Is it possible for French border officials to stop stamping passport as it is almost full?
Passports need one blank page on them when travelling
Extra-large passports with additional pages can be obtained for frequent travellers
Savvapanf Photo / Shutterstock
Reader Question: I have a long-stay visa but often go back to the UK to check on my elderly parents. My passport is almost filled up with stamps – can I ask border officials in France to stop stamping my passport? If I renew my passport can I still travel
Travellers on many French visas are liable to have their passport stamped upon entry and exit from France, including those on VLS-TS visas.
French border officials have previously told The Connexion that, unlike for Brexit Withdrawal Agreement card holders, passports of other foreign people with French visas and residency cards are routinely stamped as they enter or leave the Schengen Area via France.
If your UK passport is close to filling up, your only option is to obtain a new one.
Officially, you should have at least one blank page on your passport when you travel, so need to do this before it is too late.
Britons have the option to obtain a 54-page frequent traveller passport, as opposed to a standard 34-page passport.
You can obtain your passport online or otherwise when you are back in the UK, if you are going to be in the country for at least three weeks (the average waiting time for a renewal according to the UK Passport Office).
You cannot travel to the UK and back without your passport except in an emergency. This includes if you have a valid visa to enter France.
If you completely run out of space and urgently need to make it back, you may be eligible for an emergency travel document, but should then renew your passport immediately
In your situation it may be best to renew your passport when in the UK and wait before returning to France.
You can read our article on how to obtain an emergency travel document to return to the UK below.
Read more: Can I travel to the UK from France without a passport in an emergency?
Extra passport pages may not be necessary
It is worth noting however that the EU is planning to phase out passport stamping, so a frequent-traveller passport may not be worth the extra cost (£12 more than a standard passport regardless of if you apply online or via a paper form).
The implementation of increased border security measures by the EU – the Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) – will see manual stamping come to an end as the border travel process is digitised.
However, depending on exactly when this starts, the end of manual stamping is still likely to be over a year away.
Read more: What is the process if Brexit card holder’s passport is accidentally stamped?
