People have many ways to remember the places they’ve traveled. For a while, we collected refrigerator magnets. However, we eventually ran out of space on the fridge, which became too cluttered anyway, plus some of the magnets often fell off the door. So we’ve shifted to keeping a travel-specific Christmas tree (which is one of several trees in our house over the holidays). And while we’re not collectors in the true sense of the word, we did enjoy one other type of travel remembrance. We liked getting passport stamps.
When we’d look at our passports, it was an immediate flashback to the time when we entered each country. Unfortunately, collecting passport stamps may be a dying hobby due to the newfangled electronic passport gates.
e-Passports
Newer US Passports are e-Passports. This is indicated by the (
) symbol on the cover. Here’s the difference between e-passports and a regular passport.
An e-passport contains an electronic chip. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page: the holder’s name, date of birth, and other biographic information. An e-Passport also contains a biometric identifier. The United States requires that the chip contain a digital photograph of the holder. All e-Passports issued by Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries and the United States have security features to prevent the unauthorized reading or “skimming” of data stored on the e-Passport chip.
I was directed to the e-gates as a US passport holder when I recently entered the United Kingdom through Heathrow Airport.
Passport Control eGates
Because I have a biometric passport, I only had to put my passport on the reader and look at the camera. After a few seconds a green checkmark appeared and I was told to walk through the gate. It took me less than 10 minutes to get through the passport control line.
However, I didn’t get a stamp in my passport as I never saw a person to get into the country. The only people who get passport stamps are those who are not from an approved country or those who need them for work or residency purposes.
The same thing happened last year when we visited Singapore.
Are Passport Stamps 100% Going Away?
I don’t think that passport stamps are going away for good. However, if you have an ePassport and are visiting a country with automated passport control lanes, I wouldn’t expect to get a passport stamp.
I’ve read that some enterprising people offer to “stamp” your passport since travelers still want to remember the places they’ve visited. DON’T DO THIS (here’s why)! If you want souvenir stamps, carry a notebook for these stamps.
Can You Get A Passport Stamp If You Really Want Or Need One?
Well, getting a stamp means you’d have to skip using the automated gates and stand in line to see a border control agent. That will increase the time it takes to get through passport control. If it means that much to you, then go ahead. Be aware that you may need to ask the immigration officer for a stamp; even then, it could take a while for them to find one.
Final Thought
I’ve gotten over the fact that I’m not going to get a stamp for each country I visit. Using the automated gates instead of standing in line for a stamp is worth the time savings. The less interaction required when entering a country, the better.
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