Customs and immigration on a USA-UK-Sweden flight itinerary
I will be flying from Tampa, laying over in London (Gatwick airport), then on my way to Sweden (Arlanda airport). I was wondering what to expect regarding Customs and Immigration.
I will be flying round trip on Norwegian airlines here in a few months. I'm curious about what I will need to do when I get to London. I have a 2 hour lay over to Sweden, along with a 5 hour lay over on the way back.
I know the UK is not a part of the Schengen zone, but does this mean I may have to go through Customs and Immigration at both airports? Or not until I reach Sweden?
I have tried to ask my airline about this. One person says yes, another says no. I'm at a loss now.
Best Answer
https://www.gatwickairport.com/at-the-airport/flying-in/flight-connections/
International to international flight connections
If you’re arriving at Gatwick from an international flight, are connecting on to another international destination you have some choices to make depending on your circumstances:
- If your hold bags are through checked or you’re travelling with hand luggage only and you have your boarding pass, simply follow signs for Flight Connections*. There is no need to clear Passport Control or Customs.
or
- If your hold bags are not through checked, you must collect them at Gatwick. Follow signs to Baggage Reclaim – you will need to pass through Passport Control on your way – and then either use our free GatwickConnects service or proceed to the check-in desk for your next flight.
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Do travelers go through customs and immigration before or after a flight?
Generally, you'll go through customs when you arrive in a country that is different from the one your flight departed from. You'll encounter the customs process while making your exit from the final destination's airport.Do you have to clear customs on a connecting flight?
When you're connecting from an international flight to a domestic one, you'll always have to exit and reenter security as you'll need to go through customs and immigration (unless you have gone through preclearance aboard, which is rare).When flying to Europe where do you go through customs?
In mainland Europe, Customs formalities usually consist of walking through a doorway labelled "Nothing to declare". The process that can take time is Schengen area Immigration (Passport Control), and he will go through that in Paris. 2.Do you have to go through customs on an international trip?
Generally speaking, you only clear customs if you're leaving the airport and entering into the country, not heading on to connecting flights. One example of where this becomes a gray area is long layovers.Customs \u0026 Immigration 7 QUESTIONS |English At The Airport!
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Answer 2
I suppose you have both flights on the same ticket. In that case:
- your luggage will be checked through to your final destination
- you should get boarding passes for both flights in Tampa
- you will not need to go through passport control, reclaim your bags, or go through customs in Gatwick
- you may have to go through security, though
- you will then proceed directly to your gate
Answer 3
The other answers have covered the specifics but the big picture is that it doesn't really matter. As (presumably) a US citizen, you don't need a visa to visit or transit in the UK so, depending on whether your bags are checked through (ask when you check them in), you either follow the signs to connecting flights or to baggage claim. If you need to go through passport control in either case, you won't have a choice so you can't accidentally do the wrong thing. Likewise in Sweden: when you follow the signs to baggage reclaim, you won't be able to accidentally not go through passport control by doing the wrong thing.
The only cases where you need to know in advance whether you're going through passport control are countries where you'd need a visa.
I have to say, it's really poor that the airline can't answer the simple question you asked them.
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