Why are passports not stamped any more?

[oceanauk]

Can anybody tell me why at a lot of airports they will not stamp your passport anymore? I like to collect the stamps when travelling to different countries but now I'm always told they won't do it - I came back from Malta yesterday and they said they couldn't do it either. Would love to know why!! Many thanks!!

[dot.hawkes]

They stamped mine in mexico, Cuba and Antigua, but perhaps in the EC they don't need to.

[mkt]

strange....they dont have to do it anymore but they have the facility to do as for certain nationalities its still compulsory to have their passports stamped. i always ask for a stamp just cos i like a little record of it too and ive never been refused. looks like uve just got a misery guts on the day! keep asking when u go away though cos most are happy to do it. theres no reason why they should refuse

[dzug]

Two main reasons:

sometimes they collect the info they want by swiping your passport through a reader

they have no legal requirement to document your arrival or departure - ie it doesn't matter to them

The stamps are not there for your amusement, but to perform an immigration function. Where there is no such function, or where it's done through a computer, they won't give you a stamp

[heathfield]

If you visit a country outside the EU there will usually be a time limit on how long you can stay in that country. By stamping your passport it provides the authorities with proof of your date of entry. They'll stamp it again when you leave as proof that you didn't overstay your welcome. Non EU citizens go through the same process when they come to visit the EU.

But if you're an EU citizen returning to the EU, then there's no need for a stamp to show your date of entry, as there's naturally no time limit on your stay.

[SteveD]

If you look inside your passport, you will see that it is the property of HM Government (Note 6).

[Grunty]

Sometimes there may be difficulties entering a country if your passport has a stamp from a country that they squabble with.

[sense4all]

For the reason stated by Grunty my husband had to have a couple of passports to use for his business travels!