Airports with little/no Customs Check at POE
May 13, 2006, 3:17 am
#17
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Terra Australis Cognita
Posts: 5,350
Originally Posted by UncleDude
Does anybody know of any other country orther than US which has seperate Immigration and Customs forms for non-residents?
May 13, 2006, 6:22 am
#19
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
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I can't remember the last time I had to open bags for customs inspection. I do about 100 international flights / year, mostly in Europe and Asia, and either there is no customs officer to be seen, or I (and almost all other passengers) am (are) waved through.
By the way, many of my flights are to / from Amsterdam, and I have never noticed any special treatment for flights from AMS.
By the way, many of my flights are to / from Amsterdam, and I have never noticed any special treatment for flights from AMS.
May 13, 2006, 10:21 am
#20
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Originally Posted by enthusiastic flier
I must be getting the terminologies wrong. To me Immigration is the process where they check whether your paperwork is right, and Customs (which follows Immigration) is a separate entity that deals with what stuff you're bringing in the country.
cpx - When you mention being flagged down at Immigration do you mean for further investigation regarding your paperwork or what stuff you're bringing inside the country...?
cpx - When you mention being flagged down at Immigration do you mean for further investigation regarding your paperwork or what stuff you're bringing inside the country...?
May 15, 2006, 5:49 am
#21
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: SYD
Posts: 1,363
As for the OP's comments on IAD... I strenuously disagree. I have only been hassled MAJORLY three times by customs, but IAD was one of them. They went right through my bags, did the drug-swipe scan thing, checked my hotel reservations. The works minus dessert (i.e. the strip-search). I think they hassled me because I was very young at the time (about 20), was travelling on my own, and had written Vietnam as one of my last 3 countries. And it was the guy at immigration who made the decision. He asked me how long I was in the states for and I said a week. He said where are you going and I said 2 days here in Washington, then going to Montreal. Then he said you said you'll be here a week - Montreal is in Canada blah blah. It was all down hill from there ;-) Still remember that guy, absolute pr!ck he was.
The other two were Montreal on that same trip (rudest customs people EVER), and then more recently in Karachi (on departure).
I travel 100k+ per year, mostly international, so with only 3 major hassles I'm doing OK.
The other two were Montreal on that same trip (rudest customs people EVER), and then more recently in Karachi (on departure).
I travel 100k+ per year, mostly international, so with only 3 major hassles I'm doing OK.
May 15, 2006, 10:09 am
#22
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Port of entry with no checks: December 2002, Horn Island, Australia. You can get their easily by boat from anywhere in the Torres Straits (watch out for pirates!) with nobody the wiser - or, if you really want nobody to notice, land on nearby and even smaller Thursday Island, then take the ferry. Once there, we boarded with no customs or immigration checks*, and were airside on arrival in Cairns so we could have connected to anywhere else equally unchecked. I seem to recall someone saying at the time that they planned to tighten things up a bit, but not having been back since I don't know if they did.
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*There was an agricultural inspection, but they only cared about keeping plant/animal nasties away from the Australian mainland.
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*There was an agricultural inspection, but they only cared about keeping plant/animal nasties away from the Australian mainland.
May 15, 2006, 12:29 pm
#23
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Anyone can enter Mexico without any checks whatsoever. Just park your car (in the U.S.) and walk into Tijuana. (I assume this will change by 2007 if it hasn't already.)
For airports, Mexico still uses the big button that lights either red or green. At least, PVR does...
For airports, Mexico still uses the big button that lights either red or green. At least, PVR does...
May 15, 2006, 2:12 pm
#25
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Originally Posted by pinniped
...For airports, Mexico still uses the big button that lights either red or green. At least, PVR does...
May 15, 2006, 2:15 pm
#26
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Originally Posted by UncleDude
Does anybody know of any other country orther than US which has seperate Immigration and Customs forms for non-residents?
Russia has it. For non-residents, one has to complete a Migration Card (which is only available in Russian, but starting in June will be avilable in English as well), as well as a Customs Declaration (2 copies). Customs Declaration OFFICIALLY is only needed when you bring more then USD3,000 into or out of the country, but it is advisable to fill it out anyway and have it stamped just in case you want to take out any of the valuables you brought into the country without hassle when you leave Russia.
May 15, 2006, 2:52 pm
#27
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Originally Posted by andrzej
another SA country, just can't remember which one. As you approach the customs officer, you press a button. If it's red, you go right and if it's green you go left.