Is it true that Canada doesn't stamp foreign passports by default?
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 4 Aug, 2023
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i recently went to Canada on may of 2018. am from the Caribbean so i have a Canadian visa. upon arrival and on our departure we never got our passports stamped.
Things are changing since 2017:
While the official Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website still indicates that officers will stamp entry dates on passports when individuals arrive in Canada, it is our understanding that this practice has stopped at some ports of entry and will stop soon at all ports of entry. As IRCC moves toward electronic tracking of entry and exists into Canada, the practice of manual stamping of passports will eventually be stopped.
I can confirm that flying into Vancouver Airport with a visa or ETA you won’t get a passport stamp as of 2018. Likewise from personal experience you don’t get a passport stamp when entering Canada by car, bus or rail. So I’m pretty sure the practice has been abolished at all Canadian entry points.
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Apparently this is the case. I entered Canada at YVR two weeks ago and my (US) passport was not stamped. Previously when I entered at YUL in 2012 and 2013 it was stamped. Whether this is a recent policy change or just the Quebecois like to stamp things, I do not know.
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At the YVR airport you can use a machine if you are either
- a Canadian resident
- have a US passport
- have a Canadian passport
although you need to meet the border guard after, you will never get a stamp, it’s pretty much impossible, they are standing there and have nothing to stamp on.
On the other hand, everyone else who meets the normal process does get a stamp. I have seen this with my own eyes standing in the queue more times in the last eight years than I want to admit.
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Driving or ferrying into BC from various crossings in Washington State I have never received a stamp. Driving into Yukon from Alaska I have received a stamp each time. Using a US Passport.
That’s not true, and I suspect they either misunderstood your question (did they think you’re a US citizen?) or there’s some context we’re missing.
Source: I’ve entered Canada at least a dozen times, using two different nationalities. I’ve gotten a stamp every single time, including even a direct transit to an international flight via Vancouver.
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I’ve flown several times into Canada and have received a stamp each time.
I’ve also had to state my business and my job back home each time. UK citizen.
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I recently drove into Canada and I got a stamp in my passport (UK). Obviously it doesn’t mean they always put a stamp :).
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