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Originally Posted by ff_flyer99
(Post 12886141)
Sadly NZ immigration is about as bad as Canadian immigration when it comes to treating mileage runners. With these two nations, you are more than welcomed if you are vacationing, visiting friends/relatives, and/or traveling in bunches as vacationers. But if you are coming alone, doing short stays, not meeting anyone you are likely going to receive the 3rd degree treatment when you arrive.
The horrors of interrogations I've received at AKL is equivelant to the ones I've received at YVR. Worst experiences in YVR (always selected for 2nd screening.... you can guess my tiredness upon disembarking during the night from CX flight inbound from NYC) and YYZ, followed by AKL. Canadian officers are probably nastier, but NZ ones are very suspicious as well. I agree that they are trying to preserve their environment and that beaing far from basically everywhere (but Australia) it's hard for them to figure out why someone should go there just for miles, but it's 2010... they should know there are prople like FTers out there. |
NZ is now off my list.
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Originally Posted by paffendorf
(Post 12892409)
Completely agree with you.
Worst experiences in YVR (always selected for 2nd screening.... you can guess my tiredness upon disembarking during the night from CX flight inbound from NYC) and YYZ, followed by AKL. Canadian officers are probably nastier, but NZ ones are very suspicious as well. I agree that they are trying to preserve their environment and that beaing far from basically everywhere (but Australia) it's hard for them to figure out why someone should go there just for miles, but it's 2010... they should know there are prople like FTers out there. |
Originally Posted by zorn
(Post 12888296)
I did two short turnarounds at AKL (one overnight and one without leaving the airport) when UA had kindly discounted their business class fares to AKL a few years back.
Everyone was baffled, from the lady at customs to the lady from whom I got the departure tax exemption. But I got no real hassle about it from anyone. Perhaps I am more charming than most? |
Originally Posted by havepointswilltravel
(Post 12892525)
NZ is now off my list.
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"Why are you here?" - "I want to fly Air Chathams' Convair 580, as soon as I'm done with that, I'll head back to Europe."
Wonder what the reaction to that "admission" will be :p |
Originally Posted by paffendorf
(Post 12892409)
NZ ones are very suspicious as well.
I agree that they are trying to preserve their environment Then they asked how long I was there for... No Secondary but I was moved to one side and interviewed me whilst they checked the airline's system for my return booking. Appart from the official on the front line, they were friendly; had a nice chat with a girl at one of the desks at the back too :) Only real annoyance was the way they stamped my passport slap bag in the middle of an otherwise blank double page. |
That's why my international MRs are turns. Sometimes you have to exit immigration to get a boarding pass, and the response to any question is usually "mileage run to maintain SkyTeam Elite+ status", then it goes to "I'll be leaving in a few hours, if you don't like me here... send me home." :)
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I got an interrogation and bag search (though both were friendly and efficient) at NRT while I was laying over (not doing a MR at all; it was an award ticket!) on HKG-NRT before flying NRT-JFK.
After the search, the Japan Customs officer said I had been selected because I "fit the profile of a man traveling alone staying only one night." He didn't say smuggling, but I'm guessing that's what he meant. |
Originally Posted by havepointswilltravel
(Post 12892525)
NZ is now off my list.
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NZ quizzes you even if you live here!
Last year whilst doing a series of flights upon coming back to NZ where i currently live, they were very confused by my routing and why i would only spend 4 hours in HKG and visit Macau for an afternoon! and then go to Sydney for less than 24hours.
It takes a while to convince them it was for retaining status....still got the secondary, after mistakenly saying i had plenty of time until my connection to WLG (home)... |
Originally Posted by CdnFlier
(Post 13003865)
See I have the opposite reaction, I just think everyone should flood NZ with MRs... make every border agent deal with a dozen MRs.. if they want to waste their time having a chat with someone that is taking an immediate turn around, that's there deal. But, after some flooding of this they just might get it - or we'll waste a huge chunk of their time.
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Originally Posted by StarFeat
(Post 12884141)
Apparently one outside of reservation expenses, sometimes do also pay another price for embarking on MRs - at the expense of Interrogation. Last week while doing doing DEN-SFO-(via SYD)-AKL-(via SIN)-ZRH-ORD, the folks at AKL apparently had an incredulous take to my motive for a 1-night stay was collecting miles. I was interrogated by New Zealand immigration for almost two hours where the lady who cross examined me asked about my profession, my marriage status and went through every single inch of my luggages, carryon, laptop and went back and forth between her supervisor about my state. She found it impossible that I would endure a long 14+ hour transpacific run, only to stay one night without knowing anyone here having only a passport, hotel/car rental reservation and then leaving immediately the next day for Europe. She would go on and on that I was lying to her about collecting miles and wanted me to distort my story when I have no other ones and was simply being 100% honest. She and her supervisor even called the SQ AKL office to verify that I was a booked passenger on the next day's flight. The lenghty interrogation at one point became very tedious that I feared that this would be the first time that I'd be refused entry into a country. Though after the whole ordeal, they finally let me out and said that the reason for my interrogation was the fact that I fell into the criteria for being high risk.
Well next time I'm doing an MR via NZ, I'd make sure I have a same day connection enabling me to immediately transit airside and avoid having to pass immigration. I'm not a heavy MR person but I have done several MRs in the past with short stays of country/continent hopping and last week was the first time I had been severly grilled and sent to scrutiny. I had no problems at ZRH BTW despite only staying 2 nights. Anyone else been interrogated for MR itineraries? |
I'll just steer clear of the place, those kind of people put a dampener on my day.
For exactly the same reason Canada gets none of my travel spend. I can find xenophobic fools easily enough without travelling 12 hours to get to them |
Originally Posted by ff_flyer99
(Post 12886141)
The horrors of interrogations I've received at AKL is equivelant to the ones I've received at YVR.
Had the third degree in CHC too, but at least they were quite pleasant about it. |
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