to not affect future travels...
As an avid traveller who's goal is to eventually cover the whole world, I would like to know which passport stamps I should think twice about before getting. There are some cases in which certain stamps will cause you to be denied entry into a certain country, e.g. North Korean stamp with the US, and Israeli stamp for most Arab countries.
Furthermore, if I do want to visit some of these countries on other countries' blacklists, is there any way to bypass the rule?
I want to explore every continent, and most countries on them, some of which I might visit more than once (such as the US and the UK). Which stamps should I avoid in order to ensure I get to visit all the countries I want to visit? Israel is a place I want to visit too, eventually.
What's with all these countries and hating eachother anyway? Wait.. don't answer that one.
Thanks guys if you can help.
Reply to this Hi Saki,
is there any way to bypass the rule?
> In some of those situations you can get your entry visa stamped on a piece of paper so that you're not prevented from enterin particular countries. I can't remember which they are, but I'm sure someone who has made use of that option will be able to provide the correct info.
Reply to this Hi, not sure if its a documented country but in 2005 (so closer to Sept 11) I was living in the US but had just been on a holiday to the UK...so i was returning to the US via Glasgow airport when i was stopped at the ticket counter for Amercian airlines due to the number of Malaysian and Indonesian stamps in my passport. I am Australian and bali is closer to perth than melbourne or sydney so we do tend to go to south east asia as our quick holidays....probably 5 stamps for Indo and 6 or 7 for Malaysia.
I was taken into a room and questioned for 2 hours for all sorts of information and additional details before they let me go and travel back to the US.
so not the expected black list but still a pain! but... i did get let back in! 😊
tam
Reply to this Cuba will not stamp your passport, just one more example.
Most of the time, like Israel, what many people do is simply get a new passport, or some people have two passport, even if they have only one citizenship.
Reply to this Thanks for the replies guys.
One more concern. Even when you get a new passport, I heard that all your trip information is carried over and stored on the passport chip. So wouldn't they know I've been to Israel as soon as they scan my passport, even without the stamps in it?
Reply to this No idea for the chip, I would have some doubt these info are kept on it, as it would mean that another country has the capacity to change your own info...that wouldn't work in the developped world countries with privacy laws.
Having a second passport is something that does exist. But it is not really widespread or even advertised. You are eligible for those if you can prove for example that you could spend time between let say between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Than it becomes a necessity for you to have 2 passports if you need to go frequently to both countires.
Second case, if you do have a serious number of visas in your passport (that's my case). Each visa could take between 24 hours to few weeks to get issued. During that time, your passport is at the foreign embassy, limiting your ability to travel. A second passport is than you way around this which continue to allow you to travel around. You just have to plan properly each time. As you have to arrive and leave a country on the same passport....so I need to make sure if I need to apply for a visa and travel, that I give the passport on which I haven't enter the country to the embassy where I apply for the passport.
For info, if you do have a second passport, your foreign office will have to do a proper check on your life to make sure you use this properly.
Reply to this If I had to choose between 'Arab' countries and Israel then Israel would win hands down every time, for obvious reasons.
I totally agree with what Peter wrote above. Privacy laws would ensure that your personal information would only be available to the authorities in your own country. Assuming that you are a Greek national, then this information may well be available to other E.U countries, but that is about as far as it would go.
I lived in Israel for almost 2 years and have subsequently visited the U.A.E, Bahrain and Qatar without any problems at all, albeit on a new passport.
As mentioned above, most immigration officials of countries that flirt with controversy will usually stamp a separate piece of paper if this is what you so desire.
Reply to this You don't have to worry about N. Korea either, you don't get a stamp in your passport, you have to take a tour, and you get a group visa which is on a piece of paper, whatever stamps they use, they are put on that piece of paper. Nobody will ever know you have been there, except the N. Koreans and the travel agency you booked your tour with.
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