Immigration Inbound

Immigration Inbound requires documents to be completed accurately. In the boarding area for the flight or on the flight you will be given a customs and immigration form/s to complete. This will require you to complete personal particulars and some detail on where you have been. Depending on the quarantine laws it may ask a series of questions regarding what you are carrying with you. It is critical that you complete the form accurately and completely. If you are not sure, declare it. It is better to be safe than sorry. There will be heavy fines, sometime jail sentences and even the death penalty for drug offences in place for breach of these issues. There will also be heavy fines for incorrect declarations on the forms.

These forms are available in many languages. So ask for a form in a language you are fluent in to ensure that you complete the form accurately. Not understanding will not be an acceptable response to why the form is incorrectly completed.

It is obvious that illegal activities are one area that countries are targeting – eg drug trafficking, weapons which may be legal in one country are not in others. Apart from the obvious illegal drugs, some prescription drugs may not yet have been approved for sale in a country. If you are carrying such a drug, you will require a letter from your doctor to bring those drugs into that country or they may not be allowed. Click here for All Things Medical. Further, some products like steroids are just not legal in certain countries. You will be in serious breach of legislation if you try to bring them in.

The country you are entering may also be trying to protect its industries from certain diseases – eg wood products may contain insects that are not prevalent in the country that you are going into. The local government may be trying to ensure that these pests and diseases do not enter the country. Make sure you check this out prior to departure as it will be illegal to enter these countries with those goods. If you have them, you will need to declare them on the customs form and they will most likely be confiscated. If you do not declare these goods and try to enter the country with them, you are breaking the law. If caught, the goods will be confiscated, you may be fined and at worst deported.

Contraband products like pirated CD’s and DVD’s and designer handbags and shoes are also an area of focus for many countries. This is about protecting their local entertainment and luxury goods industries. Copyright legislation will be in place which you will be in contravention of if you bring these types of products in.