Passport Stamps in Europe

You'll get a stamp in Amsterdam as your entry point into the Schengen zone. No others. There isn't even anyone to ask that I've ever seen when moving throughout the EU.

You will only go through passport control once in Amsterdam. The old days of border control are over for the Schengen countries.

Hi all, thanks for the replies. Okay, so Amsterdam most likely I will get stamped for the first time when entering Schengen area. In Nice, Rome, and Paris, aren't there immigration counters the airports for people who make those cities as their first entry to Schengen area? Can I go to that immigration counters instead of going straight to the baggage claim?

Alas! I sort of miss those romantic old days of getting a stamp at every border in Europe. But then I also think back at the hassle and expense of changing currencies too. All in all, I like it better now.

"In Nice, Rome, and Paris, aren't there immigration counters the airports for people who make those cities as their first entry to Schengen area? Can I go to that immigration counters instead of going straight to the baggage claim" No, because your plane won't arrive at those terminals. If your flight arrives from another Schengen Zone country, the immigration counters will be in a secure area of the airport that you can't enter. And even if you could, they won't stamp your passport again because your first entry stamp has a little symbol that indicates the day you entered the Schengen Zone. This starts your 90 day countdown, and there needs to be a corresponding exit stamp when you leave. One stamp in, one stamp out.

Thanks Tom for the clarification. So it seems that I will only get 2 stamps then: once when arriving at Amsterdam for transit, and second when getting out from Amsterdam for transit. It's quite sad though that I won't get many stamps in my passport. :(

Kinda sad, isn't it? Do be sure they stamp it in Amsterdam; rarely, someone's passport somehow doesn't get stamped, and they get a bit of a hassle when trying to leave Europe. Not terribly common, thankfully.

Thanks Eileen for the sympathy :) Yes, I will make sure I'm getting stamped in and out of Amsterdam.

Bummer. Good question Stewart. We were kind of hoping to get stamps in our passports as well.

If you want a lot of passport stamps, take the Eurostar over to London, just for the day, from Paris. Those brits go crazy, crazy! Talk about a 3rd degree! Your PP will be stamped by France and Britain on the way out; then again by Britain and France on your return! It's interesting too because there are a lot of coded symbols contained within the stamps!

Take lots of pictures and forget the stamps. I have a 30 year old passport full of stamps and I cannot read most of them. But this must be an important issue for you since I noticed you have posted the same question with the same responses on other travel sites. But a trip through SE Asia would get the stamps.

Last May, we were very close to the Swiss border with France. We thought we would go into Geneva for lunch. That would also allow us to get our passports stamped. At the border, we were told it would cost 30 euros to drive on the Swiss roads and they didn't stamp passports. Now, I understand the charge of 30 euros was for a year of driving in Switzerland but we only wanted a lunch there. So, with no passport stamps, we did the two next best things...took pictures of the Swiss border guard and made a U turn at the sign that said "France". So much for lunch and passport stamps! Bev PS, we knew we wouldn't get our passports stamped when we went to Spain for lunch so we just took pictures of the border sign and station.

Thanks all for the comments. Joe, I don't have a plan on going to London. I don't get the UK visa as well. :) Frank, it's not like a-life-and-death-situation important. But I just wish I can get many stamps, as this will be my very first trip to Europe. Yeah, in SE Asia I got a lot of stamps.