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This is a theoretical question, as an Israeli citizen, this doesn't apply to me.

There have been several questions about not stamping the passport on entry and departure from Israel to avoid having an Israeli stamp in case one would later travel to an enemy country, or is a citizen / resident of one.

And the answer is simple, Israel doesn't stamp passports but issues an entry and departure slip, also, make sure not to enter by land as you will have a Jordanian or Egyptian stamp from a border crossing with Israel.

But, even in those cases, you would still have a departure and entry stamp with a difference of dates and nothing in between. A rigorous inspection of one's passport would reveal this inconsistency and could land the traveler in trouble.

Is it possible to ask the authorities in other countries to not stamp the passport on departure and entry because you are traveling to/ from Israel and don't want any signs of the trip in your passport?

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  • I know some countries would allow to get a second passport for this purpose, this is not what I'm asking about.
    – SIMEL
    Commented Sep 11, 2018 at 10:10
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    There are plenty of cases where an individual would not have their passport stamped on entry/exit. Why would an absence of entry/exit pairs during a visit to a country lead one to suspect that the country visited during that time is Israel?
    – Jacob Horbulyk
    Commented Sep 11, 2018 at 10:27

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This is a no-problem. Gaps in the stamp history is rather the rule and not the exception.

There are many situations where you won't get a stamp in your passport when crossing an international border, e.g.:

  • Your passport is usually not stamped when you leave or enter your home country.
  • Many countries generally only stamps passports on entry and not on exit.
  • Stamping may be superfluous due to international agreements. The passport of a citizen of one of the EEA states will e.g. not be stamped when leaving or entering any of the other EEA states.
  • It is not uncommon that citizens of neighbouring or 'friendly' countries can enter and leave with some kind of national id card instead of having to use a regular passport. Hence, there is no passport which can be stamped.

A gap in the stamp history can simply not be used as an indication that the passport holder has been anywhere specific.

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  • I fill that this answer doesn't answer the question and tries to avoid it. The 3rd and 4th points are not relevant to the question, because in those cases you'll not have a stamp in the passport from the departure port. The 1st point is not relevant for people who try to hide their Israeli trip from their home country, and the 2nd point would still make one expect to have at least one stamp from a third country.
    – SIMEL
    Commented Sep 12, 2018 at 14:25
  • @SIMEL I tried to explain why the reasoning leading up to your question is wrong. As I write 'it is a no-problem'. The problem you seem to assume and seek a solution for does not exist. If you really meant to ask something else, you should perhaps try to clarify your question.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Sep 12, 2018 at 16:04
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Stamping passports on entry and exit is not something they do for fun; it's international legal practice in order to record your entries and exits.

As such, while a "low-risk" national could possibly convince, say, a French, Greek or Italian border officer not to stamp them, the person could be in deep trouble if faced with an in-country police check.

So no, this is not a practical solution.

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  • As I wrote in the question, Israel doesn't stamp passports and instead issues a slip. Before this was the normal policy one could ask to stamp a separate piece of paper instead of the passport so that an Israeli stamp doesn't appear in it. So I think there are ways to uphold international law and not stamp a passport.
    – SIMEL
    Commented Sep 11, 2018 at 11:42
  • @SIMEL Not everywhere. Israel is a special case, and Hong Kong and Macau also doesn't stamp passports. Also Turkey has slips for those entering on an ID Card instead of a passport. But it is a mistake to assume that similar provisions are in place worldwide (though the Schengen Area, notably, does have dedicated forms for this purpose)
    – Crazydre
    Commented Sep 11, 2018 at 11:51

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