Passing through customs?

[Gigs]

I am flying to France via London from Boston. Will I have to go through customs twice? How long does a customs trip generally take? Do they have English translators?

[travel]

Originally posted by Gigs@Jan 5 2006, 09:34 AM
I am flying to France via London from Boston. Will I have to go through customs twice? How long does a customs trip generally take? Do they have English translators?
16893


Hmmm...good question. I've flown similar routings, and from my experience I THINK this is how it will work if you are flying the same airline all the way through and not taking a stopover in London. My memory may be failing me, since I've slept and drank since then, but this is what I remember. It is more complicated than it should be since France is part of the EU but Britain is not. You should fly Boston/London and arrive at Terminal 4 at LHR. If your flight to France is also departing from Terminal 4 (mine did), then you should process through immigration but not customs there. You should process through customs only in France. I think if you are flying a different airline between London and Paris(?), however, you may have to claim and recheck your bags. Not totally sure on that one since I've never done it, but it seems like it.

In my experience, customs officials have always spoken English. It's not usually a very lengthy process for most people. Just try not to look like you're guilty of anything ;)

[PerfectJourneys]

I personally have not done a "travel-through" from Heathrow, but I did have a friend who did it on British Airways both flights and she said she cleared at Heathrow (she may have been a bit confused though - she can be a bit spacey!!). Your airline should be able to tell you where you will clear customs, even if you are using another to travel on to Paris.

I also just wanted to clear up a common misconception:
Originally posted by travel@Jan 6 2006, 12:34 PM
.....since France is part of the EU but Britain is not. 17005

The United Kingdom is indeed part of the EU. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales just don't use the Euro as a currency and that is where the misconception comes in.

[nobody122]

As a frequent European traveler and resident (I signed the purchase on the house in Prague last week), you can get a variety of experiences. I think you are generally mistaken--customs you do not go through until your final destination (unless your bags are not check all the way through). You may have passport control in LHR, but that usually takes like 5 minutes--you only worry about customs when you get to your destination (unless you are in the US and then you do customs at the first airport you stop in).

[nobody122]

Oh yeah, and forget about trying to use a cell phone anywhere near customs both in the US and abroad--security takes them and does not return them, plus some places you can face jail time for having it turned on.

[Anita Dunham-Potter]

Originally posted by Gigs@Jan 5 2006, 09:34 AM
I am flying to France via London from Boston. Will I have to go through customs twice? How long does a customs trip generally take? Do they have English translators?
16893


Gigs, last year I had to go through customs twice when I flew from Stockholm to Heathrow to JFK -- then again through U.S. customs to get home to PIT. LONG DAY.

[Jason's Storm]

Just don't say the four letter 'B' word. It has a tendency to really slow people up.;)

~JS

[travel]

Originally posted by PerfectJourneys@Jan 6 2006, 03:21 PM
I also just wanted to clear up a common misconception:

The United Kingdom is indeed part of the EU.* England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales just don't use the Euro as a currency and that is where the misconception comes in.
17052


Hmmm....I bet you're right. I may be confused. I have had to show passports when flying between England and France, and go through Immigration, but I didn't have to show one when I did the trip by train. The transition between other EU countries has been seamless, so I guess it just seems like they're still separate.