Question 6 in incoming passenger declaration form

[blu]

Q1 specifically states "medicines". Is that new wording?

 

[TiredOldFlyer]

Have in the past when customs are busy selected the goods to declare gate if they are slow.
When asked produced prescription drugs - "That's OK off you go " -
Can be a lot quicker !

 

[harvyk]

Slightly off topic but does anyone else find the colour of the card makes it difficult to differentiate the field boxes and spaces in low cabin lighting even with the reading light on or is it just my tired old eyes?

I find them nigh impossible to fill out only in the boxes... I figure provided the letters are roughly in the right place the machine can read them, plus there is a whole team of ppl there who's job is to enter the data into the computer if the computer can't read it properly, so I'm not too worried.

 

[crm911]

I have found it hard to make out the squares and often the overhead light isn't much help. I am guessing that all cards are sent offshore for data entry by humans, not OCR.

 

[crm911]

Q1 specifically states "medicines". Is that new wording?

Don't know but it could be to catch the "Chinese medicine, not food" excuse.

 

[jetlagger]

I have found it hard to make out the squares and often the overhead light isn't much help. I am guessing that all cards are sent offshore for data entry by humans, not OCR.

My writing style can & often becomes slightly obscured by the slight tipple of indulgence, particularly the bubbled variety, also factoring in the random turbulence & my odd left handed writing pattern, I often suspect the legible filling in of the squares on the document, though the authorities always allow me back in..
Guess I'm just another taxpaying pawn in the bigger picture

 

[Archphoto]

And try filling it in when your surname has well over 12 characters (Thai); I just tell my partner to fill it in regardless and forget about the *stupid* boxes. . . . .

My handwriting on the other hand looks as if an ant trod in ink and then proceeded to walk all over the page. . . . . try as I might, it never seems to get any better, but they still let me back in, so I must be filling something in correctly.

 

[Hvr]

And try filling it in when your surname has well over 12 characters (Thai); I just tell my partner to fill it in regardless and forget about the *stupid* boxes. . . . .

My handwriting on the other hand looks as if an ant trod in ink and then proceeded to walk all over the page. . . . . try as I might, it never seems to get any better, but they still let me back in, so I must be filling something in correctly.

My handwriting is more like the result of a a pen stuck up an unwilling chook's cough as it runs about in fright.

 

[RooFlyer]

Again, OT but I'm a some-what frequent carrier of rocks and other geological bits and pieces such as volcanic ash (twice only), crushed rocks (powdery or sand-like) etc.

The volcanic ash (looks like coarse brown cement powder) I declared, lest they think it was 'soil' (they did take a close look at it, but OK) but I don't do the others, as I'm confident there are no forbidden biologicals attached. Once I was randomly searched and they were "surprised" to find a stash of little white bags containing white powder! I think they believed me that it was crushed rock (as I had other rock specimens with me), but they did a few tests on them never-the-less I was off in 15 minutes.

I also once brought in a carved soapstone rhinoceros anout 40cm long in hand luggage. Every time it went through the x-ray machine the staff broke up (it showed a perfect rhinocerous profile).

 

[albatross710]

I also once brought in a carved soapstone rhinoceros anout 40cm long in hand luggage. Every time it went through the x-ray machine the staff broke up (it showed a perfect rhinocerous profile).

Actually I've toyed with an idea something like that. Perhaps a message written in cut out alfoil in a manila folder that says "Hello, Have a nice day". Lieing flat in the bag as it goes through the scanner....

PS, I wouldn't do that with USA security though.

Alby

 

[get me outta here]

"if you declared illicit drugs and handed them over, do you get in trouble? Assume you come from a country where they are legal (if such a country exists)".

Even though you had handed in the illicit drugs, I reckon the cute dog on the other side would really point at you, at about the time one stopped smiling at it, is about the time we realise we are going to be taken apart.

On the odd occasion I have returned to Aus and for whatever reason they decided to get very officious with me and take everything apart (finding nothing), I noticed that they seemed less polite than those on the tv.

 

[harvyk]

I have found it hard to make out the squares and often the overhead light isn't much help. I am guessing that all cards are sent offshore for data entry by humans, not OCR.

Nope, they are processed by OCR in an office here in CBR. Any which can't be processed automatically are sent to a group of people who get the fun job of manually entering in the data. I know this because I very nearly ended up with a job in the company which does this (as a server admin, not a data entry person)