US State Dept warning on travel to or transiting Hong Kong

[offshore171]

Australian customs, immigration also can also inspect your phone not to

Can they jail you for not disclosing the password though? Or just impound the device and seek a warrant?

I imagine they can deny entry to the country if a non citizen.

 

[OZDUCK]

Doesn’t Australia have the same laws though?

I work in London for a UK company and Australia is on our list of “high risk” travel countries where border authorities can force anyone to handover and unlock their devices for searching.

Offshore171 Can they jail you for not disclosing the password though? Or just impound the device and seek a warrant?

I imagine they can deny entry to the country if a non citizen.


Section 186 of The Customs Act applies. There is no legislation to force the supply of a password but the device can be retained, examined and copied. The current policy is that the device must be returned after 14 days.

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/crossing-the-border/at-the-border#:~:text=Electronic%20devices,retained%20for%20no%20longer%20than

And a Law Firms explanation as well.

Does Australian Border Force Need a Warrant To Take Your Mobile Device? - Criminal Defence Lawyers in Perth

Yes the ABF can take your device without a warrant, although you don't need to provide any passwords. Get the full story here.

www.criminal-lawyer-perth.com.au

 

[RooFlyer]

For all the China haters out there, Australian customs, immigration also can also inspect your phone not to mention the good old USA and many other countries. If you have something to hide, bring a burner phone for your OS trips!

Sorry, comparing Australian immigration and laws to China's is a bit of a stretch. And its not as if anyone needs anything to hide. A search like this can be just a pretext to detention which in China would be pretty opaque.

The reason I posted in the first place under 'Travel News' was to alert travellers that this was now in force in China - just beware. An initial refusal, unaware of the laws might be bad enough ...

 

[kpc]

Sorry, comparing Australian immigration and laws to China's is a bit of a stretch. And its not as if anyone needs anything to hide. A search like this can be just a pretext to detention which in China would be pretty opaque.

The reason I posted in the first place under 'Travel News' was to alert travellers that this was now in force in China - just beware. An initial refusal, unaware of the laws might be bad enough ...

How about comparing it to the US then?

 

[RooFlyer]

How about comparing it to the US then?

I would compare the US in practice unfavourably to Australia (but of course as a non-US national comparison between the two is a bit unfair- I have many more rights as an Australian in Australia compared to an Australian in the USA) but I would still compare China extremely unfavourably to the US.

 

[kpc]

I would compare the US in practice unfavourably to Australia (but of course as a non-US national comparison between the two is a bit unfair- I have many more rights as an Australian in Australia compared to an Australian in the USA) but I would still compare China extremely unfavourably to the US.

I have recently been to China and Hong Kong, and have no hesitation in returning again. Won't say anymore...

 

[Pushka]

I have recently been to China and Hong Kong, and have no hesitation in returning again. Won't say anymore...

None of this worries me. I did delete an X account before I went to USA last year though . But they didn't even take my fingerprints at the US border.

 

[drron]

I have recently been to China and Hong Kong, and have no hesitation in returning again. Won't say anymore...

And I went to Japan at least 100 times. loved it. encouraged others to go.
and on the 101th time I was thrown into jail for a MV accident. If it had been in Australia I would have been the innocent one and the other fellow would have been found at fault.
I am sorry your evidence means nothing. to me.

 

[kpc]

I think we should all avoid Japan now based on one person's experience

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think we should all avoid Japan now based on one person's experience

Drron’s experience certainly opened my eyes! I had assumed a certain level of protections when visiting a country like Japan, which turns out to have been naive.

 

[Scarlett]

I think we should all avoid Japan now based on one person's experience

Should we also all go to China and HK based on one persons experience…

I have recently been to China and Hong Kong, and have no hesitation in returning again. Won't say anymore...

 

[kpc]

Should we also all go to China and HK based on one persons experience…

Ìm not asking you to. Im happy to go myself

 

[dajop]

I travel to the US several times a year for many years, and I've never once been asked to hand over my phone, and never noticed anyone else being asked to.

On recent entry into JFK we weren’t asked to show our phones but were asked to show proof of accommodation booking and return air ticket. Which were on our phones. So had to show one phone.

People choose what line they go in, I was in that line originally but it was slow moving because of what was happening I moved to another line, I saw 3 people in a row in that same line get asked to unlocked their phone, no other agent was doing it. It didn’t seem targeted.

Lucky. We saw agent taking a long time in our line and tried to move and got barked at to stay in our line. Welcome to the USA!

I don’t doubt that in HKG or China if they find some anti China and particular anti CCP commentary on your phone you would be screwed.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Chinese Customs / Immig dudes are never going to ask you to open your phone - they are too consumed with their heads buried in their own phones - the Chinese are so good at multitasking - they can go entire day and complete everything they encounter with their heads buried in their phones - astonishing ability

 

[transpactraveller]

Lucky. We saw agent taking a long time in our line and tried to move and got barked at to stay in our line. Welcome to the USA!

That's also been my experience entering at most US airports, there's a single file queue to the front where they then allocate you to a line and you're not allowed to choose or move yourself to another.

 

[ToshiMio]

My company already requires us to take burner laptops for business trips to China and Russia. This has been the case for several years now and I would expect they may require us to do the same for HK. Not sure I’ll be able to fly Cathay anymore for business trips given this applies in transit too

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Burner Laptops? Well I have been going to China for 29 years and I possess a memory superior to the ‘Orange Haired Numb Nut’ but not sure I could undertake any business meeting anywhere anytime without actual backup

 

[HMcM]

For all the China haters out there, Australian customs, immigration also can also inspect your phone not to mention the good old USA and many other countries. If you have something to hide, bring a burner phone for your OS trips!

There's a massive difference between "can inspect your phone" and "can throw you in prison if you do not give the password". Are the yanks going to give me a year in prison if I don't give them the password, or will they simply deny me entry?