Where to clear customs returning to Australia with International Connection?

[JohnK]

I returned to Australia a couple of weeks ago SIN-BNE-SYD on QF52 connecting to QF008 in BNE. I was in transit for ~30 minutes, luggage checked through to SYD and went to lounge to wait for departure of QF008.

Got into SYD and went to Smartgate only to be rejected (long story but my passport got wet and the photo is partly ruined which means I will probably have to go to service desk all the time until passport expiry in 2020 ) and advised to go to service desk.

Handed over passport and incoming passenger card and was told I should have cleared immigration in BNE. What? I have done this a few times and with an international connection I clear immigration at the last port. In BNE we were told to remain in transit if connecting to another flight.

Again I was told no. "But Qantas sells this as a valid connection". Again answer is NO. "So I should have exited in BNE, cleared immigration, collected luggage and checked back in again?" YES he says! Surely he is having me on. Made feel like an illegal immigrant.

Was asked to step aside and he called over another officer and asked her to process my entry. A few minutes later and I was on my way.

So was he right?

 

[Bundy Bear]

John you are right, you clear customs at your final port, if you have connecting flight you transfer, not sure what they were on about.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I'd strongly recommend making a written complaint to Customs about that. Even if you didn't get their name, they should be able to see who had accessed your 'profile' and talk to them about it (if their supervisor logged in to do it, they could always say who the other officer was).

I've connected from QF8 (BNE-SYD) onto an international flight before, and you 'leave the country' in Brisbane, and just head through transit security in SYD (certainly no need to clear and re-check). I realise that this is the opposite to your situation, but it's the same principle. They did question why I had so many boarding passes (BNE-SYD/SYD-HKG/HKG-PEK), but they had no issue with not having a 'D Sticker'. My real reasons were the SYD F lounge and a QF 747 instead of an A330 direct to HKG from BNE, but it was just easier to say that the particular routing was the cheapest (which, in all honesty, it was)

As you can probably tell, I get incredibly irritated when many of us here seem to know the rules better than the staff that are actually paid to enforce them... do your job well, or find somewhere else to work I say!!

 

[Moody]

On a slightly different note .... I returned from DFW via Brisbane last year and cleared customs in Sydney just as you rightly did. But on a recent return from LAX I also returned via Brisbane but was Domestic from there to Sydney (I tried to get on a direct flight in LAX but they were all chokkas).

Anyway - I absent-mindedly followed the Transfer/Transit signs at BNE, walked past Immi, and went through the security check. I then found myself out in the terminal and then it dawned on me that I shouldn't be there. Back down to the X-ray machines that I had just gone through and explained my predicament to the security officers. They didn't bat an eyelid and said "Just walk back through." so I think it happens all the time.


Of course the queues at Immi were now snaking around the hall and I was wide awake and fuming. I pointed out to any staff member that passed my way that the signs were incorrect and should only lead Transit passengers to the side security station, but to say they were uninterested would be kind.

Rookie error, I know. But a long flight and an unfamiliar airport with misleading signs is a recipe for disaster*


* Disaster in this context means an unnecessary 30-minute delay getting to the QP.

 

[Mal]

Damaged passport (assuming chip still works, and if it doesn't I suggest getting a replacement asap to avoid some painful times in the future) shouldnt affect your use of smartgate.

And yes, immigration guy was wrong.

 

[JohnK]

Damaged passport (assuming chip still works, and if it doesn't I suggest getting a replacement asap to avoid some painful times in the future) shouldnt affect your use of smartgate.

I think chip still works.

The issue appears to be the Smartgate scanner is not able to match up the photo in passport with my actual likeness as the photo was damaged by the water.

Not sure I would want to spend money replacing a 3 year old passport and it would appear the service queue is used mainly by people experiencing issues with Smartgate and do not have to wait too long. I will wait and see how I go next time and assess the situation again.

 

[Mal]

Afaik, photo on passport means nothing. The chip is used (you have to open the photo page for the MRZ to be used for unlocking the chip data).

Either machine had a bad day or you weren't correctly categorised as an international arrival or something like that.

Did you get the first ticket, or did it fail at the first machine?

 

[JohnK]

Did you get the first ticket, or did it fail at the first machine?

Got the first ticket. Failed at the second machine.

 

[Mal]

Got the first ticket. Failed at the second machine.

Right, the issue (appears to be) that the image match between you and what is stored on the chip (or immigration database, not sure which one they use) failed. Iirc, the system also "learns" about a person over time (although this may only be the previous series of machines that stored multiple photos). In other words, see what happens next time.