Eurotunnel this morning. We had to ask to get passport stamped

jongood said:
Just a heads up for anyone travelling. On the return and french customs just waved us through. No problem getting them stamped but we had to ask.
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Why are you bothered? We went last August, September time. Not stamped in or out. I think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill and worrying about nothing.
 
Its must depend on who's on duty just like the custom checks.
We had ours stamped in and out last Sept/Oct, although they are also recorded electronically these days.

I don't think they worry to much about two old grey haired wrinkle's being terrorists :hi5:
 
M54 Junction 2 to 3 closed all weekend Jon, welcome back;)

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jongood said:
Just a heads up for anyone travelling. On the return and french customs just waved us through. No problem getting them stamped but we had to ask.
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Did they take your passports and scan them, as far as I know they have to do that and the stamp is no more than a reminder for you in case you need to count your days either in or out of the EU
 
Just a thought - did you complete the Eurotunnel form about who is travelling? It has passport details on there so maybe your return has been recorded there.

So many systems, forms and whatever, I'm pretty sure your movements will be recorded somewhere! Hope you had a good trip.
 
surprise they we not stamped I have been across 6 times in the last few months and everytime french customs stamp in and out.
 
Never had our passports stamped in Europe.

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Ive had to ask at nearly every border for it to be stamped but i assumed it was always scanned. Hence my surprise here in Bulgaria when i was awoken by military police at 7am and on them checking my passport told me they had no record of me entering Bulgaria. I'll be back to insisting the stamp it on the various borders i need to cross on the way back.
 
steve and gina said:
I have to ask too, why did want your passports stamped ?

Gina.
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Because if we miss to get them stamped next time we go out we could have issue's proving we havent overstayed.

French customs didnt scan them although UK border did. Could I rely on getting acess to that info if i needed it?
 
Raul said:
To prove to other border guards that you exited shengen at the time you said you did. Without stamp you have no proof at hand. Stamp is king.
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Thanks, been reading online. I understand why now. We haven't been abroad since Brexit(y)

Gina.

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And for those of us who live in France with a UK passport, we have to grapple with them NOT to stamp it :LOL: Of course, the only irritant is that it fills up our passports quicker (we can prove residency if the police ever do knock on the door) but it does seem that too many people working at Border Control have no idea of what they should and shouldn't be doing! :rolleyes:
 
I expect your passport was scanned and therefore your border movement digitally recorded.

A stamp is somewhat unnecessary nowadays IMO... I mean, what would happen if one lost their passport and we relied on the stamp?
 
The traveller should make sure they are complying even if the Lazy Border Guard couldn't give a hoot.... that's their only job...why can they not do what they are there to do...😡
 
Pablotti said:
I expect your passport was scanned and therefore your border movement digitally recorded.

A stamp is somewhat unnecessary nowadays IMO... I mean, what would happen if one lost their passport and we relied on the stamp?
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As i said above it ISN'T always scanned so its worthwhile asking that it is.

Im presently in some digital no mans land as i was scanned and stamped out of greece but neither scanned or stamped in to Bulgaria. Fortunately for me i have several ways i can prove when i entered Bulgaria and i will insist on my passport being stamped when i leave and enter Romania.

But do not assume that any border guard is doing their job correctly.

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Ah yes, well not stamped or scanned is a different situation. We're heading through the same countries later this year, so will be sure to keep an eye out too.
 
jumar said:
The traveller should make sure they are complying even if the Lazy Border Guard couldn't give a hoot.... that's their only job...why can they not do what they are there to do...😡
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Indeed! We've had problems with;
  1. them insisting on stamping our passports even though we live in France
  2. having our dogs French passport thrown at us and being told it is 'worthless' because *we* have UK passports
  3. being told our dog's Health Certificate to get back into France must be issued by a French vet
You'd like to think they'd all know the rules by now but it's clear they don't!
 
If you are a frequent traveller the free pages in the passport will soon get full won’t they?

We went to Turkey late last year and the officious border control guy was a very enthusiastic stamper:rolleyes:
 
Chris said:
If you are a frequent traveller the free pages in the passport will soon get full won’t they?

We went to Turkey late last year and the officious border control guy was a very enthusiastic stamper:rolleyes:
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You can apply for a larger passport with more pages for exactly this reason.
 
Pablotti said:
Ah yes, well not stamped or scanned is a different situation. We're heading through the same countries later this year, so will be sure to keep an eye out too.
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I was in limbo at 24.00hr romanian hungarian border. Crossed romanian border before midnite, then Hungarian guy would not let us in, as he’s colleague did not stamp us out. Therefore we could not enter. Two hrs later between the borders the muppet did stamped us in a day later, (after midnite),
Since then stamp check every shengen border.

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Pablotti said:
I expect your passport was scanned and therefore your border movement digitally recorded.

A stamp is somewhat unnecessary nowadays IMO... I mean, what would happen if one lost their passport and we relied on the stamp?
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You only rely on the stamp when one of them gets funny .If you have a stamp they can't argue.If relying on a scan ,which you have no access to & no idea whether it has been done, You are in it without a paddle.
Pablotti said:
Complying with what? We don't have a legal requirement to obtain a stamp.
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No but they have a legal requiremnent to stamp non EU passports.
 
Pablotti said:
I expect your passport was scanned and therefore your border movement digitally recorded.

A stamp is somewhat unnecessary nowadays IMO... I mean, what would happen if one lost their passport and we relied on the stamp?
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If you mean the Op (me) - the Douanier wasn't going to even look at our passports let alone swipe them.
 
gus-lopez said:
You only rely on the stamp when one of them gets funny .If you have a stamp they can't argue.If relying on a scan ,which you have no access to & no idea whether it has been done, You are in it without a paddle.

No but they have a legal requiremnent to stamp non EU passports.
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I don’t think this is quite right, although last week, that’s what happened to me, despite me arguing the point with them in Folkestone.

I was traveling with an EU passport holder (my spouse) and before I could intercept the action, I had my UK passport stamped… I clearly questioned this, offered our marriage certificate and citied the EU directives which I have highlighted electronic copies of… the discussion got quite heated, with three border control officials involved in the end, but they are clearly poorly informed and trained. Luckily we are only away 88 days this trip, but we were scheduled, before the French border problems to be away 112 days!

Lesson learnt and I’m handing laminated copies of the EU directives and the marriage certificate over before any passports next time.
 
I hold an Eu Residency card and an UK passport.

I intend when crossing a Schengen border, outbound or inbound, to only present my residency card to the EU authorities and to present my UK passport to the UK, or other non-Schengen authorities, e.g. Croatia.

I consider this meets all legal requirements.

Geoff
 
Pablotti said:
Complying with what? We don't have a legal requirement to obtain a stamp.
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Complying with the 90/180 day ruling....it is in the interest of any traveller to make sure their movements are recorded in their passport.
If a guard cannot be bothered to stamp, he or she may not be bothered to scan either...

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