Customs Question?

[Whasup]

These boards have been enormously helpful. Thank you! Hoping someone has an answer.

When swithching planes in a new country, do we have to retrieve ALL our checked luggage and go thru customs with it before boarding next plane?

Thank you for your help!!:)

[CruiserBruce]

As I understand it, you will go through immigration (passport) checks at your first stop, but your bags will go on to their destination, where you will claim them and go through customs at that location.

[fbgd]

These boards have been enormously helpful. Thank you! Hoping someone has an answer.

When swithching planes in a new country, do we have to retrieve ALL our checked luggage and go thru customs with it before boarding next plane?

Thank you for your help!!:)

 

It depends on your itinerary.

 

Which airport, airlines and routes did you have in mind.

 

Immigration = clearing yourself into a country

Customs = clearing your possessions into a country and paying of applicable duty.

[YXU AC*SE]

Generally no, but not always. To avoid a less speculative answer, particulars are helpful! (where are your flying from / to / what are your transit airport(s) :-) Scott.

 

/Oops - fbgd and I were posting at the same time/

[FlyerTalker]

Completely depends on what routing you are talking about. Vastly different if you are talking about TATL eastbound vs westbound. Or US/Canada. Transiting Schengen vs ending in Schengen -- and the list goes on.

 

Details please, so we can give you an intelligent answer, rather than just an assumption and guess.

[FlyerTalker]

Updated for the digital age:

 

"Great minds hit the "send" button at the same time"....?? :D

[Jimsgirl]

Yes different countries do have different rules, but generally the answer is

 

When you check you bags at your "home" airport check carefully that they are being routed to your final country.

 

Let us assume you are flying Australia, to LA,(international) then on to New York (domestic)

You would most likely have to clooect your luggage clear immigration/customs at LA, then recheck your bags onto the domestic flight, in New York because you are on a domestic flight there will be no further immigration.custom, you just pick up your luggage from the baggage claim and off you go.

 

However if you are flying from Australia , changing planes in LA and then going on to UK you could have your bags checked through to UK, which would mean no immigrtio/customs in LA, simply getting off one international flight , moving to another gate/terminal with you hand luggage , boarding your second international flight , then on arriving at Heathrow, you will claim you bags and then go through immigration/customs there.

 

That has been my own experience.

[Globaliser]

Updated for the digital age:

 

"Great minds hit the "send" button at the same time"....?? :D

I have to say, that was an impressive performance by the three of you - all time stamped with the same minute.

 

I was tempted to answer the OP's question with the single word "maybe". It seemed appropriate, given their location: "somewhere".

[fbgd]

However if you are flying from Australia , changing planes in LA and then going on to UK you could have your bags checked through to UK, which would mean no immigrtio/customs in LA, simply getting off one international flight , moving to another gate/terminal with you hand luggage , boarding your second international flight , then on arriving at Heathrow, you will claim you bags and then go through immigration/customs there.

 

That has been my own experience.

 

Actually that is incorrect, even if you are transiting internationally US regulations require you to clear immigration and customs. So in that example upon arriving at LAX you'd clear immigration, collect bags, clear customs, throw bags on transit belt, clear security and board your flight to the UK.

 

Generally speaking for that kind of situation, yes (with all kinds of caveats), you are right, you could have just picked a different example :p

[PennyAgain]

The above statement is correct. We have no 'in transit' situations at US airports.

 

Passengers transiting in the US from other countries are often required to have a visa.

[Globaliser]

The above statement is correct. We have no 'in transit' situations at US airports.

Although (as fbgd says) a general statement will probably need all kinds of caveats.

 

Two exceptions that I know of:-

1. AKL-LHR and LHR-AKL passengers flying on NZ1 and NZ2 must clear immigration into a special transit facility, but need not collect their bags or clear Customs. Business class passengers are allowed out of the special transit facility to use the Air New Zealand lounge if they wish, although everyone else must stay in the sin bin.
2. Passengers making international -> international connections at MIA on some airlines must clear the normal immigration process and then clear Customs. However, if their bags are through-tagged they do not need to collect their bags to clear Customs; the bags will be automatically transferred. This arrangement does not include American Airlines.

[Whasup]

To shed some more light on the specifics, we are flying back to the states from Italy and have to switch planes on the east coast to a domestic city. Just wondering if we will do customs and immigration in first US city or the ultimate US destination.

Thanks for the input! ;)

[kenish]

Much easier to answer with a tidbit of information!

 

With the exception of Canada-US flights you always clear Immigration then Customs at your first landing in the US. So you will do it at the connecting airport on the East Coast.

 

There are US agents at Canadian airports, and you pre-clear at the Canadian airport.

[alcpa1]

To add to your case...you will go through C and I at your first entry into the US. If you are continuing on the same airline or a partner your luggage may be tagged in Italy and you will merely return it to a drop site outside of C and I if available. That totally depends on airport, of course. Some airlines operate out of different terminals and you may need to go through TSA screening.

If you are changing airlines you will claim your luggage, check in with your new airline and be on your way after security.

Please allow an overabundance of time for any connection.

For example, we will be returning to Europe this summer and are very familiar with the airport where we will go through C and I. We have given ourselves three hours between connecting flights. If all goes well we should be fine.

[YXU AC*SE]

There are US agents at Canadian airports, and you pre-clear at the Canadian airport.

 

Slight correction - not all Canadian airports have US CBP pre-clearance -- only YYC YEG YHZ YUL YOW YYZ YVR YYJ YWG source: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/preclear_locations.xml

 

Scott.

[FlyerTalker]

Slight correction - not all Canadian airports have US CBP pre-clearance -- only YYC YEG YHZ YUL YOW YYZ YVR YYJ YWG source: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/preclear_locations.xml

And that translates to:

 

YYC - Calgary

YEG - Edmonton

YHZ - Halifax

YUL - Montreal

YOW - Ottawa

YYZ - Toronto

YVR - Vancouver

YYJ - Victoria

YWG - Winnipeg

 

(to forestall the questions from those flying from Quebec City)

[scottbee]

Slight correction - not all Canadian airports have US CBP pre-clearance -- only YYC YEG YHZ YUL YOW YYZ YVR YYJ YWG source: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/preclear_locations.xml

 

Scott.

 

YYJ does not have a preclearance facility. The Victoria facility listed in the above link is for ferry passengers on Blackball's Coho service from Victoria to Port Angeles. I believe, but I'm not sure, they also pre-clear the Kenmore Air CXH-LKE flight

 

The other Scott.

[kenish]

I stand corrected...of course all the Canadian airports I've used just happened to have pre-clearance, so naturally I assumed....(you know what they say)!!

[trvlrs]

To shed some more light on the specifics, we are flying back to the states from Italy and have to switch planes on the east coast to a domestic city. Just wondering if we will do customs and immigration in first US city or the ultimate US destination.

Thanks for the input! ;)

Hello again Whasup - When you land in the US, you will have to go through immigration, pick up your luggage, go through customs and check in at the counter of the airline for the second leg of your journey. It will be like a regular check in for a domestic flight.

Another thing to bare in mind is whether you have 1 reservation or 2 separate reservations.

If you booked under 2 separate reservations, you will have to pay for checking in your bags. On the other hand if it's one reservation, you will not have to unless you are flying an American carrier from Europe.

So, if you haven't bought your tickets, you need to calculate that additional cost.

 

Hope this helped...

[~Fianna]

To shed some more light on the specifics, we are flying back to the states from Italy and have to switch planes on the east coast to a domestic city. Just wondering if we will do customs and immigration in first US city or the ultimate US destination.

Thanks for the input! ;)

 

First US city.