Hello All,
We are travelling from London to Bruges(Belgium) in Bus via France. Do we get our passport stamped in France as well before entering the Belgium. Also we are returning back from Amsterdam. We want entry stamp in France. So can any one please let me know how this thing works as I'm travelling first time to EU region from UK and I'm non UK, non EU resident.
Thank you.
How is your bus getting from London to France? You will get a passport entry stamp on first entry into France.
We are taking bus from London which will go via English channel i believe and Belgium doesn't have port of entry by road i guess. Also we are returning back from Amsterdam. Correct me if I'm wrong. So in this case do we get a France entry stamp.
Hmmm, you might want to send an email to the bus company to confirm but it's possible you will get no stamp at all according to this post from 4 years ago by a Megabus driver for travel by Chunnel:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g188644-i205-k7703126-London_to_Brussels_Megabus_no_passport_check-Brussels.html
I get asked this question every single time we go through passport control. What the OP forgot to mention that they crossed over on the Euro Tunnel.
The French Douanes don't always check passports, the driver hands over a FULL PASSENGER MANIFEST which has all the details of every passenger on board the coach, and this gets inspected.
Like I say to every person who asks this question, your travel details are recorded at the check in desk in London Victoria, this gets sent over to the UK and French Customs, so they already know who is each vehicle before the coach leaves London!
Keep all paperwork such as your ticket, and your Megabus Check In Card. This is all the proof you need.From a Megabus European Driver "The Megabus Minion"
If they do stamp your passport it would be most likely in Calais.
DJ
We are taking the FLIXBUS. I'm afraid if we dont get stamps at all. :( We are returning back from Amsterdam.
When you enter the Schengen Treaty zone, you get your passport stamped. This shows your date of entry and starts the clock for how many days you are allowed to be "in the zone". When you fly home from Amsterdam, it will get an exit stamp showing the date you leave. The entry stamp will show the date, location and there will be a little arrow pointing into a box, meaning entry. Leaving, there will be a little arrow pointing out of a box, exiting.
There are no stamps entering Belgium from France or from Belgium to Netherlands. There are no border controls there.
You should normally get a stamp on entering the Schengen Area, but it does not always happen when traveling by bus, but don’t worry it is not such a big deal. It is however your responsibility to be able to demonstrate when you entered Schengen, so should you not get a stamp be sure to keep the bus ticket and any other documents relating to the journey.
What exactly is your concern? It really does not matter where, or if, you get your passport stamped as long as your travel details are logged in the respective tracking systems.
From what I have gathered so far, you might get checked and stamped as the bus gets off the ferry or train...or you may not, some check and official review will be done, but unless someone has taken Flixbus recently, it is impossible to say definitively what form that takes.
Returning from Amsterdam is no issue, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are all Schengen countries, so for most Nationalities that is handled as a single entity. On return to the UK, you will go through some type of Immigration again. If you happen to be from a Country where you need a specific Visa for a Country (ie: not USA, Canada, Australia, others) and this question is related to your Visa, then this is likely not the place to ask.
After nearly been run off the road in France by an idiot Flixbus driver on Sunday who was in a rush to get to Calais, I hope that you have a safer journey. The guy was a maniac.
I've only done the train from London to Paris. You get your passport stamped in the train station in London before you board the train. I thought bus and other cross channel transportation worked the same.
Why is there such a concern about getting the stamp if it is only sometimes done anyway?
Just wanted to know. We are going by bus and crossing the border check at Calais in France which will be our first Schengen entry and then going to Belgium and then Amsterdam and back home. So which one will be our Entry stamp. One Exit stamp will be of Amsterdam.
Years ago I took the Eurolines bus London to Paris. We had to get off the bus walk in a office where we got a stamp in Calais I think
I don't think you are reading the responses.
You will only get an entry stamp where you enter the Schengen zone of Europe. That would be in France -- IF they are stamping passports for bus passengers. That is where you enter. That is where you should get a stamp. If they do NOT stamp there, you have no entry stamp. There are no other border checks within Shengen. There are no more entry stamps once you enter the zone.
It is not entering Europe but the Schengen zone in Europe. Think of the Schengen zone as traveling between states. Just crossing the line. There will be some type of a formal entry into France. It could occur on the ferry at the border or even before you leave England. You passport will be scan and/or stamped to prove entry into the zone. You will cross into the countries without a formal check. You will go through exit immigration in Amsterdam prior to boarding your plane. And again the passport will be scan and/or stamped. It is easy.
I have also entered France by air and not received a stamp at Charles de Gaulle. But as already stated, authorities should have collected the info they need to track you from the airline or bus company.
