There are some NON EU countries that can use egates in Paris, so I guess if you are from one of those, you wouldnt be stamped there either.
Also in my last trips to the US with my mexican passport (non biometric), I haven’t been stamped
Arrived into Zurich this morning and used the e gates, it was so good to have it back 
I also received no stamp on my British passport when I flew back from the US or Asia back to Europe via German cities…Presume with the resident card you will not necessarily need to be stamped but some boarder might not check it so carefully. The resident card allows you to stay longer than 90 days. It is my understanding…
BTW, a couple of my friends also had no stamp when they travelled back. One is from South America and his wife came from China. So presume it is more related to if you have a B permit or above.
A very welcome development if this comes to pass.
Really mixed feelings. While it would be reciprocal, Swiss passports can use their machines. Before I got a Swiss passport I spent hours queuing at British airports. One memorable event had us landing at Gatwick just after midnight and spending 3 hours waiting in the single 3rd country queue which was also used by the PRMs in their bl00dy bleeping buggies. Waiting for me were my British travel companions on the other side.
I wanted revenge and it occurred when Brexit happened!
Oh, well life goes on.
From a practical point of view Geneva will need to double the number of machines or all they will do is shift the machines.
In the end, the U.K. are going to be back in the EU but without any of the benefits we enjoyed before.
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maybe… it wouldn’t happen before the next election and after that it’ll be interesting to see where Reform are.. anyway .. happy to hear about the e-gates
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I noticed when I flew back into GVA a couple of weeks ago that the queues at the e-gates were longer than those for he Swiss+EU manned controls, which of course I used with my UK passport and Swiss C permit.
I don’t understand why they haven’t followed the lead of Zurich airport in linking 3rd country passports to permits so you can use the eGates.
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Frankly speaking I don’t think this is a big issue, so what if your empty passport pages have some extra ink stamps, I guess the Passport booklet was meant for that. Some countries still issue ink stamps while some don’t even in the EU. If there were no ink stamps for Passports, then a Passport would be a digital card instead of a booklet.
The stamp is only meant as a reference for the Passport holder, there is always a digital entry into their database. For instance, some countries like the US and UK would never stamp on exit. Basically these countries don’t have any immigration controls on exit.
The days we collected those stamps in the passports, the more the better…
A boyfriend back in the 80-ies travelling every which way for business officially had two Swiss passports as some countries would let people in with having some other countries’ stamp in a passport.
Officially he was always only allowed to have one of them at home but often both passports were in the house.
Wonder how all this is handled now in electronic times.
That still happens Curley. You just need to be careful what Esta/Eta application you used which passport.
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My husband had two British passports until his second one expired fairly recently as he travelled for work often and needed to travel when one of the passports was at an embassy having a visa processed.
He had to be very careful which one he used for which country. He never used the passport with the Russian visa in it for travel to the US.
“And one visible impact of Brexit will disappear: Britons will now be able to use e-gates at European airports when they travel on vacation, joining EU passport-holders in the streamlined queues.”
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but as far as i remember for obtaining ESTA for the US, one must declare the countries visited in the last 5 years. So even after visiting Russia, if he did not mention it there - he could have been in a bigger trouble. Passport is just for verifying your identity and placing the stamp - Immigration officer can see the entire travel history etc in their system. Deliberately hiding some information is a crime.
Of course the UKPO issues multiple passports to enable people to travel to countries like Israel etc. Because in the past many Islamic countries (including UAE, Saudi Arabia) would declare passports having an Israeli visa/stamp as invalid. So many would travel to Isreal using a differnt passport Or would travel to Jordon and enter Israel with a travel card. Same was the case with Cuba. Things might have changed now.
Of course he didn’t hide any information and I resent the implication that he did. He didn’t need an esta for most trips and even when he that was not information he was asked to provide.
Besides the passport is valid for much longer than the 5 years anyway.
2 years ago one of my Italian colleage had arranged trip to Cuba and return via US. He booked the flight tickets and hotel. And then while applying for ESTA, he noticed the new regulations which forced him to obtain US Visa before traveling. Because as per the new regulations , if you visit Cuba (and some other countries from their list), you do not qualify for ESTA.
As per ChatGPT:
1. Cuba
- Travel to Cuba after January 12, 2021, is considered by the ESTA form under the question:
“Have you ever traveled to, or been present in, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Yemen, or Sudan on or after March 1, 2011?”
- Implication: Yes, it must be declared. This does not automatically disqualify you, but it may trigger additional review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
2. Russia
- Travel to Russia is not automatically disqualifying unless it was for certain restricted activities or official government work.
- ESTA asks specifically about countries under the Visa Waiver Program restrictions: Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
- Travel to Russia does not need to be declared under the standard ESTA form unless you were involved in certain government or military activities.
3. Other Notes
- If you have dual nationality, or have ever held a passport from one of the restricted countries, that may impact eligibility.
- If your ESTA is denied, you can still apply for a B1/B2 tourist/business visa at a U.S. embassy.