Warning issued by Foreign Office on Schengen passport stamps

FCDO travel advice is currently being updated for visitors heading to the 26 countries in the border-free Schengen zone.

“Check your passport is stamped if you enter or exit the Schengen area as a visitor,” says the FCDO in the new advice.

“Border guards will use passport stamps to check you’re complying with the 90-day visa-free limit for short stays in the Schengen area. If relevant entry or exit stamps are not in your passport, border guards will presume that you have overstayed your visa-free limit.

“You can show evidence of when and where you entered or exited the Schengen area and ask the border guards to add this date and location in your passport.”

The FCDO also warns travellers to Schengen countries that they may also have to show border officials a return or onward ticket, as well as to illustrate you have “enough money for your stay”.

The new advice is another example of how Brexit is changing the travel requirements for UK passport holders.

Last week, the FCDO advised Brits travelling several European destinations to ensure any printed proof of Covid-19 vaccination status is dated from 1 November 2021.

The 26 Schengen countries are: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

UK nationals who are resident in a Schengen country should not have their passport stamped.