Passport - Immigration Stamps in Passports

Immigration Stamps in Passports

For immigration control, immigration officials of many countries stamp passports with entry and exit stamps. A stamp can serve different purposes. In the United Kingdom, an immigration stamp in a passport includes the formal leave to enter granted to a person subject to entry control. Otherwise, a stamp activates or acknowledges the continuing leave conferred in the passport bearer's entry clearance.

Under the Schengen system, a foreign passport is stamped with a date stamp which does not indicate any duration of stay. This stamp is taken to mean that the person is deemed to have permission to remain either for three months or for the period shown on his visa (whichever is shorter).

Member states of the European Union are not permitted to place a stamp in the passport of a person who is not subject to immigration control, such as a national of that country, a national of another EU member state or a non-EU national family member of an EU national who is seeking entry in conformity with EU Directive 2004/38/EC. Stamping is prohibited because a passport stamp is imposition of a control that the person is not subject to. This concept is not applicable in countries outside the EU, where a stamp in a passport may simply acknowledge the entry or exit of a person.

Countries usually have different styles of stamps for entries and exits, to make it easier to identify the movements of people. The shape of the stamp and the colour of the ink may also provide information about movements (whether departure or arrival). In Hong Kong, prior to and immediately after the 1997 transfer of sovereignty, entry and exit stamps were identical at all ports of entry, but colours differed. Airport stamps used black ink, land stamps used red ink, and sea stamps used purple ink. In Macau, under Portuguese administration, the same colour of ink was used for all stamps, but the stamps had slightly different borders to indicate entry/exit by air, land, or sea. In several countries the stamps or its colour are different if the person arrived in a car as opposed to bus/boat/train/air passenger. Countries can vary the shape of their stamps to indicate the length of stay, like Singapore where a perfectly rectangular stamp indicates a 14-day stay, rounded rectangular a 30-day stay, or hexagonal a 90-day stay.

Immigration stamps are a useful reminder of travels. Some travellers "collect" immigration stamps in passports, and will choose to enter or exit countries via different means (for example, land, sea or air) in order to have different stamps in their passports.

Visas often take the form of an inked stamp, although some countries use adhesive stickers that incorporate security features to discourage forgery.