Kumulani

Customs is about clearing goods into the country, not people. Yes, you technically "go through customs" if you leave Heathrow on a layover. But then you and your checked bags would "go through customs" again upon exiting at your final domestic airport. Even on entirely UK domestic itineraries with no international segments you will "go through customs" at most UK airports - because outside Heathrow, as far as I can tell domestic flights pretty much always share the same baggage claim and exit channels as international flights in UK airports.

To the passenger, none of this really matters, because "going through customs" in the UK, as in the rest of Europe, involves... pretty much nothing. There are no lines to wait in, and you are only going to get stopped/searched at the customs channel if Border Force has prior intelligence about you being a potential customs violator (either from a prior investigation, or a targeted inspection of bags/passengers coming off some high risk flights, often done behind the scenes). Random or out of the blue customs searches are very rare in Europe compared to other parts of the world I've visited.

HIDDY

Don't want to put the wind up you but I remember seeing custom officers at domestic baggage reclaim at GLA many a time over the years. I was told they know who they're looking for.

SKT-DK

Not sure what the EU has to do with it? There was this thing a few years ago where the UK went out of their way to leave, in case you missed it……

As others have questioned before - what is your objective of this thread?

Tim_T

no they don’t. Certainly Manchester and Newcastle (and if I remember correctly Glasgow as well) have entirely separate baggage claim and exit channels for domestic flights vs international.

percysmith

From a foreigner perspective it seems to me you clear customs at EDI

OK, this is from Nothing To Declare, if UK Border Force wants to speak to you, they flag you up for interception and questioning when you exit. I imagine if your bags are being through checked to EDI they will know this and intercept you at EDI - no point intercepting you at LHR without your bags.

This is reinforced by my three visits to LHR in Feb (I did not avail myself of the transit gate for any of my visits, I rather land and get some landside things done like mailing or simply using First Wing even on a T5-T5 connection) I don't see a Border Force officer in immigration for two of the my three entries into the UK.

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As an aside, I think this is similar to US Preclearance, which was also part of my trips.
I don't walk through CBP with my checked bags before check in. During preclearance immigration, at one time the Preclearance officer confirmed with me I had one bag checked in.

I suppose if they want to question me about my bags, they too intercept me at my US domestic arrival point?
They have that right to intercept me before I walk through the domestic airport exit gate (I can't remember where I read this). Most likely when I attempt to pick up my bags. I better strike out the analogy to US Preclearance - I've been told they try to intercept the passenger before the passenger leaves the Preclearance part of the overseas airport - either at a security checkpoint or at the gate.

Ldnn1

Do you mean because you used the e-gates to enter the UK? If so, the Border Force officer did see you (on camera), as they're the one that gave you the green light.

If you mean a customs officer as opposed to immigration, again you might not have seen them but you will have passed through the customs channel if going landside from an international flight.

percysmith

Yes I used LHR e-gates for immigration, but that's immigration. It's going to be no help if I brought 2,000 cigarettes in my checked baggage, and I have yet to pick it up.

When I walked out the restricted area exit gate, there's no border force officer on duty on two of the three visits. So I'm not sure how UK clearance is supposed to work, except by interception.

On other parts of the trip I did see EU, Bermudian and CBSA officers at the doors - I could have been pulled off for random inspection. Not to mention Japan where I had to pre-complete customs declaration, and an e-gate then lets me through (customs, not immigration - I had to be stickered in for immigration)

Butts

Pay attention 007 I travel with hand baggage only, I think this is what is throwing a lot of people. Including you and Percy Smith.

Butts

i think describing it as theft is a bit over the top ?

What is Kumulani's reaction to this post ?

Well I've never seen one at Edinburgh and I only travel with Hand Baggage.

percysmith

Well speaking of hand luggage and cigarettes I should have looked suspicious because I was HBO even in F.
My clothes bag was filled to the brim by the time I got to LHR from JL and BA PJs (its an Cathay (Asia Miles) RTW F redemption) - hence the mailing run at WH Smith. And I was walking lame because I walked all around NY and LA in bad socks.

On two of the trips I wasn't even marked to be supposed to be landing at LHR. So except for some intel triggered by my passing through e-gates or some Border Force officer saw me entering UK "suspiciously", I wouldn't see how I can be pulled. Maybe freaks like me aren't worth checking.

Butts

My objective is to find out how the procedures work with regard to clearing customs in the UK when you travel into Heathrow and are connecting to a UK Domestic flight with Hand Baggage only.

If you as you are entitled to go landside between flights through customs at Heathrow and have no Hold Luggage is this the point you clear customs?

To my mind the biggest deterrent to stop people exceeding their Duty Free Limits is to have a physical presence at customs as they do in most other Countries. They then randomly stop people. I have seen this in Ireland, Jersey and most European Countries I have visited. Ironically Barcelona which is where I have just come back from was the exception to the rule on entry - no one in sight.

percysmith

Well put it this way:
- if you land in LHR on an I-I connection with HBO, your customs clearance takes place in LHR. Anecdotally it is not likely there's sufficient Border Force presence to carry out random inspections, but they have the right to, and the right to intercept.
- If you land in LHR on an I-D connection with HBO, your customs clearance also takes place in LHR. Any contraband they seize after at NCL may not be punishable.
- If you land in LHR on an I-D connection but your bags are checked through to (say) NCL, then in theory your hand baggage clears customs at LHR but your checked bags clears customs at NCL.

It's a leaky system in my way of thinking and not aligned with rest of world behaviour (except US Preclearance, now that I think of it). I'm more used to assuming bags need to be picked up and dropped into a belt (US) or checked in again at a desk (rest of world).

P.S. I don’t see this is a leak that the UK Government is likely to plug, given this arrangement extends to Northern Ireland as much as NCL.

cheshirepete

I used to travel up to Manchester weekly and about once in every dozen flights 3 or 4 customs officers would arrive at carousel 3 standing well back and watching people taking baggage. Last time I saw this was in December. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them approach anyone or ask for a random check. Whatever they are doing I don’t know what the plan is! As speculated advanced surveillance? As more often than not I was picking up luggage checked in at LHR, The luggage wasn’t arriving internationally, I often wondered what powers they might have to ask to randomly check my bag. I guess the luggage tags would show whether a bag was international or domestic.

I also don’t really understand why sometimes on departing from T2 at MAN there’re are a dozen of BF after security asking how much cash you are carrying. Very rare I’ve seen this, last time was last year. I’ve never see this at LHR.

percysmith

No point checking a domestic tagged bag like yours, they can’t prove beyond reasonable doubt any contraband they find was imported if you choose to fight any fines/sentences in court.

Your observation does suggest they can carry out inspections on I-D bags, either as targeted intercepts or random inspections as soon as you claim a certain bag.

NWIFlyer

If you exceed your allowable limit, you become liable to pay VAT and duty at the appropriate rate. Deliberately evading that means that you intend to permanently deprive HMG of either that sum of money, or the ability to seize the goods in lieu of you paying it.

Ergo, those goods are the property of HMG. That's the legal definition of theft, so I'd say the description is entirely accurate.

As for never seeing a customs officer, yesterday at T2 there were a number of officers in the green channel, one of whom was in the middle of the passageway examining another passenger's paperwork. I frequently see them standing outside the door to their room, and of course they can still view people walking through from inside without you even knowing.

I happily walked round the officer, and past another one, with my miserly 1L of Greek mastika.

However, unless you've got something to hide, why does it matter if you clear twice? For most people it's just a route through an airport from airside to landside.