For many travelers, passport stamps are badges of honor.
Proof that you’ve been somewhere.
Proof that you made it.
Proof that you lived.
For Filipina digital nomad Kach Umandap, those stamps almost cost her everything.
193 Countries. One Passport.
Kach, who hails from Palawan, has visited 193 UN-recognized countries — plus two observer states — using her Philippine passport.
That’s nearly the entire world.
Her Instagram tells the story: breathtaking landscapes, frozen Antarctica, the edges of continents.
And like many travelers, she collected stamps along the way.
Not official immigration stamps.
But souvenir stamps.
At the “Mitad del Mundo” in Ecuador.
At Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.
At Chile’s famous “End of the World.”
“Stamp lang ako nang stamp,” she recalled.
She saw foreign travelers doing it.
It looked harmless. Fun. Memorable.
She didn’t know it could be illegal.
“Your Passport Is Already Canceled”
Everything changed when she arrived in the United States.
Immigration officers pulled her aside.
“They told me, your passport is already canceled and considered tampered,” she said.
Tampered.
A word that instantly turns excitement into fear.
Kach was interrogated for three hours.
Three long hours of questions.
Uncertainty.
Anxiety.
“I didn’t know that,” she said. “I was a new traveler.”
Eventually, she was allowed to enter.
But the lesson stayed with her.
A Mistake That Follows Her
To this day, whenever Kach applies for a long-term visa, she must explain what happened.
She writes a letter.
She admits the mistake.
She tells them she was young. She didn’t know.
And now, she uses her platform to warn others.
In her blog, she shares the hard truth:
Your passport is not a scrapbook.
It is an official government document.
What the DFA Says
According to Atty. Raymond Aljon Cusipag of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Passport Division, placing unauthorized stamps on a passport can be considered tampering.
Not just in the Philippines.
But abroad, too.
“The act of putting stamps na unauthorized… can be considered tampering of the document,” he explained.
That includes souvenir stamps.
Even if they look harmless.
Even if everyone else is doing it.
The Philippine passport itself carries a warning at the back: it must not be altered, marked, or tampered with.
Because once it is, you risk being denied entry.
Or worse — having it canceled.
Protect Your Passport
Authorities remind travelers to:
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Use a passport cover
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Keep it dry and uncrumpled
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Avoid writing or placing any marks inside
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Store it in a safe, secure place
Some countries no longer even use physical stamps, relying instead on digital records.
In today’s world, border security is tighter than ever.
One small souvenir could lead to big consequences.
A Lesson for Every Traveler
Kach has seen nearly the whole world.
But one simple mistake almost stopped her journey.
Now, she shares her story not with regret — but with purpose.
Because sometimes, the best travel souvenir is not a stamp.
It’s the lesson you carry home.
