Ottawa Travel Forum

I got my passport stamped in when arriving to Ottawa but not stamped out. I checked in with Air Canada online and got my boarding passes on a machine, then ate and proceeded to the gate. On the security check nobody told me about it and I thought that passport control would be afterwards. Then I got distracted and realized I didn't have a stamp until I was boarded. In Europe they don't check that so I came home with no problem, BUT if I ever go to Canada again with the same passport, will the lack of an "out" stamp be a problem? Or if you can't tell for sure, can you tell me who to contact? I'm not planning on going back anytime soon but I have the boarding passes and my itinerary confirming that I got out of the country.

If I remember correctly, Canadian immigration-just like the USA-doesn't check nor stamp passports when leaving the country. Just looked at my old passport and I see that I have a Canadian stamp when entering but not an exit stamp.

Oh thank God! I just don't wanna get in trouble :)

No, not a problem at all.

Canada and the USA do not check passports of those leaving, that is one reason why we have so many illegals living here, the governments have not kept track.

Ha

I can tell you about a similar - but not identical - case. A friend of a friend once went to the USA, crossed the border to Canada by car (no control, no stamp), then left from there, no stamp. When he went back to the USA a year later, he was arrested at the airport as an illegal overstayer because his departure had not been recorded. He spent the night in a prison cell and was deported the next morning on the next plane.

I do not know the Canadian law but cannot imagine it is much different to the US, otherwise you would not be allowed to cross the border without being controlled.

Anyway. So this friend of mine remembered that she once had left the USA without such a stamp, and had kept the green immigration form in her expired passport as a souvenir... Bad mistake. So investigate with official offices instead of relying on our information if you want to stay out of trouble in the future.

What my friend had to do: She had to contact an office in Kentucky where they register those green forms. She had to send them official papers that proved that she left the USA at the date she claimed, so flight tickets, payment slips from her enterprise back home, etc. The registration process takes about four months. Then you can contact another office of US Customs and Border Control to find out if your data has been updated.

Another friend spent a night in a US prison cell lately and sent back home from the airport because US immigration had lost her application for residence and treated her previous stay as overstaying...

So please check out with officials if the Canadian laws are different, and what you have to do to get this stamp, or a confirmation that you are not treated as an overstayer. Do you still have any green or whatever-coloured immigration card, or did they take it off your passport at the control?

As said: not identical.
The USA keeps track by the I-94(W) (green or white) that has to be surrendered upon leaving the USA so authorities keep record of time of stay.
No stamps.
There is a thread here dealing with this subject.

I have lot of single ins or outs on my passport and it's never been a problem. I think if you're a simple tourist just visiting a few days or a few weeks, there won't be any trouble. We've gone through when there simply was no one there to stamp the passports and you can't do much about that. If you see someone stamping passports, get it stamped. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

If you are staying on an extended Visa such as a work visa or student visa, you should be very sure to get your passport stamped since it is necessary documentation and can be very serious trouble (as mentioned above).

If you have your tickets, that should be proof of the length of your stay.

Have been in Vancouver this year and didn`t get a stamp too.It was no problem to visit Vancouver again.Last year I have been in Wisconsin and went home to Austria and came back after a week and it has not been a problem.Right now I am in L.A. and didn`t have a problem either.
Regards
Herwig

My son worked in the states on a J visa for the Summer and when he came home he neglected to stop at US customs and surrender his green card. The following year when he went to go back for the summer after renewing his visa he still had the card in his passport. The officer did take the card from him and told him he was supposed to give the card back when he finished his work visa but did not give him too much of a hard time.
I think the answer is that if you entered the States on a Visa then you should notify the authorities when you leave. If you are going back then do some homework on this because you may be refused reentry.

Thanks everyone for your answers.