US Customs discussion - airports, importing
- Thread starter esyee
- Start date
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If I already bought my tickets to Paris (travel in June) and applied for Global Entry now, does that mean it is too late to apply that to this trip? I read something where someone stated you can't use TSA pre-check on pre-existing travel plans and that you can only apply the number after you get the number to any new flights going forward. Is this true? Is it true for Global Entry as well? (I know Global Entry includes TSA pre-check so that is why I asked).
Also, this may be silly, but my first time traveling to Europe- would you declare purchases for both London and Paris when entering the US? I assume yes, but I have to also declare when leaving London and going into Paris plus the US? Does that mean I would pay possible taxes twice?
Also, this may be silly, but my first time traveling to Europe- would you declare purchases for both London and Paris when entering the US? I assume yes, but I have to also declare when leaving London and going into Paris plus the US? Does that mean I would pay possible taxes twice?
Global entry-
1. Depends how fast you can schedule the in person interview at your local airport. Some airports have longer waits than other.
2. Once you get global entry approved and your number, you can go to your airlines reservation system and add it into the already booked reservations. ( this worked for united airlines). Remember TSA pre-check is a USA airports only.
Taxes:
UK is still in EU tax area, so no taxes will be levied traveling between paris and London.
At your last airport( paris?) you file your VAT refund forms. Upon entry into USA , declare all purchases obtained overseas.
For TSA precheck, you can actually call up the airlines to apply the travelers number to your flight that was already booked.
Im not sure for global entry as I never had any experience with it.
Dallas/Ft Worth must be an outlier. In the last 15 months I've been to Dubai curaçao and Paris three times. I've always declared I've exceeded the $800 on the kiosk. Then when speaking to the customs agent I'll tell them again I'm over the amount and they just wave me through without asking for receipts or to see the items. I've bought Birkins plus lots of LV each time in Paris. Hope my luck holds in May when I return to Paris.
This has been my experience at DFW, Houston Bush, Newark, and Dulles. Granted, I'm usually only coming in with 2k to 5k worth of stuff, so not worth their time.
More on pre check - if your flight to Paris is on a non-US carrier in some cases you cannot use pre-check in domestic airports. Or you have to go to the gate agent and have them print you a boarding pass. For example, if your flight is Washington DC to Munich then Paris all on Lufthansa, you will have to go to the Lufthansa counter at Dulles and have your boarding pass printed manually (kiosk wont print the precheck info). British Airways does not participate in pre-check. If you're going on any US carrier, United, Delta, American etc. you are fine, they all take pre-check.
Global Entry comes into play when you arrive back in the US. This may have been covered earlier but anywyay... You'll go through immigration and you will see a sign that says "Global Entry" follow that area and there are machines where you complete the customs declaration forms. You'll stay in a designated Global Entry lane until you exit the airport. There is always an agent around to ask for help if you get confused. If you purchase more than you exemption (the $800x number of people in your party) then you check YES on the customs form under the purchases question. The Global Entry kiosk will dispense a form that you take to the agent (there is a Global Entry designated lane for this) and they will ask you questions and either have you pay duty or send you on your way. Have a great trip!!!
Hi all,
I will be traveling to london and am planning to buy some jewelry from hermes.
Does anyone know how much tax %, i would have to pay to us customs for jewelry?
I am from new york and i'm trying to figure out if it will be cheaper to buy in london and get a VAT refund then paying import duty tax to customs.
I will be traveling to london and am planning to buy some jewelry from hermes.
Does anyone know how much tax %, i would have to pay to us customs for jewelry?
I am from new york and i'm trying to figure out if it will be cheaper to buy in london and get a VAT refund then paying import duty tax to customs.
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This is correct. Global Entry will work as soon as your fingerprints and passport are in the system - you don't need to wait for your card to arrive. Global Entry is not tied to your actual reservation. You will get the benefit when you come BACK to the US. (There is a different UK government trusted traveler program for US citizens entering the UK, but you need to be a frequent traveler between the two countries to get it. That status is great for getting INTO the UK.)
Precheck IS tied to your reservation. You will need to ensure that your Known Traveler number that you receive from Global Entry is in the airline's system under your traveler profile (where you keep all your personal information). Note that if ANY information Global Entry/Precheck has is not consistent with the traveler profile, especially birthdate, you may not get Precheck when you fly.
You can add the KT number to your reservation as late as 24 hours before you leave as long as it's before you check in. After that time you may need to have the airline enter it manually and/or check in again/reprint your boarding pass. However as noted, Precheck will only help you in a US airport at a terminal that has a Precheck line.