national boundariesThe environment is very different in different places. Close countries, such asNetherlandswithBelgiumLines are drawn on the ground to define national boundaries, and the borders of countries with too many political disputes may be heavily guarded, such asSouth and North Korea Demilitarized Zone。
Under normal circumstances, there are three components of border control:Entry, Used to check people crossing the border,customs, Used to check transit goods; andsecurity guard, Responsible for safety inspection. When entering the country, the procedures for transit will be determined according to the situation of each country.
Entry
Before you enter the country, you can check the following items.
- Are your travel documents correct and have sufficient deadlines?
- confirmReason for entryAnd the length of your stay.
Are there any problems with the above? You may need to answer the purpose of your entry when entering the country, such as short-term travel,Work(Short-term or long-term residence),Study abroad, Immigrate or seek asylum. Pay attention to whether you have any criminal records and political positions (seeTravel with a criminal history), at some boundariesYou need to provide some direct proof(Or indirectly), otherwise you may be more than suspicious and have to investigate further or be refused entry altogether.
customs
Here, you will be checked and make sure that you are not carrying any prohibited items entering the country (for example:Conservation animals、PoachingorIllegal drugs), sometimes you need to pay taxes or duties on items (for example: luxury goods,Liquor), or require related permits (e.g. fire and explosives). To prevent the spread of disease, food and plant products are generally not allowed to be transported across borders; this can and often includes things such as apples in bags or firewood in trucks. Please note that some customs sniffing machines are very sensitive, so do not eat poppy rolls at Frankfurt Airport before flying to the Gulf countries (opiates are made from poppy flowers, and most drug tests will cause errors when poppy is consumed. Newspaper).
On cross-border ferries, illegal stowaways can be searched for.
Some customs inspections have nothing to do with international borders. E.g,CaliforniawithHawaiiAll passengers in China are subject to (quite comprehensive) agricultural inspections, and most borders between EU countries do not have any customs inspections in the classic sense. For example, if you arrive from, for example, the United States, you are likely to be randomly selected after the lottery, and even after crossing the border, you will be drawn and meet certain criteria. Don't bring any hemp products from the Netherlands to Germany unless your car "doesn't look like it".
If your goods need to be cleared and the border inspection is not strict enough (for example, between Finland and Norway, orOran), you may need to visit the customs office, which is quite a distance from the scheduled border crossing and only opens at certain times (daytime, office hours or ferry arrivals).
security guard
The mode of transportation and the security checkpoints between the countries involved are different. For flights, this obviously involves extensive inspections of any potentially dangerous items, which are as stringent as including liquid bottles, pocket tools and laser pointers. Aware of the sniffer machine again, so make sure you have a shower and change your clothes after hunting or in the shooting range.
On vehicle ferries, chemical and radioactive material scanners are often required to drive.
The safety of the road boundary may just slow down a bit. Although there is no physical inspection, there is usually a camera to scan the license plate number, and sometimes a facial recognition scan.
Although most trains do not have any type of security check, Eurostar (between England and Continental Europe) and Chinese high-speed trains are also available, so plan to arrive at the station half an hour earlier. Is there anyone else?
Control zone
Immigration and customs may not be directly on the border. E.g,U.KCustoms control for passports and cross-strait ferries is inFranceBefore boarding; and fromCanadaFly toAmericaFlights, the United States’ control can be used at Canadian airports (forIreland，UAEwithCaribbeanThe same is true for some airports in China).
Customs control may also occur in areas without borders, such as entering and leaving free port zones. Customs supervision may also take place within a country, such as Germany, where vehicles (especially foreign trucks) are frequently inspected on highways. International train connections between European countries are the best place for immigration officials to check visas, even if there are no formal immigration controls.
The safety control is obviously done before boarding the vehicle.
Free entry and exit
Some (usually neighboring) countries have agreements that allow them to travel without immigration. The most famous is the Schengen Agreement, which allows borderless travel between many (but not all) EU and ECC countries.
United Kingdom that is not a member of Schengen andIrelandThere is a separate mutual free movement treaty.
Central America-4 (CA-4) Border Control Agreement isSalvador，Guatemala、HonduraswithNicaraguaofCentral AmericaA treaty between countries that allows citizens and foreigners to move freely (valid visa for one of the countries).
Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN countries are implementing a visa-free system, although it is not yet clear whether the system is feasible and when it may take effect.
needed file
Immigration control in most countries will requirepassportAnd possibly some form ofvisa。
Some countries’ customs regulatory agencies will require you to fill out a form stating the goods you plan to leave the country or how much cash you are carrying.
Airport immigration
- See:Arrive by plane
The restricted area of the international airport is no man's area, and there is no need to pass through inspection or customs to arrive; however, security may be enforced. Only when you leave the airport, you must go through the checkpoint and customs.
cost
Some countries, such as the United States, charge immigration control fees. For air travelers, this may be hidden in the ticket price, but if you travel by car or on foot, you must pay directly. In some (especially low-income) countries, even if you arrive or leave by plane, you must pay a fee, and this fee is not included in the ticket price or exceeds the charge standard. These fees or taxes are collected for a variety of purposes, including to cover administrative expenses, for environmental reasons, to prevent air travel or to raise ordinary funds. On some borders, these fees can be paid in various ways (currency or even the third and credit and debit cards), while others insist on paying in their national currency and small changes. Wikivoyage’s purpose is to cover this in part of the country’s articles and border destinations, but if you see content that we don’t have or outdated,Go forward courageously。
Special cases
- North America:Avoid transit from the U.S.、Avoid transit from Canada、Global entry、Neighborhood Card、Cuban American
- Europe:Schengen area travel、Visa policy for EU citizens
- Asia:Visa policy of the People's Republic of China