customs at CDG
 

Can someone tell me how customs at CDG works - are there forms to fill out, like the US, or is it more like German airports where you just kind of walk through?

Thank you

CDG customs
 

You will have to fill out a yellow immigration card that is handed to an agent before proceeding to the luggage carousels. Customs is to the left of the carousels and you just wheel your luggage through. 99.9% of the passengers just wheel through---no questions, no inspections. It's pretty easy.

Like Willie said during your inbound flight you will be given a yellow card to fill out . You hand the yellow immigration card and your passport to the agent and you are done. Several times there hasn't been anyone at the customs stations at all.

It does beg the question, Why does one Schengen nation (France) require a landing card and another (Germany) requires none upon entry?

Both countries have been in my experience a painless immigration process. I've never been asked so much as a single question to immigrate into France, Germany only a question once or twice. Usually it is a passport scan, a stamp, and on my way.

Flew into CDG on Xmas eve on AA42. No landing card whatsoever. :confused:

Two things. The yellow landing card is rarely required even though some airlines give it out. The CDG immigration agents only recently started stamping passports on a (nearly) regularly basis.

The other thing is that IME brown-skinned people do not get waived through French customs. This is true of most other Euro countries too. :td:

I am of Asian descent and I have been stopped by customs at most twice over the last nine years when travelling in European countries.

Well IME means "in my experience" and I was mostly referring to people who appear to be of African nationality or descent. And I have witnessed this many times, including to French citizens who have African heritage. Including people I travel with. Yet I as a white person have never been stopped after hundreds of entries into Europe.

You can sit by the entry port any time, any day and witness this yourself.

I have witnessed this many times as well, while I (a white woman) have never been stopped there.

They do seem to be stamping passports pretty regularly now.

Although I mentioned this, I have to admit that last Sunday they did not stamp my passport at CDG. YMMV.

Ok, white guy here, carrying European passport -- and stopped an avg. of 1/year at CDG over the past decade and a half. Not that much of a hassle, compared to waiting for baggage delivery (when having checked-in bags, that is).....

Never gotten a stamp in my passport, though....

EU/EEA passports never get stamped in EU/EEA. Even if you ask, immigration officers often refuse to stamp or will write "on request" next to the stamp.

I flew into CDG on NW-50 on Dec.15th -- they gave us the yellow card onf the flight but the French officials didn't take the card and no stamp in US passport. It was just walk through and look at the passport.

However, on returning from FRA later that week, the German official wanted to know why I didn't have a stamp and when I entered Europe.:confused:

On 12/22 I flew from jfk to cdg on an aa flight; no landing cards were distributed on the flight and no stamp placed in my us passport either.

Unless you have only a few stamps in your passport, did the officials scruntinize your passport that carefully? [My passport was issued in 2001 and I have stamps over stamps over stamps on many pages...it would be difficult for anyone to make out what is there.;)

About 15 years ago I had flown in to London and took the train and ferry to France where I started using a Eurail pass. After a couple days in France I headed to Germany to go to a couple places, again using my Eurail pass. When we crossed into Germany the conductor came through to check passports and tickets. I gave him mine and as he went through them he was becoming visibly agitated. He finally said "Where did you enter Europe and begin using your rail pass. Not England, I see that in your passport, but where did you enter the continent?" I told him Calais and his face got real twisted and he slapped his forehead and said "THE FRENCH! They can do nothing right. Do not worry, it is not your fault I will fix your documents so you will not have any further problems". I never did figure out what they did ;)