Exit stamp date not clear; problematic for future?

Upvote:2

Most countries ignore other countries' stamps most of the time. But more importantly, most passports are valid for no more than ten years. The only year that both ends in seven and falls within your passport's period of validity is 2017. If anyone ever calls that stamp into question, you can point this out.

Everyone knows that passport stamps are sometimes applied carelessly. There's nothing to worry about here.

Upvote:4

  1. It's highly unlikely that an unclear stamp will be a problem, since what matters is the electronic records stored by that country, not the ink in your passport, which may be replaced, lost, damaged etc anyway.

    It's equally unlikely that other countries will care, since it's not their business and immigration officers are unlikely to be familiar with the intricacies of what exactly counts as an overstay in some other country anyway (eg. Schengen's 90/180 rule has been known to baffle even Schengen immigration officials).

  2. Yes, it's common to explicitly stamp overstays, deportations, etc.

Upvote:4

If you are concerned about other countries being upset about you having potentially overstayed, you can carry alternative proof that you really did exit the country at the time you say you did (e.g. an entrance stamp from another country, airline boarding pass, etc.). However, if only the tens digit of the year is missing I would be extremely surprised if anyone thought you had overstayed based on this -- at least not until 2027, when you will have gotten a new passport anyway!

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