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Entering Australia - Grrrrr !!!!

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  • #46
    I like the old University College of the Northern Territory T-shirt..

    "UCNT Spelling Team"

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    • #47
      There apparently was a Cambridge University New Testament Society setup by a group of religious (but naive) students...

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      • #48
        Originally posted by trooper View Post
        No offence.. (and it probably doesn't apply to many folks here).. but from what I've seen problems at Customs/Quarantine really do seem to be generally self inflicted...
        I disagree with you in this particular statement. Self inflicted? Hmm I must have been such an awful person to have all those problems at Customs/Quarantine.

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        • #49
          As an Australian resident & passport holder, the only country that I have faced difficulties, albeit not frequently, with quarantine / customs on entering, is Australia They are particular anal so I now declare sweets, lollies, throat lozenges etc; to quote them "Anything you can put in your mouth is food"!!

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          • #50
            Originally posted by SQFAN
            You know you're setting yourself up in this forum ....okay, who'll be the first to comment?
            It's not my quote!!

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            • #51
              Originally posted by kpc View Post
              As an Australian resident & passport holder, the only country that I have faced difficulties, albeit not frequently, with quarantine / customs on entering, is Australia They are particular anal so I now declare sweets, lollies, throat lozenges etc; to quote them "Anything you can put in your mouth is food"!!
              Before the Dawn of the Express Lanes, I'd used to simply declare chocolates or lollies - and simply get waved through without a 2nd glance, which was also what Nick C alluded to. On the contrary I noticed that they searched every single bag for pax in the 'nothing to declare' queues.

              If you'd taken a hike in the countryside on your travels, you'd enjoy the same hassle-free treatment and sometimes even get a free shoe clean.
              All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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              • #52
                Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
                If you'd taken a hike in the countryside on your travels, you'd enjoy the same hassle-free treatment and sometimes even get a free shoe clean.
                That's why wet wipes are always very handy

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                • #53
                  Yep... I ticked the box for farm/livestock... Was asked what animals I had been close to.. and - answering 100% honestly - said:

                  "Bison"

                  Got a very strange look and was waved on...

                  (The Ranch I go to in NM has a small - but growing - herd)

                  And yes.. my riding boots were taken away another time I made that same declaration and came back sans any dirt at all!

                  jhm.. That's a nice variation on the one I heard... the Cambridge University Naval Training Squadron... would have looked good on the "cap tally" (initialised...) No doubt apocryphal.. but "never let the truth stand in the way of a good story" right?

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                  • #54
                    Australian Citizen and Australian Passport - though travelling alone and Asian.

                    Received the secondary questioning after clearing passport control last Tuesday morning.

                    I guess I wasn't peeved at the questioning, its just that I had to be at work at 9am and answering stupid questions such as,

                    - why were you only away for 3 days? (cos I felt like it!)
                    - what were you doing?
                    - you've been to singapore and hong kong quite frequently in the past 6 months (I didn't really want to explain to him that I'm trying to achieve 75,000 elite miles on SQ to ensure that I qualify for Elite Gold )
                    - what's your job? you must earn alot to travel so much? (none of your business is what I wanted to reply)
                    - do you have a business card or work ID?

                    After those questions and a few more, he let me through after I showed him my business card.

                    Customs was a breeze, waved through with my declared items.

                    Yes, he was doing his job, but geez.... it's 6am and people have people to see and places to go!

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                    • #55
                      altitude: I'm assuming since your location says MEL, this is in Melbourne Tullamarine?

                      I've not encountered this kind of questioning to the 2nd degree in BNE before.

                      The last time I went there (April '07), the only thing they were interested in was the LCD TV my dad wanted me + an uncle to bring over for him (although the item was not heavy enough when weight allowances were distributed across two people, and we had all the receipts, so no tax).

                      So, different airport, two pax and like you, normally travelling alone and Asian, with Ozzie citizenship + passport.

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                      • #56
                        Originally posted by Kyo View Post
                        The last time I went there (April '07), the only thing they were interested in was the LCD TV my dad wanted me + an uncle to bring over for him (although the item was not heavy enough when weight allowances were distributed across two people, and we had all the receipts, so no tax).
                        I came back from my RTW trip in March with lots of shopping, value of which clearly exceeded the tax free threshold. So I ticked the appropriate box on the landing card. When questioned, I simply stated the things I had in my possession (mainly bags, shoes, clothing items - apparently they don't care about clothes as these are considered "personal effects.") The v friendly customs officer took one look at where I'd just come in from after I put my suitcases through the scanner, and launched into a discussion about her favourite shopping places in the USA. She then calculated the total value of the stuff I'd brought in, and applied her own v complicated formula to help me go under the threshold - I didn't get taxed a single cent.

                        edited to add: This was at SYD.
                        Last edited by KeithMEL; 1 September 2008, 01:32 AM.
                        All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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                        • #57
                          KeithMEL: That is definitely a fortunate event.

                          However, I'd have to say that if you're lugging a 37" Sharp Aquos (with cardboard packaging), there's no way they are gonna let you just walk right through (even with two people!). We also somehow managed to not get charged excess bulk from EK (they did try, however too long a story to talk about here).

                          We were under the tax free threshold (but only barely due to the AUD-SGD exchange rate) back then. If it was now, it'd be easily under the threshold, but still not enough for a single flyer's limit.

                          I believe it was AUD1,000 per pax then. Might still be the same now? The one we carried across was around 2k SGD.

                          (And I do hope you kept that magical formula handy... )

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                          • #58
                            Originally posted by altitude View Post
                            Australian Citizen and Australian Passport - though travelling alone and Asian.

                            Received the secondary questioning after clearing passport control last Tuesday morning.

                            I guess I wasn't peeved at the questioning, its just that I had to be at work at 9am and answering stupid questions such as,

                            - why were you only away for 3 days? (cos I felt like it!)
                            - what were you doing?
                            - you've been to singapore and hong kong quite frequently in the past 6 months (I didn't really want to explain to him that I'm trying to achieve 75,000 elite miles on SQ to ensure that I qualify for Elite Gold )
                            - what's your job? you must earn alot to travel so much? (none of your business is what I wanted to reply)
                            - do you have a business card or work ID?

                            After those questions and a few more, he let me through after I showed him my business card.

                            Customs was a breeze, waved through with my declared items.

                            Yes, he was doing his job, but geez.... it's 6am and people have people to see and places to go!
                            I'm not surprised you got secondary. Your travel pattern (and mine too) is unusual so they want to check it out.

                            If you look anxious/in a hurry that is more likely to lead to further questions than being calm, as it may be mistaken for nervousness (ie perhaps you are doing something of interest to them).
                            ..

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                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Kyo View Post
                              I believe it was AUD1,000 per pax then. Might still be the same now? The one we carried across was around 2k SGD.
                              A$900 now, or A$450 if under 18 years of age.
                              All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
                                A$900 now, or A$450 if under 18 years of age.
                                Well but do they charge you if you carry a laptop, a camera, a mobile, and an iPod (all used) with you?
                                Because that would mean 50% of all tourists& businessmen entering Australia should end up getting charged!
                                Capslock is cruise control for cool... not!

                                See you at W:O:A 2010- rain or shine!

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