When coming back from a trip, travelers typically bring back everything from the common fridge magnets to some artisanal crafts and a bottle of local wine.
Some coming back from international travel will either knowingly or unknowingly try to test border import rules by bringing back local foods or crafts made from animal products.
To some, another common souvenir that does not add extra baggage weight is the novelty stamps given out at common historic, touristic or religious sites. Some common places where one can get such stamps include the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the United Nations headquarters in New York. Every single one of the 63 national parks across the U.S. also has a visitors’ center where one can get a stamp to commemorate the visit.
Unofficial stamps “not allowed in your U.S. passport and may cause problems when you travel,” State Department says
While such stamps can be a fun way to keep track of where one has been and remember one’s travels, they are not official government stamps that should be put within one’s passport.
Amid a rise in people putting these stamps in the passports they use to cross borders and re-enter their home country, the U.S. State Department put out a social media warning reminding travelers to put them in a separate notebook or novelty passport also commonly sold at tourist sites rather than their official travel document.
Related: These are some of the most dangerous items TSA confiscated at airports
“Unofficial novelty or souvenir stamps may seem fun but they are not allowed in your U.S. passport and may cause problems when you travel,” the State Department writes in its post. “Do not write or add any markings to any passport pages other than your signature and emergency contact information.”
Most countries have similar rules requiring citizens to not deface their travel document by writing on it anywhere other than the pages designated for a specific purpose like a signature. Passport stamps and any other notes, meanwhile, may only be put in a passport by authorized officials such as border guards of other nations.
Can you be denied entry over a souvenir stamp in your passport (if traveling abroad, yes)
While a country cannot legally refuse entry to a citizen returning home, unofficial passport stamps can be a reason to be denied entry by the border guards of another country. Airlines are also permitted to deny boarding to passengers with defaced passports over the risk of having to fly back the passenger who was denied entry at customs.
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In one incident last May, an American traveler arriving to the Philippines was denied entry to the country and lost out on a preplanned trip after border officers found a page full of novelty stamps in her passport.
Another traveler described instances in which she had to get a passport replaced on a trip across South America after putting multiple souvenir stamps on visits to Machu Picchu and then being denied entry by local customs on another leg of her trip.
Related: Country bans entry to travelers with dual passports
