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It is known that passport stamps are a kind of collection for many people. But, inside European Union, we -EU citizens- are allowed to travel without passport, just with our national ID card (if we have in our countries).

Is there any way to get passport stamps like non-EU citizens? You can identify yourself with the passport of course, but they don't stamp it.

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  • Welcome to travel.SE. Can you clarify what you mean by: but they don't stamp your passport this is when arriving back into EU from outside the zone or when you travel "domestically"? Also just as a simple suggestion have you tried asking?
    – Karlson
    Mar 22, 2013 at 14:20
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    Inside EU? AFAIK only Bulgaria and Romania are part of EU but not of Schengen zone. Between the other countries there is no border control anymore
    – Dirty-flow
    Mar 22, 2013 at 14:34
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    @machlas Why don't you just ask them to stamp your passport & if they ask why - just say you like having your passport stamped by different countries.
    – Simon
    Mar 22, 2013 at 15:42
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    @Dirty-flow, that is not correct. The UK and Ireland are also part of the EU but are not within Schengen. As a UK citizen one has to show a passport (or national ID card, but the UK doesn't have one) when travelling to continental Europe (and the reverse); but it is never stamped. Mar 24, 2013 at 20:24
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    @machlas: no there isn't. Schengen-Schengen flight is just like domestic flight. There is ID/ticket check performed by airline and that's it.
    – vartec
    Mar 25, 2013 at 13:22

5 Answers 5

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Actually while doing a search for the same question I found the exact same question asked on YAHOO

The basic premise of the answer is that according to law a stamp is indicating immigration control of the passport holder, which under the directive linked on the same answer becomes illegal since it prevents free movement of the citizens within the Union's territory.

So generally immigration control won't stamp your passport from a member state.

It is quite likely that you can waive your right to no immigration control on the external border but there is no such provision detailed in the border control code.

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With the Schengen agreement internal immigration controls have been abolished. So even if you wanted to get a stamp when crossing say, from Germany in to France, you wouldn't be able to find someone to do this for you. At many borders the only sign that you are crossing in to a different country is that the quality of the road surface changes.

When travelling within the Schenge area by plane you also don't pass immigration normally, as Schengen passengers are routed separately from non Schengen passengers at most airport. Post 9/11 there are again identity checks when entering the departure area of an airport, but this is not immigration, those people won't be able to stamp your passport either. I can remember how in the first years of Schengen I once flew from Brussel to Barcelona without showing any piece of ID at all the whole way... That was what we as were promised then, but alas this is no longer the case.

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    About your last sentence, every time I have flown within Schengen Area, the only moments I have been asked for ID card were before boarding. And I think these are not for an inmigration issue, just for verifying you are the ticket owner. Mar 28, 2013 at 9:21
  • I have taken several intra-Schengen flights on my USA passport, and I have always been in the same queues as the EU citizens. ID is checked, which is, of course, the passport for me, but only the photo and name is ever of interest. Dec 17, 2014 at 7:36
  • @AndrewLazarus "Intra-Schengen flights" "same queues as EU citizens". Makes no sense - you're implying you cleared immigration on a flight within Schengen. This does not normally happen
    – Crazydre
    Oct 16, 2016 at 1:44
  • @Crazydre Agreed no checks after the flight. I meant the boarding process and security. Oct 16, 2016 at 16:17
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    @Crazydre Except the airline's own if you are on Ryanair, or, I believe, Wizzair. Oct 16, 2016 at 16:22
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I'm a UK national with the EU passport and the border control in Amsterdam and Helsinki have both stamped my passport when I asked them to - they didn't mind at all and even had a flick through to see all the stamps from other countries.

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Just to clarify for fellow EU citizens that are trying to get "souvenir" stamps in their EU passports:

They don't stamp your passport because it is against the law to do so! Also, should you manage to get them to do it, you risk having your visa application to another country (say China, Russia, the US, India) refused and being asked to renew your passport due to the "souvenir" stamps which in their eyes render the passport a "fake".

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    why is it against the law? any reference?
    – Dirty-flow
    Jun 9, 2014 at 9:51
  • Why would Chinese immigration, just as an example, know that you need a stamp travelling from the Egypt to Germany but that you mustn't have a stamp travelling from Greece to Germany (and since I have no idea if you need one going from Turkey to Germany, would Chinese immigration know? )
    – gnasher729
    Jul 23, 2014 at 22:56
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    Souvenir stamps issued by a legit authority do not invalidate a passport - I know several people who would've been in lots of trouble otherwise
    – Crazydre
    Mar 2, 2017 at 23:38
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    @gnasher729 German authorities are not supposed to stamp EU passports, period, regardless of where the traveler is traveling from.
    – phoog
    Mar 19, 2017 at 5:02
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Within the Schengen Area, border guards at internal checkpoints aren't equipped with stamps (instead they check whether a non-EU/EFTA citizen has a current entry stamp), and so cannot stamp you. Such checks currently mostly take place when entering Sweden, Denmark, France or Switzerland by land.

It is possible you could ask the Swiss to put a customs stamp in your passport if you're stopped for a check, but I have no experience of my own with this.

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