North America citizens required to possess a passport before they leave

[DrMetallica]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28188-2005Apr5.html

I wonder if you are required to present an american passport to american officials in order to leave the country at the border. I understand that mexican officials will check your documents in order to be let into the country; or maybe is it just to reenter the united states? Well, I'm not sure, but if you need to show it to american customs/border police, then this seems wrong to me. Any citizen should be able to leave if he wishes, and it's his responsibility to make sure he has the necessary documents to be let back into his country. I mean, what if someone were fleeing the country for political reasons, would he have to get an exit stamp on their passport in order to leave the united states?

 

[diablo]

I don't get where you got your question from. From extensive overseas travel, I can tell you that you don't have to present a passport to leave the country. The only time you'll need it is when you arrive at your destination - and actually that's not even the case much anymore in Europe. When I went to Amsterdam in January, I just got off the plane and went out into the city. Apparently with the new laws in Europe regarding travel, passport control is pretty much nonexistant. When entering back into the US, I ended up having to wait 2 hours in line before the guy checked me out and let me pass...

It looks like this will only affect people who plan last-minute trips to Mexico or Canada. Why they wouldn't have a passport in the first place bewilders me - laziness, I guess.

 

[Devil_In_Disguise]

I've travelled abroad a fair bit, and every single time I've had to show my passport on departure from the UK, and on departure from other countries coming back to the UK. I've also had to show it on arrival everywhere I've been. Interestingly my passport has never been stamped in Europe, but always on arrival in the US.

Travelling within mainland Europe it's slightly more relaxed as most countries have signed up to the Schengen agreement.

I've been across the French/Italian border with no checks at all.

 

[diablo]

Originally posted by photo 1
diablo, i dont know where your getting your sources from but i suspect your experience was a one off.

Perhaps; here's what happened.

I flew from the US to Amsterdam (Schipol Airport). I got off the plane, walked over to baggage claim to get to the exit doors, and walked out of the airport. I actually wanted my passport stamped (shows where I've been after all) and was curious as to why it wasn't stamped. I asked a EU national what the deal was and he told me that things have gotten a lot more relaxed.

A few days into my trip, I decide to go to Germany. I take the ICE train from Amsterdam to Cologne (Koln) and only present my passport to the woman who booked the ticket for me at the station. At no point on the train ride (or after) did I have to pass through any sort of customs control.

On prior trips, before the relaxed border controls, I had to have my passport stamped everywhere I went. Belgium, France, you name it. Perhaps what happened was a fluke, but from the people I talked to at the different stations it seems as though it's pretty uncommon for their passports to get inspected upon arrival.