The dreaded Israel passport stamp

Posted by Miss Travel on April 2nd, 2008. Filed under passports and visas.

As you may know, some countries will not allow you to visit if your passport shows evidence of a previous trip to Israel. There’s a lot of misinformation circulating about how all this works, so I am going to try to set the record straight.

Here are the ten countries you cannot ordinarily visit if you’re carrying the Dark Mark: Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

(There are several other countries that do not allow Israeli citizens in, such as United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, but they do not care about non-Israelis who happen to have visited Israel.)

Of course, if you have the right connections or the right story, it’s always possible to arrange an exception.

Fortunately for travelers, Israeli immigration inspectors (the people who stamp your passport) are normally willing to give you a stamp on a separate piece of paper and leave your passport unblemished. Politely ask her not to stamp your passport, because you hope to one day visit some other countries in the region. She may be reluctant, but in my experience, will always cooperate. You will receive a small slip of paper with your entry stamp on it, which you turn over to another inspector as you leave the immigration area.

Note that this will probably not work if you enter overland from Egypt, or from Jordan at any crossing other than Allenby Bridge. The Egyptian and Jordanian exit stamp from the border post facing Israel serves as evidence of your travel there, just as surely as an Israeli stamp itself. Allenby Bridge is an exception, because Jordan considers the occupied West Bank as Jordanian territory and therefore doesn’t insist on stamping you in and out. If you want to go from Egypt to Israel without a passport stamp, you can either fly, or take the ferry to Jordan and then travel all the way up to cross at Allenby (a two-day project).

Also be aware that passport stamps aren’t the only evidence that can keep you out. If you open your wallet to pay for your Syrian visa and a wad of shekels falls out, you’re probably out of luck. Likewise guidebooks or products with Hebrew labeling on the package can give you away. So if you have visited Israel recently, even if you avoided the stamp, make sure you aren’t carrying anything else incriminating.