Originally Posted by
dbuster44
True. AKL is a nice MR spot if you don't have to "officially" enter the country. If you do forget about it. I've had to undergo similar cross examination for MRs that I have done requiring overnight stays there. NZ immigration & customs apparently do not understand the definition of an MR and a practice of such will severly raise their eyebrows. For god's sake, I'm a Brittish passport holder with a stable job with no criminal record and I never bring food, plants so why on earth would they be overly suspicious that I would cause harm & damage in the country?
Even if I don't get sent to secondary inspection, the biosecurity process at customs exit with X-ray doesn't make the entry any smoother. Either way, it is an unfortunately painful process to enter a great country filled with friendly people and beautiful sceneries.
Yet another thread on this .. :P though it is always nice to read the experience of others and provide advise to us on where and what to expect when doing an MR.
I can understand that countries like NZ and up to a certain extend Australia (i think they got a taste of MR's this year with the drop in prices between US and Australia) can be a bit skeptical about people claiming that they are doing MR's. I think the reason is that because it is so far away and can't believe that prices could be that low to make it attractive to a MR.
Even in the US, not all main hubs are yet used to reason of travel is collecting miles/status...as I mentioned sometime ago, this year I was held nearly 3 times when doing an MR from Europe to US for a weekend stay. Luckily over in the US, some officers are already used to these madness..
so that helps too.
It will take some time before the border officers around the world will understand this madness.. :P Maybe they should start introducing it into their training :P
