Going through customs
 

Is it a pain to go through customs?

Also, if you buy something in another country and carry it back home in your luggage, do you get hassled about that when you go through customs?

We tend to get an ag inspection since we are coming from China but that's it.

Our last trip back we got redirected to the foreigner lines rather than the citizen lines and drew a rather aggressive questioner but even that wasn't that bad.

The answer to both questions is dependent on what you are trying to bring in with you! :D

If what you have is :

A. A legal import, and/or

B. Within your entitlement for tax exempt/duty free.

Then IMO the answers are No, and No. ;)

P.S. As Loren has indicated it is not just "Customs".. there is also the "Qaurrantine" type staff who are concerned about animal and plant diseases and products etc... Coming into Australia (fr'instance) I would suggest that the agricultural inspection might well be more rigorous and stressful for some...

In general, no it is not a hassle at all to go through Customs.

However if you are trying to bring back something you shouldn't or not declaring all you should be, or anything like that, you can have tons of hassles.

For customs, honesty is by far the best policy.

U.S customs? No not at all. Unless you have certain things to declare, or items above duty free allowance - which you would indicate on the blue card you're provided on the airplane to fill in. Usually it's just a quick glance at your card, maybe a question or two, and you're done.

Here's a helpful Customs webpage that you can read through in advance if you're concerned about specific items you plan to import: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/ But if you're a typical tourist bringing back souvenirs from a typical vacation, you've nothing to be concerned with.

The only real hassle I've ever had is waiting on luggage so I can clear customs and waiting in the sometimes long lines to clear immigration/customs! :p

Customs, at least in my experience, is only looking for agricultural products. If you don't have fruits / vegtables, you should be fine.

Bear in mind that if you give a California address, go through customs at SFO or LAX, and pay duty, there is a deal in place whereby the State of California will later send you a bill for the sales tax (actually the "use tax" but it's equal to the sales tax).

Customs where, and what are you bringing in?

Coming back from London, I handed over my passport and customs card. US Immigration asked how long I was gone and then let me go.

Driving back into the US from Canada has inevitably resulted in a million questions.

Based on your other posts, it looks like you are asking about going through customs on your upcoming trip from the US to Mombasa back to the US.

In Kenya you will hopefully have no goods to declare and should just be waved through.

Coming back to the US, you may be asked a few questions at passport control. Usually they will at least ask "where are you coming from" and "how long have you been gone" and "did you bring back any food?" If you are young and someone who hasn't travelled a lot internationally, they may also ask you why you were in Kenya, what you do for a living, and, importantly, who paid for the trip.

If you answer, "I'm an artist/musician/hippie and my trip to Kenya was paid for by a shady Nigerian guy I met in a nightclub in the US last week," they are probably going to ask a lot more questions to determine if you are a drug mule.

If you explain that you have a respectable job, you paid for the ticket yourself, or it was a church trip, etc., then they will probably wave you through.

I note that your other post suggests you might fly KLM. If you go through Amsterdam, be prepared for a lot of questions from Amsterdam ground staff. They are very polite but very thorough asking passengers why were you in Amsterdam, who you are traveling with, where you went, who paid for your trip, whether you own the items in your bags, etc. Looking for terrorists and drug smugglers, I suppose.

Have you ever seen the show "Locked Up Abroad" on the National Geographic channel? Check it out, it's good and will give you fun nightmares before your trip to Mombasa.

Good luck.

It depends on which country you are talking about.

But in general unless they are fruits, meats, live animals, or contrabands then likely no. But if you are coming into Australia or NZ, virtually any type of food or any stuff that you can put into the mouth will get you into scrutiny.

Thanks to everybody for your info.

I doubt that I will bring back any food, since that sounds like a hassle. I would be more likely to have clothes, postcards, a necklace, souvenirs for my family, etc.

Those kinds of things won't be any problem. Just declare them as "gifts" on your customs card. No need to itemize.

The US customs process is fairly straight forward. If you have food, decleare it on the card. I brought some food into the US and he asked me what kind of food I was bringing in. I said only some chocolate and biscuits and he said okey have a nice day and pointed me to the exit. That is the process for 95 % of the travelleres otherwise you'll get a bag search.

Even if you're over the allowance on something, honesty is the best policy. From what you've said about your no-frills travel I doubt you'll go over the current dollar threshold ($1,000+?) but even if you buy a couple of bottles of duty-free alcohol in Amsterdam, you're unlikely to get charged duty coming into the US even though the limit is 1 liter per person. I regularly go over that limit (4 liters of scotch last time), report it on the form, and get waved through anyway.

And in case you haven't been through this drill before, remember that even though duty-free alcohol is delivered to you on the plane, when you get to your first port in the US, you HAVE to put it in your checked bags. They will not let you carry it on to your flight back to Birmingham.

If the OP is concerned about Kenyan customs, I experienced no problems entering in Nairobi. When I returned to the US, US customs didn't bat an eye, even with me declaring items like coffee and a bottle of wine that I picked up in Kenya and Ethiopia.