Say Goodbye to Your Favorite Stamps: This Country Is Testing Digital Passports

Passport stamp enthusiasts, prepare yourselves. Some of your most beloved passport stamps—like the coconut stamp of the Seychelles, the footprint stamp of the Cook Islands, and the giant tortoise stamp of the Galapagos—could soon be obsolete.

Finland recently announced plans to test digital passports that would eliminate the need for paper documents at border security. If the test is approved, the country will become the first in the European Union to experiment with the elimination of the traditional passport book.

According to reports, the European Commission is eager to implement the same project across the E.U., with the goal of having some member states experiment with its efficiency beforehand. The first trial would focus on cross-border travel between Finland and Croatia.

But Europeans shouldn't toss out their paper passports just yet. For the trial to move forward, the Finnish government must submit a funding application to the European Commission by the end of August. The test's future will depend on whether or not the application is approved for funding.

If approved, the pilot test will begin at Finland's Helsinki Airport and be implemented on flights between Finland and Croatia for a select group of volunteers.