Passport Stamps Becoming A Thing of the Past

Above, some of the stamps in my old U.S. Passport. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Thanks to inroads in modern technology, the cherished passport stamp is fast becoming a thing of the past.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO - As electronic entry procedures usher arriving passengers more quickly through immigration control at airports around the world, one of the casualties of progress is the time-honored passport stamp. 

While many travelers welcome the improved efficiency, for those who regard passport stamps as souvenirs of their travels, they are going to miss the memories that an immigration stamp can trigger of far-off destinations they have visited. 

As the number of air passengers grows, airports are looking at ways to avoid congestion at passport control, and getting rid of the tradition of stamping passports is one of the solutions. "There is a trend to eliminate the passport stamp to shorten processing times, especially in advanced nations," a Japanese airport official said. 

In Japan, this has seen biometric measures, such as facial recognition, beginning to replace stamping passports as a way of tracking the entry and exit of passengers. 

In a move to speed up procedures, Hong Kong abolished passport stamps in 2013 and instead began issuing computer-generated landing slips bearing the visitor's name, arrival date and date the visitor is permitted to remain until.

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