Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the operation of the provisions on stamping of the travel documents of third-country nationals in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code)
Date: 2009-09-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community certification, EU visa policy, Schengen Information System, admission of aliens, exchange of information, free movement of persons, immigration, third country

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 21.9.2009 
COM(2009) 489 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the operation of the provisions on stamping of the travel documents of third-country 
nationals in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 
establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across 
borders (Schengen Borders Code)  

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

On  13  October  2006,  Regulation  (EC)  No  562/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  15  March  2006  establishing  a  Community  Code  on  the  rules  governing  the 
movement  of  persons  across  borders  (Schengen  Borders  Code,  from  now  on  SBC)1  entered 
into force. The SBC confirmed the obligation on systematic stamping of the travel documents 
of  third-country  nationals  on  entry  and  exit,  introduced  by  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
2133/20042. The Code also provides for a list of documents in which an entry or exit stamp 
shall  be  affixed,  as  well  as  documents  which  shall  be  exempt  from  stamping.  Moreover,  a 
possibility has been introduced for the competent national authorities to presume that a third-
country national holding a travel document without bearing an entry stamp does not fulfil the 
conditions of duration of stay within the Member State concerned. The third-country national 
has  a  possibility  to  rebut  this  presumption.  If  he/she  does  not  rebut,  the  person  may  be 
expelled from the territory of the Member States concerned.  

On 6 November 2006, the Commission adopted its recommendation establishing a common 
"Practical Handbook for Border Guards"3 (PHBG) with specific guidelines for the stamping 
of  travel  documents  (Part  two,  section  I,  point  4),  and  particularly  the  exemptions  from 
stamping,  situations  where  there  is  no  more  available  space  for  stamping  in  the  travel 
document,  stamping  of  travel  documents  of  third-country  nationals  subject  to  the  visa 
obligation, etc.  

Under  the  terms  of  Article  10,  paragraph  6  of  the  SBC,  the  Commission  shall  report  to  the 
European Parliament and the Council by the end of 2008 on the operation of the provisions 
on stamping travel documents.  

For  this  purpose,  in  August  2008  the  Commission  carried  out  a  questionnaire  addressed  to 
Member States in order to obtain information on the implementation of the provisions on the 
stamping of travel documents of third-country nationals. Several reminders were necessary in 
order to receive the requested information. This report has been prepared on the basis of the 
answers provided by twenty-five Schengen Member States. Two Member States (Malta and 
Portugal) did not provide the requested information.4  

2. 

MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE STAMPING REGIME 

Firstly,  the  obligation  to  stamp  systematically  travel  documents  on  entry  and  exit  of  third-
country nationals coming for a short stay, not exceeding three months per six-month period 
within the Schengen area, has to be observed.  

1 
2 

3 

4 

OJ L 105 of 13.4.2006, p. 1 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2133/2004  of  13  December  2004  on  the  requirement  for  the  competent 
authorities of the Member States to stamp systematically the travel documents of third-country nationals 
when they cross the external borders of the Member States, OJ L 369 of 16.12.2004, p.5 
Commission  Recommendation  of  6  November  2006  establishing  a  common  "Practical  Handbook  for 
Border  Guards  (Schengen  Handbook)"  to  be  used  by  Member  States'  competent  authorities  when 
carrying out the border control of persons, C (2006) 5186 final 
Given the fact that Switzerland applies the Schengen acquis since 12 December 2008 only, no request 
has been made to Switzerland on its experience on stamping.  

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
It has to be reiterated that in the event of relaxation of border checks under Article 8 of the 
SBC,  border  guards  continue  to  have  the  obligation  to  stamp  the  travel  documents  of  third-
country nationals both on entry and exit.  

Article 10, paragraph 3 of the SBC introduces exemptions from systematic stamping, such as 
travel  documents  of  Heads  of  State  and  dignitaries  whose  arrival  has  been  officially 
announced  in  advance  through  diplomatic  channels  and  other  categories  as  listed  in  the 
aforementioned Article.  

No  entry  or  exit  stamp  shall  be  affixed  to  the  travel  documents  of  nationals  of  the  EU, 
Norway,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein  and  Switzerland.  Moreover,  no  stamp  shall  be  affixed  to 
documents  of  border  residents  under  the  local  border  traffic  regime,  in  accordance  with 
Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1931/20065. Travel documents of third-country nationals and 
family members of EU citizens are also exempt from stamping on entry and exit when they 
present a residence card issued by a Member State under Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC6.  

The  practical  arrangements  for  stamping  are  set  out  in  Annex  IV  of  the  SBC  on  affixing 
stamps,  introducing  for  instance  common  rules  on  stamping  of  travel  documents  of  third-
country nationals subject to visa obligation or the obligation for Member States to designate 
national  contact  points  responsible  for  exchanging  information  on  the  security  codes  of  the 
entry and exit stamps used at their border crossing points.  

Article  10,  paragraph  3,  last  indent  of  the  SBC  introduces  the  possibility  of  an  exceptional 
dispense from stamping, at the request of a third-country national, in case that the stamping 
might cause serious difficulties for the person (such as problems of political character). In that 
case,  entry  or  exit  has  to  be  recorded  on  a  separate  sheet  and  shall  be  given  to  the  third-
country national.  

Article  11  of  the  SBC  introduces  a  possible  presumption  of  illegal  stay  of  a  third-country 
national  found  on  the  territory  of  a  Schengen  Member  State  or  when  exiting  the  Schengen 
area without bearing an entry stamp. In this situation, the third-country national may rebut the 
presumption by providing, by any means, credible evidence, such as transport tickets or hotel 
bills,  proof  of  his/her  presence  outside  the  Schengen  area,  that  he/she  has  respected  the 
condition  of  a  short  stay  in  the  Schengen  zone.  In  such  a  case,  the  competent  national 
authorities shall indicate in the travel document, in accordance with national law and practice, 
the date and the place of the crossing of the external border of one of the Member States.  

Moreover,  a  form  as  introduced  in  Annex  VIII  of  the  SBC  may  be  delivered  to  the  third-
country  national.  The  form  is  delivered  solely  in  the  event  when  the  third-country  national 
proves  that  he/she  respected  the  condition  of  the  duration  of  the  authorised  short  stay, 
although his/her travel document does not bear an entry stamp.  

If  the  person  fails  to  rebut  the  presumption  of  illegal  stay,  he/she  may  be  expelled  by  the 
competent authorities from the territory of the Member States concerned.  

5 

6 

Regulation (EC) No 1931/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 
laying down rules on local border traffic at the external land borders of the Member States, OJ L 405 of 
30.12.2006, p.1 
Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of 
citizens  of  the  Union  and  their  family  members  to  move  and  reside  freely  within  the  territory  of  the 
Member States, OJ L 158 of 30.4.2004, p. 77 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Member  States  have  the  obligation  to  inform  each  other,  the  Commission  and  the  Council 
General  Secretariat  of  their  national  practices  with  regard  to  the  presumption  of  illegal  stay 
and its rebuttal.  

3. 

GENERAL  INFORMATION  ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  PROVISIONS  ON  STAMPING 
OF  THE  TRAVEL  DOCUMENTS  OF  THIRD-COUNTRY  NATIONALS  AND  ENCOUNTERED 
DIFFICULTIES 

In their replies, Member States declare performing full, correct and systematic stamping of the 
travel documents of third-country nationals on entry and exit. Member States declare that no 
major  problems  have  occurred  during  the  performance  of  this  exercise.  Thus,  no  specific 
problems related to long waiting times at the external borders or to stamping in the event that 
border checks are relaxed under Article 8 of the SBC have been reported.  

The encountered difficulties, as described by the Member States, are of the following nature: 

•  Missing entry stamps from other Member States; 

The  Commission  stresses  that  only  the  systematic  stamping  makes  it  possible  to  establish, 
with  certainty,  the  date  and  place  of  the  crossing  of  the  external  border  and  is  therefore 
necessary  for  the  verification  of  the  respect  of  the  length  of  the  authorised  stay  of  a  third-
country national within the Schengen area (see also infra point 5).  

•  Reading difficulties, stamps being affixed incorrectly (e.g. over the visa sticker so that the 
machine readable zone of the visa is covered and therefore not possible to check by using 
optical readers), over previously affixed stamps, partially (a part of the stamp is missing), 
chaotically and not chronologically, in a not clear and straight manner (e.g. over the edge 
of passport or unreadable zones with not enough ink); 

In order to be able to determine easily and correctly the length of the stay of a third-country 
national in the Schengen territory, the Commission recalls that recommended practices on the 
affixing of the stamps are available, as provided in Point 4.6 of the PHBG, and particularly: 

–  Stamps should be affixed, if possible, in chronological manner to make it easier to 

find the date at which the person has crossed the border the last time; 

–  The exit stamp should be affixed in the proximity of the entry stamp; 

–  The stamp should be affixed in a horizontal position so that it can be easily read; 

–  No stamp should be affixed over already existing stamps, including those affixed 

by other countries. 

Moreover,  it  has  to  be  reminded  that  Annex  IV,  point  3  of  the  SBC  establishes  rules 
governing  the  stamping  of  travel  documents  containing  visas.  Thus,  [...]  ,  the  stamp  will,  if 
possible, be affixed so that it covers the edge of the visa without affecting the legibility of the 
indications on the visa or the security features of the visa sticker. If several stamps must be 
affixed [...], this shall be done on the page facing the one on which the visa is affixed. If that 
page cannot be used, the stamp shall be entered on the following page. The machine readable 
zone shall not be stamped. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
•  No more room for affixing the stamp in the travel document - in particular for lorry drivers 
or  trans-frontier  commuting  crossing  the  external  border  frequently  –  and  a  lack  of  EU 
regulation regarding this issue;  

When presenting the PHBG, the Commission was aware that it may happen that the document 
enabling a third-country national to cross the border is no longer suitable for affixing a stamp, 
as there are no longer empty pages. In such a case, the third-country national is recommended 
to apply for a new passport, so that stamps can continue to be affixed there in the future. If the 
passport  with  no  more  room  for  stamping  contains  a  valid  visa,  a  new  visa  should  be 
requested and affixed to the new passport.  

Some  Member  States  asked  whether  Article  10,  paragraph  3  which  allows  exceptionally  a 
dispense from stamping if insertion of an entry or exit stamp might cause serious difficulties 
for  the  third-country  national,  is  applicable  in  case  a  third-country  national  does  not  have 
empty  pages  for  affixing  a  stamp  in  his/her  travel  document.  The  Commission  is  of  the 
opinion that this provision is not applicable in this case as dispense shall be granted for the 
sole  reason  of  difficulties  (e.g.  of  political  character)  that  the  stamping  might  cause  to  the 
person.  Nevertheless,  according  to  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission  as  provided  in 
the PHBG7, exceptionally, and particularly in the case of regular cross-border commuters, a 
separate sheet can be used, to which further stamps can be affixed. The sheet must be given to 
the third-country national and should contain the information listed in the PHBG. In any case, 
the lack of empty pages in a passport is not, in itself, a valid and sufficient ground to refuse 
the entry of a person.  

Certain Member States declare using such separate sheets for affixing the entry or exit stamps 
upon  request  of  third-country  nationals,  particularly  lorry  drivers  frequently  crossing  the 
external  border.  Attention  should  also  be  drawn  to  the  trans-border  commuters  who  are  not 
eligible for the local border traffic permit. It is worth underlining that Hungary and Slovenia 
stamp  separate  sheets  which  accompany  a  Croatian  identity  card;  those  two  Member  States 
accept this on the basis of their bilateral agreements from 1997. According to the information 
provided  by  Slovenia,  statistically,  less  than  0.5%  of  the  lorry  drivers  ask  for  stamping  on 
separate sheets yearly. The reason mentioned by third-country nationals when introducing this 
request is mainly the high costs of a new passport. In some cases, third-country nationals want 
to keep one blank page for a future visa or a residence permit.  

The Commission is of the opinion that the above described cases should not be considered as 
a dispense from stamping as they do not fall within the application of Article 10, paragraph 3, 
last indent of the SBC.  

•  Lack  of  a  more  unified  procedure  concerning  the  stamping  of  travel  documents  of  third-

country nationals travelling with children; 

The International Civil Aviation Organisation issued a number of recommendations of a not 
binding character, including the application of the principle of "one person – one passport". 
This principle was endorsed at Community level8. If applied by third-countries, the principle 

7 
8 

Point 4.5 of the PHBG.  
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2252/2004  of  13  December  2004  on  standards  for  security  features  and 
biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by Member States, OJ L 385 of 29.12.2004, p.1. 
All Member States apply this principle, except Austria and the Netherlands.  

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
would  allow  the  application  of  provisions  on  stamping  of  travel  documents  for  each  person 
respectively.  

•  Questioning  of  the  necessity  of  stamping  the  travel  documents  of  third-country  nationals 
who are in possession of a valid residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State.  

The Commission is of the opinion that travel documents of third-country nationals who are in 
possession  of  a  valid  residence  permit  issued  by  a  Schengen  Member  State  should  not  be 
stamped.  The  purpose  of  stamping  a  passport  serves  to  establish  whether  a  third  country 
national respected the authorised length of a short stay within the Schengen area. This logic 
cannot be applied to third country nationals holding a valid residence permit, as the allowed 
period  of  stay  in  the  Schengen  Member  State which  issued  the  permit is  determined  by  the 
validity of the residence permit. Stamping of the passport upon exit and re-entry cannot affect 
the length of stay authorised by the residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State. The 
verification  of  the  respect  of  the  length  of  the  stay  by  persons  holding  a  residence  permit, 
involving  the  crossing  of  external  borders  and  travelling  to  other  Schengen  Member  States 
needs  to  rely  on  the  reporting  of  the  presence  within  another  Schengen  Member  State  in 
accordance  with  Article  22  of  the  Schengen  Convention9.  This  instrument  might  not  allow 
calculating the length of the stay as easily as checking stamps. However, this is a consequence 
of the establishment of an area without internal border control. It needs to be underlined that 
up  to  now,  the  Commission  has  not  received  any  information  on  third-country  nationals, 
holders of a residence permit issued by a Schengen Member State, abusing their right to travel 
in view of staying in another Member State for more than three months.  

4. 

INFORMATION  ON  THIRD-COUNTRY  NATIONALS  DISPENSED  FROM  STAMPING 
(ARTICLE 10, PARAGRAPH 3) AND CASES OF EXEMPTION FROM STAMPING  

Most of the Member States do not collect statistical data concerning the number of requests 
from third-country nationals to be dispensed from the stamping obligation or do not register 
such  requests  at  all.  Some  Member  States  declare  only  a  few  requests  from  third-country 
nationals, which are considered individually.  

Moreover, questions have been raised related to the stamping of travel documents and to the 
calculation of periods of stay of third-country nationals - family members of Union citizens - 
travelling with a residence card under Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC.  

The Commission recalls that third-country nationals, family members of Union citizens, are 
exempt  from  stamping  on  entry  and  exit  when  travelling  with  a  residence  card  issued  by 
Member States under Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC, accompanying Union citizens who 
exercise  the  right  of  free  movement  or  residence.  On  the  contrary,  a  third-country  national, 
family member of a Union citizen, is not dispensed from stamping when travelling alone or 
when  the  person,  accompanying  a  Union  citizen,  does  not  present  the  aforementioned 
residence card (e.g. the person lives with an EU citizen outside the EU and does not hold the 
residence card).  

It is not possible to avoid situations where a third-country national, family member of a Union 
citizen, combines travels where he/she accompanies or joins the EU citizen exercising his/her 

9 

OJ L 239 of 22.9.2000, p.19.  

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
right of free movement and where the third-country national travels alone. The Commission is 
of the opinion that this situation might be confusing but does not really cause problems; when 
travelling  alone  a  third-country  national  can  not  exceed  the  maximum  duration  of  stay,  i.e. 
three months, within the Schengen area. In case when a third-country national accompanies a 
Union  citizen,  the  length  of  the  authorised  stay  of  a  third-country  national  is  not  limited  to 
three months per six-month period.  

Finally, some Member States suggest completing the list of categories of persons whose travel 
documents  should  not  be  stamped  with  the  crew  of  international  connection  passengers  and 
goods trains. The Commission is favourable to this suggestion and will initiate an exception 
from stamping for train crews in relation with their professional activity comparable to pilots 
or seamen, as the trains follow a fixed schedule.  

5. 

INFORMATION ON THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS FOUND WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF 
A MEMBER STATE OR WHEN EXITING THE SCHENGEN AREA WITHOUT BEARING AN 
ENTRY  STAMP  IN  THE  TRAVEL  DOCUMENT  WITH  A  REBUTTED  OR  NON-REBUTTED 
PRESUMPTION OF ILLEGAL STAY (ARTICLE 11) 

A  considerable  number  of  Member  States  do  not  collect  statistical  data  on  the  number  of 
third-country nationals found on the territory of Member States or when exiting the Schengen 
area without bearing an entry stamp or on the number of persons being able to rebut or not to 
rebut the presumption of illegal stay in particular.  

Some  Member  States  (Slovenia,  Belgium,  Hungary,  Romania,  Italy  and  Estonia)  provided 
exact statistical data with charts indicating the exact number of third-country nationals, places 
and dates of their entry into the Schengen area. Other Member States provided only general 
information on a significant or a low number of third-country nationals found without bearing 
an entry stamp in their travel document.  

Article 11, paragraph 1 of the SBC introduces a possibility for competent national authorities 
to presume that the holder of a travel document not bearing an entry stamp does not fulfil the 
conditions of duration of stay applicable within the Member State concerned. Nevertheless, it 
is not clear from their replies if Member States' authorities always invoke the presumption of 
illegal stay when the entry stamp is missing in the passport of a third-country national.  

Most of the Member States declare using the form of Annex VIII SBC upon approval of the 
evidence regarding the respect of the condition of the duration of the authorised short stay in 
cases  where  the  travel  document  does  not  bear  an  entry  stamp.  Some  Member  States 
(Germany, France, Slovenia and Denmark) declare not to use the form but to stamp the travel 
document of the third-country national with a correction stamp mentioning the  date and  the 
place of entry into the Schengen area. Some Member States declare using the two tools (the 
form and the stamp).  

Hungary  declared  having  developed  the  national  Border  Registration  System  registering  all 
third-country nationals entering or exiting through its external borders. The information may 
be  used  to  rebut  the  presumption  of  illegal  stay  if  the  person  entered  the  Schengen  area  in 
Hungary.  Bulgaria  describes  a  similar  Automatic  Information  System  "Border  Control"  and 
Romania a similar entry/exit database.  

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
Most  of  the  Member  States  declare  that  they  do  not  collect  any  statistical  information  or  to 
maintain  any  databases  on  the  number  of  third-country  nationals  who  could  not  rebut  the 
presumption  of  illegal  stay.  Some  Member  States  declare  that  there  is  no  possibility  to 
establish a distinction between persons expelled for non-rebuttal of the presumption of illegal 
stay  or  for  other  reasons.  Most  Member  States  specifically  mention  to  have  settled  national 
procedures for the expulsion of illegal immigrants. Member States, who provided for concrete 
information  on  the  number  of  returned  third-country  nationals  (Estonia,  Latvia,  Slovenia, 
Netherlands and Lithuania), informed that in all cases, persons have been removed or expelled 
from the Schengen area.  

6. 

OTHER  INFORMATION  RELATED  TO  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  PROVISIONS  OF 
ARTICLES 10 AND 11 

Greece  informed  about  the  introduction  of  automatic  and  daily  change  of  the  security  code 
number of the entry and exit stamps through an electronic application that will be developed 
for this purpose.  

Recently, a question has been raised by Poland in the Council Working Party on Frontiers on 
how to stamp travel documents when two or more Schengen visas "type C" of a parent and a 
child  are  placed  in  the  parent's  passport.  Based  on  the  information  available  from  Member 
States,  it  can  be  observed  that  the  procedural  practice  in  these  cases  differs  among  the 
Member  States,  e.g.  indicating  the  number  of  persons  next  to  the  stamp  or  the  name  of  the 
child.  The  SBC  does  not  contain  any  specific  provision  on  the  procedure  in  this  case.  The 
Commission is of the opinion that in principle, each visa sticker placed in the passport should 
be  systematically  stamped  on  entry  and  exit  in  accordance  with  Article  10  and  Annex  IV, 
point 3 of the SBC. Difficulties of identifying which stamp corresponds to the entry of which 
person  could  arise  in  case  of  a  multiple  entry  visa  and  frequent  travels  of  both  persons. 
However,  since  there  is  no  information  available  from  Member  States  on  the  frequency  of 
these  cases  occurring  at  the  external  borders  and  on  practical  difficulties  encountered,  the 
Commission does not consider appropriate to envisage any harmonisation of the procedures 
on stamping of travel documents in the above described cases.  

The Commission would like to raise the question of stamping of the travel documents in case 
of  temporary  reintroduction  of  border  control  at  internal  borders  pursuant  to  Article  23  and 
following  of  the  SBC.  Under  Article  28,  where  border  control  at  internal  borders  is 
reintroduced,  the  relevant  provisions  of  Title  II  shall  apply  mutatis  mutandis.  Thus,  certain 
relevant  provisions  related  to  external  border  control  such  as  border  checks  on  persons  or 
refusal  of  entry  will  apply.  However,  stamping  at  the  common  borders  between  Schengen 
Member States should not be carried out, as the person remains within the Schengen area. The 
fact  that  internal  border  controls  are  temporarily  reintroduced  cannot  affect  the  length  of 
authorised  stay  of  a  third-country  national  within  the  Schengen  area.  Stamping  would  be 
misleading,  as  a  second  entry  stamp  would  be  placed  without  an  exit  having  taken  place. 
Therefore,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  Article  10  is  not  applicable  during  a 
temporary reintroduction of border control at internal borders.  

7. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based on the information provided, the Commission draws the following conclusions: 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

The current Community legislation provides for an obligation to systematically stamp 
travel documents of third-country nationals on entry and exit. The SBC provides for a 
list  of  documents  in  which  an  entry  or  exit  stamp  shall  be  affixed  and  documents 
which  shall  be  exempt  from  stamping.  Moreover,  a  possibility  for  the  national 
authorities to presume that a person does not fulfil the conditions of duration of stay 
within the Member State concerned if his/her travel document does not bear an entry 
stamp has been introduced, as well as the possibility for the third-country national to 
rebut  this  presumption.  According  to  Article  10,  paragraph  6  of  the  SBC,  the 
Commission  shall  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  by  the  end  of 
2008  on  the  operation  of  the  provisions  on  stamping  travel  documents.  The 
Commission regrets that it was not possible to respect this deadline. This delay is due 
to the late submission of information by several Member States.  

The  Commission  underlines,  as  also  stressed  by  a  significant  number  of  Member 
States,  the  necessity  to  strictly  respect  the  rules  for  systematic,  chronological  and 
correct stamping as established by the SBC and the PHBG. The respect of these rules 
facilitates the correct performance of border checks and contributes to the reduction of 
waiting times at the external borders of the EU.  

The  Commission  recalls  that  the  common  rules  related  to  the  stamping  of  travel 
documents  of  third-country  nationals  bearing  a  visa  sticker  are  settled  in  Annex  IV, 
point 3 of the SBC. 

The Commission underlines that travel documents of third-country nationals who are 
in possession of a valid residence permit of a Schengen Member State are exempted 
from the stamping obligation on entry and exit. 

The  Commission  considers  that  Article  10  of  the  SBC  is  not  applicable  during  a 
temporary  reintroduction  of  border  control  at  internal  borders  pursuant  to  Article  23 
and following of the SBC. 

The Commission acknowledges the difficulties encountered by third-country nationals 
crossing  the  border  frequently,  such  as  lorry  drivers  or  trans-frontiers  commuters. 
However,  difficulties  of  empty  pages  for  stamping  could  be  overcome  only  with  an 
automated  system  of  registering  entry  and  exit  which  would  render  stamping 
superfluous.  The  Commission  does  not  see  a  need  to  exempt  lorry  drivers  from 
stamping in particular in the light of concerns expressed by Member States on the risk 
of illegal immigration and employment.  

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  need  to  consider  additional 
exemptions  from  stamping,  except  for  train  crews  in  relation  with  their  professional 
activity  comparable  to  pilots  or  seamen,  as  these  trains  follow  a  fixed  schedule.  The 
Commission  will  initiate  measures  to  foresee  an  exemption  from  stamping  for  this 
category of persons.  

According  to  the  replies,  an  important  number  of  Member  States  do  not  collect 
statistical data related to the number of third-country nationals found on their territory 
or when exiting the Schengen area without bearing an entry stamp, and to those third-
country nationals who were able (or not) to rebut the presumption of the illegal stay. 
The  Commission  invites  Member  States  to  collect  this  information  and  to  make  this 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
data available in order to be able to better analyse the functioning of the provisions on 
stamping. 

(9) 

Finally, a number of Member States did not fulfil yet their obligation under Article 11, 
last  indent,  to  inform  each  other  and  the  Commission  and  the  Council  General 
Secretariat of their national practices with regard to the presumption of illegal stay and 
its rebuttal referred to in Article 11. The Commission invites those Member States to 
do so until one month after the adoption of the report. 

EN 

10 

   EN