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-   TravelBuzz (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz-176/)
-   -   Biggest imnigration/customs pet peeves (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/532225-biggest-imnigration-customs-pet-peeves.html)

IrishRed Mar 4, 2006 6:31 pm
Originally Posted by AX9465
Ireland is another story.... for reasons unknown their stamp is exactly 1/2 of the passport page, so even if you ASK to stamp used page, there is no possibility to fit more than 2 of such stamps on same page... now having some pages in passport dedicated to Ireland Immigration... another interesting thing about them is that they changed ink of the stamp from black to green about year ago - and that green stuff smears to another pages - so now it is another chore - to use blank piece of paper to protect adjacent page from Ireland visa spilling over to it... unbelievable!

BTW - any experience of "biggest ever" immigration stamp or Republic of Ireland is the champion in this?

AX
Only half the page? I have 3 full pages they have ruined by stamping that hideously huge thing right in the middle. I definitely need to get extra passport pages now :td:

jpatokal Mar 5, 2006 2:22 am
Originally Posted by jpdx
Are there any other countries that stamp the passports of their own citizens?
Japan, for one, and quite a few others in Asia. Always did seem to me to be a particularly pointless exercise... :confused:

B747-437B Mar 5, 2006 3:14 am
Originally Posted by jpatokal
Always did seem to me to be a particularly pointless exercise... :confused:
Au contraire. Speaking as an Indian citizen, the passport stamps into/out of country are vitally important as they serve as the only acceptable proof to the authorities as to whether you were in/out of the country - and accordingly whether you are liable for personal income tax or not.

AX9465 Mar 5, 2006 4:17 am
Originally Posted by jpdx
Are there any other countries that stamp the passports of their own citizens? My lifetime count for German stamps is 1, and not only did I have to ask for it, I also had to justify why I wanted it.
Russia does... one stamp when you exit and one stamp when you return. Purpose unknown as they also scan passport photo page each time they stamp it so everything in their computer anyway. Prpbably it started in pre-computer times and was not cancelled by mistake :rolleyes: but I know at least one place where having stamp is beneficial... in SVO they have separate (fast track :)) line for Russian nationals who last time departed from SVO
BTW, they stamp boarding pass too (on departure)
AX

dimramon Mar 5, 2006 4:52 am
Last week when I was flying home, the immigration officer at Dulles managed to stamp my agriculture/customs form instead of my passport.
That's a first for me :)

Pickles Mar 5, 2006 6:32 am
Originally Posted by dimramon
Last week when I was flying home, the immigration officer at Dulles managed to stamp my agriculture/customs form instead of my passport.
That's a first for me :)
?? US immigration agents always stamp the customs form, in addition to the passport. As a matter of fact, where they stamp (e.g. on the back or front) on the form is part of the signal to indicate if you are going for the latex glove treatment on the way out.

travelinmanS Mar 5, 2006 9:46 am
I've mostly experienced the US guys stamping only my customs form and not my passport when I return to the US. As far as the signal for whether or not you get the rubber glove I always thought that they put a number 1 with a circle around it on the customs form if everything was cool and a big x if they wanted you to go for the treatment. At least that has been my experience at SFO.

hfly Mar 5, 2006 10:12 am
747, The scan and its record now hold much more water in most places than a rubber stamp.

cpx Mar 5, 2006 10:16 am
i've always had a stamp on the front of the customs forms and i've never been
selected for additional screening.

They've asked me a several times "Where's your luggage?" since I travel
with just a backpack or may be a small duffle.

Pickles Mar 5, 2006 5:46 pm
Originally Posted by cpx
i've always had a stamp on the front of the customs forms and i've never been
selected for additional screening.
I've had the back stamped once, and the guy at customs immediately said: "you've been randomly selected for additional questions, nothing personal". So I asked him how did he know, and he said "your customs form is stamped in the back". This was in LAX recently.

cpx Mar 5, 2006 6:00 pm
Originally Posted by Pickles
I've had the back stamped once, and the guy at customs immediately said: "you've been randomly selected for additional questions, nothing personal". So I asked him how did he know, and he said "your customs form is stamped in the back". This was in LAX recently.
now we know:

Stamp on the front of the Customs form = cool! :)
Stamp on the back of the Customs form = Trouble :(

jpatokal Mar 6, 2006 12:24 am
Originally Posted by B747-437B
Au contraire. Speaking as an Indian citizen, the passport stamps into/out of country are vitally important as they serve as the only acceptable proof to the authorities as to whether you were in/out of the country - and accordingly whether you are liable for personal income tax or not.
Obviously it would be too much work for the Immigration guys' computers to be able to talk to the ones in the tax office... then again, I was a little surprised that in Singapore, to qualify for the non-resident tax exemption, you needed to submit your own list of days when you were away. I guess they point-check a couple and then beat you into submission with rattan canes if they catch you.

Pickles Mar 6, 2006 2:01 am
Originally Posted by B747-437B
Au contraire. Speaking as an Indian citizen, the passport stamps into/out of country are vitally important as they serve as the only acceptable proof to the authorities as to whether you were in/out of the country - and accordingly whether you are liable for personal income tax or not.
Believe it or not, the same is true in the US. Even after all the money spent on systems and what not, the CBP, CIS, and IRS computers don't talk to each other very well, and it is the passport stamps that are used to ultimately determine if you were in or outside the US...

GUWonder Mar 6, 2006 2:10 am
Originally Posted by Pickles
Believe it or not, the same is true in the US. Even after all the money spent on systems and what not, the CBP, CIS, and IRS computers don't talk to each other very well, and it is the passport stamps that are used to ultimately determine if you were in or outside the US...
The passport stamps would have done a lousy job for me if needed for such purpose. The US passport stamps don't routinely happen for me, and some of the countries I visit haven't stamped my passport either.

Starbucks Mar 6, 2006 5:25 am
Originally Posted by travelinmanS
I've mostly experienced the US guys stamping only my customs form and not my passport when I return to the US. As far as the signal for whether or not you get the rubber glove I always thought that they put a number 1 with a circle around it on the customs form if everything was cool and a big x if they wanted you to go for the treatment. At least that has been my experience at SFO.
I guess the "1" indicates the number of persons using the customs form. I always get a "II" on it when using one form with my wife.


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