Rome visa question

[steamboats]

Miaminice, the paper receipt replaces the stamp ;)! You´re supposed to keep that with your passport.

 

First I saw those kiosks in MIA we were already lined up at the regular booths. We we "returned" a couple of months later we arrived at a different terminal and the kiosks were for US only :o. None for ESTA in that terminal.

 

brfan, there was definitely a passport control in Barcelona in 2014. And of course the Italians are supposed to control the passports too and stamp them. If you don´t have a stamp you´re acutally an illegal alien. How should a German police officer know that you do have a Schengen visa when you don´t have a stamp in your passport? There is no Schengen area wide computer system for visa.

 

Anyway if you arrive by plane there is a passport control. And you get your stamp at the first country of entry (so if you change planes in Frankfurt to Rome/Barcelona you get your stamp in Frankfurt).

 

steamboats

Edited January 15, 2016 by steamboats

[Miaminice]

Miaminice, the paper receipt replaces the stamp ;)! You´re supposed to keep that with your passport.

 

Franz, it would make sense... However, how can I when the officer takes it after he checks it ? ;)

 

Used the kiosks in MIA and FLL a couple of times (last December 2015) and every time the receipt was not returned to me after the final check. Again, it seems to be one of the things handled differently by different persons.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Miaminice

[az_tchr]

Think it is time to move on.

 

Entering Europe Italy for one does not always have ANY passport control or immigration when getting off a ship. Thus no passport stamp. When I left Italy to fly home they told me that I entered Italy in Naples on a ship. How in the heck would they know this except electronically? Same thing the prior year in Athens port - no stamp. In Spain - yes. So nothing is exact ad things differ.

 

I also note the rules are different depending on your country. If you are from the USA the US does not stamp your passport on return except on request. They do stamp passports like that of Steamboats.

 

What everyone is missing is countries each have rules that are different for those with passports from different countries. I have made some 15 trips to Europe in the last 5 years and have collected exactly TWO stamps - Spain and Germany. All the other times they just inserted my chipped passport and waived me on. There are still some 30% of USA passports that are not chipped. Thus if you do not have a chip then you get a stamp seems to be what is happening in many cases. And yes I have a frequent traveler card from the USA.

 

With a chipped passport entry and exit data is stored both in your passport and the computers of the countries involved. After making 4 entries and exits into and out of Canada from the USA via auto last summer I was pulled aside and the vehicle searched. The reason provided was the number of quick trips back and forth as shown on my passport.

 

Arriving by plane I got a stamp always in Germany, never in Italy, an sometimes in Spain, France, and the UK. Simply the facts. Does the US share the info electronically from my passport to the other countries? Probably. Does the airline as it has my passport number as well? Absolutely. FYI - I simply always keep my ticket/boarding passes until I get home.

Edited January 15, 2016 by az_tchr

[TravelerThom]

...You go to the kiosk and receive a paper receipt. If you get a receipt without a big X on it you go through a line where the officer just checks the receipt but does not stamp the passport...

BTW: That is a non US passport entering with ESTA

I have never had a big X issued by the kiosk, and have always gotten a stamp in my US passport. Possible that it depends on nationality of passport, but I'm having a hard time coming up with the logic of stamping US but not non-US, since I don't have to prove my right to be in the US by producing a passport with appropriate supplemental documentation (which MIGHT be electronic) and non-US citizens do. Of course logic and government bureaucracies don't always go together:rolleyes:

 

At IAD US residents (citizens and green card holders) are funneled down a line to Customs Declaration kiosks; I don't know if non-residents had kiosks but I assume so. There was an immigration official after the kiosk before luggage who looked at the kiosk issued Customs Declaration and stamping both it and passports. Then one proceeded to pick up checked luggage and finally go through the customs line with all your luggage. I have ALWAYS had to surrender the Customs Declaration (whether filled out by hand or issued by a kiosk) to the Customs Official. I KNOW (because I have gone back and looked at old passports while writing this) that my passport has always been stamped when entering the US by air (often not stamped when entering by land or sea). I also have always had to surrender my Customs Declaration form even when my passport was not stamped (the general rule coming off a closed loop cruise [where a passport is not required of US citizens, but I am using it as my ID]).

[az_tchr]

I have never had a big X issued by the kiosk, and have always gotten a stamp in my US passport. Possible that it depends on nationality of passport, but I'm having a hard time coming up with the logic of stamping US but not non-US, since I don't have to prove my right to be in the US by producing a passport with appropriate supplemental documentation (which MIGHT be electronic) and non-US citizens do. Of course logic and government bureaucracies don't always go together:rolleyes:

 

At IAD US residents (citizens and green card holders) are funneled down a line to Customs Declaration kiosks; I don't know if non-residents had kiosks but I assume so. There was an immigration official after the kiosk before luggage who looked at the kiosk issued Customs Declaration and stamping both it and passports. Then one proceeded to pick up checked luggage and finally go through the customs line with all your luggage. I have ALWAYS had to surrender the Customs Declaration (whether filled out by hand or issued by a kiosk) to the Customs Official. I KNOW (because I have gone back and looked at old passports while writing this) that my passport has always been stamped when entering the US by air (often not stamped when entering by land or sea). I also have always had to surrender my Customs Declaration form even when my passport was not stamped (the general rule coming off a closed loop cruise [where a passport is not required of US citizens, but I am using it as my ID]).

 

Interesting - certainly suggests different things. Is the passport you commented on one without a chip (a gold rectangle with a circle inside) that US started to issue in about 2010? Those passports lots harder to track. Do have customs declaration forms usually collected, but again not always in the USA. guessing my using the Global Entry kiosk makes a difference as I do not do anything but the Kiosk on entry and hand the slip to the Customs guy leaving the security area. No stamps, no nothing anymore.

[TravelerThom]

...If you are from the USA the US does not stamp your passport on return except on request.. .

WRONG. I am not believing this any more than I believe the first English settlement in Australia was in Tasmania.

 

I have NEVER requested a passport stamp from a US official, and it has always been stamped when entering by air (not always stamped when entering by land or sea). I have all my passports dating back to 1968, and I can produce close to a hundred US entry stamps in my US passports, not one of them by request. Is it possible that some US citizen at some point was not stamped in upon entering by air, but that is not the rule.

[steamboats]

On German passports the RFID chip has saved only the personal data and passport data plus fingerprints of two fingers plus biometric data from the photo. This can not be changed in any way nor can anything else saved on the chip. I doubt that US passports do have a chip that can save visa data and I doubt that any EU Schengen country does save (or even has the right to do so) anything on a foreign country passport´s chip.

 

According to the website of the German authority there´s even a special allowance needed for a foreign country to read out the fingerprints on the chip (the country has to sign a special treaty).

 

steamboats

(for miaminice - not Franz ;-))

[TravelerThom]

Interesting - certainly suggests different things. Is the passport you commented on one without a chip (a gold rectangle with a circle inside) that US started to issue in about 2010? Those passports lots harder to track. Do have customs declaration forms usually collected, but again not always in the USA. guessing my using the Global Entry kiosk makes a difference as I do not do anything but the Kiosk on entry and hand the slip to the Customs guy leaving the security area. No stamps, no nothing anymore.

I do NOT have Global Entry, so entirely possible that things are done differently because of that.

 

Through 2014 I had a non-RFID chip passport issued in 2004. The US started issuing RFID chip enabled passports in 2006. My current passport was issued at the end of 2014 and does have a RFID chip. I have seen no change in the way I have been processed with and without the chip; both have ALWAYS been stamped (not by request). Actually the self-serve kiosks at IAD were installed between the last time I used my non-chip passport in November 2014, and the first time I used the chip enabled passport in 2015, but I'm pretty sure that IAD didn't install new technology solely because I had a new passport:D

 

I have just gotten a new credit card which will pay for Global Entry, so I no longer have an excuse to not get it. It will be interesting to see if I then note a change in immigration and customs stamping procedures.

[az_tchr]

WRONG. I am not believing this any more than I believe the first English settlement in Australia was in Tasmania.

 

I have NEVER requested a passport stamp from a US official, and it has always been stamped when entering by air (not always stamped when entering by land or sea). I have all my passports dating back to 1968, and I can produce close to a hundred US entry stamps in my US passports, not one of them by request. Is it possible that some US citizen at some point was not stamped in upon entering by air, but that is not the rule.

 

Thom - call me a liar or whatever you like. I have traveled by air to Australia 4 times, Europe over 10, Canada 4 or 5, Argentina and Panama both once since 2010. I have gotten a total of 2 stamps in 5 years from the USA and Canada. Before the chipped passports and Global Entry things were different and I got stamps for every entry and exit by plane. That is simply no longer true. In fact I have not had a person (only a machine) even look at my passport since 2012! Simply insert the passport, press 4 fingers on my right hand on the glass and get a slip to proceed. No waiting, no nothing.

 

As to countries sharing data. Is the requirement of a treaty serious? The US and Canada have treaties with most countries. How else do you think they track terrorist?

[TravelerThom]

Thom - call me a liar or whatever you like...

I didn't call you a liar; there is a difference between being mistaken and lying. I did and am saying that you are absolutely wrong with a blanket statement that

... If you are from the USA the US does not stamp your passport on return except on request...

and I have stamps in my US RFID chip passport within the past month that I most definitely did NOT request or want to prove it.

 

I have stated above that rules may be different from people using Global Entry, but other US citizens are getting their passport stamped even when they would prefer not to (in order to conserve space in the passport).

[C-Dragons]

All this discussion aroused my curiosity, so I just took a look at my chipped passport which was issued in 2014. From the many overseas trips I taken since receiving this passport I have only ONE stamp - from Paris. I also have G.E.

Az_tchr is correct, things are changing and passengers movements between countries is being tracked electronically. In this day and age it is a necessity for security.

[cruise kitty]

Out of curiosity too, I took a look at my newest passport (issued September 2013, U. S. ) I've got several entry/exit stamps from various Airports in England & France (same trip... non Schengen countries) & then entry & exit from France, on a trip where I also entered Italy via Airport, no passport control there as I'd already entered a Schengen country via CDG.

 

No stamps upon reentering the U.S. though... which for some reason surprised me, I wonder if my older non chip passport has U.S. stamps? Or do they never stamp when reentering your home country? too lazy to dig it out & look though :)

 

Thanks Midwest Girl for bringing up an interesting subject :)

[brfan]

Miaminice, the paper receipt replaces the stamp ;)! You´re supposed to keep that with your passport.

 

First I saw those kiosks in MIA we were already lined up at the regular booths. We we "returned" a couple of months later we arrived at a different terminal and the kiosks were for US only :o. None for ESTA in that terminal.

 

brfan, there was definitely a passport control in Barcelona in 2014. And of course the Italians are supposed to control the passports too and stamp them. If you don´t have a stamp you´re acutally an illegal alien. How should a German police officer know that you do have a Schengen visa when you don´t have a stamp in your passport? There is no Schengen area wide computer system for visa.

 

Anyway if you arrive by plane there is a passport control. And you get your stamp at the first country of entry (so if you change planes in Frankfurt to Rome/Barcelona you get your stamp in Frankfurt).

 

steamboats

 

I have no idea about Barcelona since I haven't taken a transatlantic that ends there. I was just explaining my experience when I did the TA that ended in Rome and unless the passport control officers were hiding there wasn't anyone around that I could see. I had expected some kind of customs/immigration as I had only taken cruises that ended in the US previously so was looking for where to go, but there wasn't anything.

 

Now I did do a back-to-back out of Barcelona - 7 night Med and 13 night transatlantic and I didn't have to get off the ship between cruises.

[steamboats]

Now I did do a back-to-back out of Barcelona - 7 night Med and 13 night transatlantic and I didn't have to get off the ship between cruises.

 

Yes, you don´t have to get off the ship as you´ve already got the visa by flying into Barcelona (depending on your flight route). Depending on the itinerary of your 7 night cruise you might not have left the Schengen area. And usually with closed loop cruises out of a Schengen area port the passport control is done behind the scenes - so in case you had a non Schengen port like Turkey, they collect your passports and the officers come onboard and check them.

 

steamboats

[Miaminice]

Just an update on the Schengen Visa question. Just stumbled across this information and remembered this discussion.

 

There actually is a "Schengen Visa". And it really is required for stays under 90 days.

Plus it is a visa requiring all the red tape incl. application at an embassy of a Schengen country.

It is not just issued at border controll by a stamp in the passport when entering.

 

HOWEVER, it is only required for citizens of certain countries (http://www.schengenvisainfo.com/who-needs-schengen-visa/).

 

A Schengen visa is NOT required for citizens of the US, Canada, EU countries etc.

 

So the information given to the OP by the airline was wrong, in deed. Whilst the answers to the question (including mine) were generally correct, there are exeptions.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Miaminice