Has anyone ever had to hand over their passport when entering into another country?

Answer 1

Whenever you pass a border where there is a passport check you hand your passport to the official. They should check it right there and not let it go out of your sight, but if there are any questions about the passport, or if it is an outside check like when you pass the border by car, and they have to give you a stamp, they will walk away with it into an office.
There is nothing you can do about that.

They are not allowed to keep hold of the passport while you travel on, but that is also something they should never want.

With overnight trains it has happened to me that the train staff collected all passports in the evening so that they did not have to wake you at night for the passport check, that is something you should never do, and which is not done anymore, as far as I know.

Youth-hostels used to ask for the passports of the guests, they insisted that you had to leave them in the office, as did some hotel owners. That is something you do not need to accept. They are allowed to write down the details, even make a photo copy, but have to hand the passport back to you, as in most countries a foreigner has to be able to identify himself at any time to the police, with a passport with all needed visa and stamps.

Answer 2

YES... and I threw such a fit, they handed it back... the country was Morocco and I didn't trust them any more than they trusted me. I also had to surrender my passport when I entered East Berlin once.. but I got it back when I refused to move on into the country.

The border people have a RIGHT to ask for your passport but they do NOT have a right to confiscate it unless you have committed a crime of some kind.

Only a complete FOOL... or an amateur traveler, like an AmeriKan... will meekly surrender their passport to the officials.