platinum, SNCF Grand Voyager le club, Hertz 5* Gold,
Posts: 271
Since it came back into play, I think many border controls were unclear on the rules. At multiple different crossings our passports have been stamped despite presenting EU resident permits, but its quite tricky to unstamp.
recently its been better, and hopefully no long lasting impacts.
recently its been better, and hopefully no long lasting impacts.
Jul 25, 23, 4:03 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: BA, UA, Marriot
Posts: 2,195
Border crossings are now controlled electronically in most cases so stamps are not required. If you feel that you look like a suspicious character; keep hotel and other receipts to be able to prove when and where you have been.
But in any case, if the French border control did not care about your status, why on earth would you think that the British authorities would care how long you had been in the EU? It is not a UK problem if you exceeded the limit in the EU.
But in any case, if the French border control did not care about your status, why on earth would you think that the British authorities would care how long you had been in the EU? It is not a UK problem if you exceeded the limit in the EU.
Jul 25, 23, 7:18 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: BA, UA, Marriot
Posts: 2,195
Since it came back into play, I think many border controls were unclear on the rules. At multiple different crossings our passports have been stamped despite presenting EU resident permits, but its quite tricky to unstamp.
recently its been better, and hopefully no long lasting impacts.
recently its been better, and hopefully no long lasting impacts.
Jul 25, 23, 10:26 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Paris, France
Programs: Flying Blue, Accor Silver
Posts: 290
In any case, countries do not care much as long as you are leaving. Believe it or not, I lost my passport in Australia once and had a passport stolen in the United States. Neither country cared one bit since I was leaving their territory. (I still had my French ID card in both cases so no problem re-entering France.) When I was mugged in South Africa and had absolutely no documents left, it was a bit more complicated, but nothing that a fax machine couldn't fix (this was the 20th century).
Jul 25, 23, 10:53 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Hampshire, UK.
Programs: Flying Blue
Posts: 7
You will definitely need an exit stamp from the EU when heading to the UK... Without it you are going to find it difficult to re-enter the EU next time as they will not be able to confirm the 90/180 rule. This still relies on old fashioned passport stamps to tot up the days...
Although the French authorities may have an electronic record of your exit, this is not necessarily visible across the bloc, so should you try to re-enter anywhere other than France, you will definitely run into issues.
This should be resolved, and passport stamping will cease when the EU ETIAS system goes live (eventually).
Although the French authorities may have an electronic record of your exit, this is not necessarily visible across the bloc, so should you try to re-enter anywhere other than France, you will definitely run into issues.
This should be resolved, and passport stamping will cease when the EU ETIAS system goes live (eventually).
Jul 26, 23, 2:55 am
#8
Join Date: May 2005
Location: London, England, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott (Lifetime Titantium), whatever other programs as benefits make sense.
Posts: 1,910
I've not taken the ferry, but I have been stamped both in and out every time I have driven down and taken the Eurotunnel since Brexit (along with every time I flew or took the Eurostar). I think getting the stamp was the safest thing to do.
Jul 26, 23, 2:31 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: FB Gold, Accor Gold, IHG One Rewards Platinum, SNCF Grand Voyager le club, Hertz 5* Gold,
Posts: 271
No doubt some of them seem unclear. I would however have thought that for a French border official whose sole job on the day was to check exits from France to the UK at a ferry port, that this wouldn't have been too confusing. I flew into CDG recently and was able to once again use the e-gates on arrival which was swiftly followed by an official stamping my open passport without even looking at the document - same on exit.
that you could get through the e-gates at Cdg with a uk passport is a welcome change, Ive always had to got through the Other queue and was actively refused by the gates themselves. Hopefully it will be better when I go through later this week.
As I said, this was originally a problem when it was all new. Checking my passport shows the last stamp in December last year. Hopefully theyve all learnt.
Jul 27, 23, 10:45 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 2023
Location: Under the Big Oak Tree
Programs: Air Bukovina Elite, Circassian Air Gold, Carthaginian Airlines Platinum
Posts: 364
I'm with the OP in terms of stamping. There is never any harm in getting one and it can prevent problems later.
We traveled from the UK to Germany by coach only a month before the pandemic. The coach took Le Shuttle through the Channel Tunnel. Our passports were scanned at Folkestone, but only by Eurotunnel personnel in order to provide an outbound passenger manifest for the UK authorities. No one on the bus encountered a French immigration official. I found this incredibly odd because we've made the same journey by ferry multiple times and have dealt with French immigration officers at Dover in order to be stamped into the Schengen zone. (French immigration were always surprised when clearing a bus from London, to encounter two Canadians who spoke to them in French!)
We spent two weeks in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary. We then took the train to Zagreb. At the border (this was prior to Croatia's entry into Schengen) Hungarian officials demanded to know why we had been traveling in the Schengen zone with no entry stamp--all we had was a UK entry stamp from Heathrow. They claimed there was no record of our entry into France/Schengen in their computers. It took a lot of explaining and back and forth between the officers before they reluctantly stamped us out of Hungary and Schengen.
Not sure how much has changed because we haven't used the Channel Tunnel or Le Shuttle since. But the lack of stamps in our case was a big hassle.
We traveled from the UK to Germany by coach only a month before the pandemic. The coach took Le Shuttle through the Channel Tunnel. Our passports were scanned at Folkestone, but only by Eurotunnel personnel in order to provide an outbound passenger manifest for the UK authorities. No one on the bus encountered a French immigration official. I found this incredibly odd because we've made the same journey by ferry multiple times and have dealt with French immigration officers at Dover in order to be stamped into the Schengen zone. (French immigration were always surprised when clearing a bus from London, to encounter two Canadians who spoke to them in French!)
We spent two weeks in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary. We then took the train to Zagreb. At the border (this was prior to Croatia's entry into Schengen) Hungarian officials demanded to know why we had been traveling in the Schengen zone with no entry stamp--all we had was a UK entry stamp from Heathrow. They claimed there was no record of our entry into France/Schengen in their computers. It took a lot of explaining and back and forth between the officers before they reluctantly stamped us out of Hungary and Schengen.
Not sure how much has changed because we haven't used the Channel Tunnel or Le Shuttle since. But the lack of stamps in our case was a big hassle.
Jul 28, 23, 7:54 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2022
Location: Madrid
Programs: IB+ Oro / OWS
Posts: 237
I'm with the OP in terms of stamping. There is never any harm in getting one and it can prevent problems later.
We traveled from the UK to Germany by coach only a month before the pandemic. The coach took Le Shuttle through the Channel Tunnel. Our passports were scanned at Folkestone, but only by Eurotunnel personnel in order to provide an outbound passenger manifest for the UK authorities. No one on the bus encountered a French immigration official. I found this incredibly odd because we've made the same journey by ferry multiple times and have dealt with French immigration officers at Dover in order to be stamped into the Schengen zone. (French immigration were always surprised when clearing a bus from London, to encounter two Canadians who spoke to them in French!)
We spent two weeks in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary. We then took the train to Zagreb. At the border (this was prior to Croatia's entry into Schengen) Hungarian officials demanded to know why we had been traveling in the Schengen zone with no entry stamp--all we had was a UK entry stamp from Heathrow. They claimed there was no record of our entry into France/Schengen in their computers. It took a lot of explaining and back and forth between the officers before they reluctantly stamped us out of Hungary and Schengen.
Not sure how much has changed because we haven't used the Channel Tunnel or Le Shuttle since. But the lack of stamps in our case was a big hassle.
We traveled from the UK to Germany by coach only a month before the pandemic. The coach took Le Shuttle through the Channel Tunnel. Our passports were scanned at Folkestone, but only by Eurotunnel personnel in order to provide an outbound passenger manifest for the UK authorities. No one on the bus encountered a French immigration official. I found this incredibly odd because we've made the same journey by ferry multiple times and have dealt with French immigration officers at Dover in order to be stamped into the Schengen zone. (French immigration were always surprised when clearing a bus from London, to encounter two Canadians who spoke to them in French!)
We spent two weeks in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary. We then took the train to Zagreb. At the border (this was prior to Croatia's entry into Schengen) Hungarian officials demanded to know why we had been traveling in the Schengen zone with no entry stamp--all we had was a UK entry stamp from Heathrow. They claimed there was no record of our entry into France/Schengen in their computers. It took a lot of explaining and back and forth between the officers before they reluctantly stamped us out of Hungary and Schengen.
Not sure how much has changed because we haven't used the Channel Tunnel or Le Shuttle since. But the lack of stamps in our case was a big hassle.
Thought intra-EU immigration data was not linked in 2020 (still is not), so I'm surprised the Hungarian officials were expecting French records on their computers...
Common advice during the transition period (now past) is to keep all proof of travel like tickets.
