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February 04, 2005
Immigration and customs at airports
It is always, always, always strange to leave a country, enter a different country and come back to one. No, not too worry, I like to visit other countries and visited quite a lot in my life. I was all around Europe, in West Africa, and in Asia, of course.
But I never lost this strange feeling, standing in line with others to face those who check your passport.
They flip through your passport. Look at your picture, and look at you. Back to the picture and back to you. Okay, my picture is not the best shot, but don't make it too obvious.
Next step - they look at all the stamps. My passport is filling up pretty rapidly, so sometimes, they don't find the right stamp immidiately. They also tend to check the departure or arrival card. Dare you, you lost it, what happens quite often to me. Sharp voices, requesting the card, me - daunted, saying, sorry, lost it. It is not an important card, at least, I don't really see a reason for it.
Flip, flip. Finally - they take their own stamp, raise their hand and bummm, give it to your passport. And than, you get your ID back, your life is coming back to a normal stage.
Adrenaline level gets back to normal, and I enter the no-mans land at the airport.
Same when you come back, with one additional step. Since I am a good citizen, I head towards the "Nothing To Declare" sign, straight away. But I am always, always, always waiting for the one to call me back.
What could be done better?
Surely, a sticker "Service with a Smile" doesn't help much, when most of the employees there look grouchy, as if they would sit out a prison term. It also doesn't help too much, that they mostly sit at a higher level than those that approach them. A similar level wouldn't impede their authority.
The candy in front of them, for those daunted figures in front of them is nice, if your breath gets bad and your mouth dry when you are stressed out. And it distracts you at least for a while, when one has to open the wrapper. But a customer friendly solution? Nice but not special.
Posted by Andreas at February 4, 2005 07:30 PM
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Comments
what is a 'yellow tag' on items coming into country are there any way to waiver the fees
Posted by: DARLINE at May 13, 2006 05:22 AM
I never liked custom & immigation officers. They are pain in the neck! I dislike the way they look at me- as if i've broken the law or i'm a prisoner. They're never friendly. I've yet to come across a custom/immigration officer who is friendly.
Last Christmas, I was on the way back from Barcelona. Before boarding the plane, my friend and I were stopped because they weren't sure if we needed a visa. They were scrutinising (literally) our passports as if the passports are fake. Annoying, ain't it?
Posted by: Eileen at February 5, 2005 01:22 AM
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