Police at Lanzarote’s César Manrique Airport have been ordered to stamp the passports of British visitors on arrival and departure, El Diario de Lanzarote has reported.
In theory, all British passports should have been stamped since January 1st 2021, the date when the transition period for leaving the European Union expired and the UK became a third country. However, three and a half years since that date stamping has hardly ever been carried out.
Unnamed police sources told El Diario that border agents had been told “subtly and verbally” not to stamp British passports “in order to make the passage of British tourists easier.” That policy has now been overturned following a clear order to stamp all passports to comply with Schengen regulations.
Nevertheless, police claim that they do not have enough staff or facilities to carry out stamping on all visitors, especially on busy days for UK flights such as Thursdays.
They warn that this could lead to situations in which tourists may have their passports stamped on entry but not on departure, meaning they would be unable to prove their length of stay in the EU and could be seen to have exceeded the 90-day rule, which limits third country nationals to spending a maximum 90 days of a 180-day period in EU territory.
“AENA, the airlines and the Government Delegation at Lanzarote Airport are now exposed to thousands of complaints from British tourists who will be registered with an entry stamp, but who will not be able to register their departure, leaving them unable to prove their periods of legal stay,” said one source.
