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Q: Cash requirements for entry to China?
My 74 year old mum is coming to visit from Britain and I don't know if she needs cash on her to be allowed through customs. I don't remember ever being checked but it's best to be sure, my brother traveled halfway round the world to Australia once only to be turned around and put on the next plane back because he arrived broke.
It was actually a little more complicated than that, there were a number of factors brought into consideration in the making of that decision; he was a recovering drug addict at the time, arriving in a medicated state, and the only person to vouch for him was another recovering addict and former member of the Hell's Angels. It took about 30 seconds for customs to decide a full body cavity search was in order, so my brother took a 21 hour flight, half way around the world, only to have someone stick their finger up his bum and send him home.
Now I'm not suggesting I'm afraid my dear old mum will share the same fate, I just thought it best to ask, mostly for her peace of mind.
I've never heard of anyone being asked how much money they have, but I was asked to show evidence of a return ticket when I came in on a tourist visa once as I assume your mother will be doing.
Of course, I also assume she will have her return ticket.
I have never been asked to prove funds. Either when applying for a visa or entering. Getting a UK visa for my wife tho...thats another story.
mArtiAn:
Something like ten grand English needed in the bank to get a UK visa for my wife if I remember right.
ScotsAlan:
I felt the whole UK visa process to be invasive. My bank account, her bank account etc etc. Talk about treating people as second class, and the whole innocent till guilty concept. Basically, the onus is upon us to prove we don't have a sham marriage. My wife has been visiting the UK for over ten years. Returned every time. And they still make the rules tougher all the time. Annoys me. It really does.
Since UK must get an entry visa to China, they would have such demands (funds, return ticket) before visa issue, not at the entry/border crossing to a person with valid visa.
Recovering drug addict is different matter, and I think UK citizen can travel to Ozz without visa, what is worst than when 'visa is required', considering 'entry ban'.
Now, search of anything/property is at the discretion of custom officer. Nothing or nobody can shield you against it (except diplomatic passport), doesn't matter what visa you have at entry.
I'd say, arrival of Chinese to UK must be peskier than other way around.
ScotsAlan:
My wife was detained at heathrow entry once icniff. They had her in tears. They did not even have the decency to phone me (not married at the time). They grilled her for an hour then gave her an entry chop. That was her 4th visit to the UK. She said she has never been treated so badly as she was in that interview room. They made her feel like a criminal.
icnif77:
They are worst than military. Not only in UK.
'Custom officers are our first defense' BS.
Once LTA, I stopped at Israeli Embassy in Athens (as hitchhiker), and ask about requirements to enter Haifa. 'No visa required' was Embassy's guy statement, after he glanced over my book.
Next day, I bought one way ferry ticket Athens-Larnaka-Haifa.
Trip was some 48 hours or even longer on small boat full of crowd.
At the arrival to Haifa, they hold me some 2h, and stick me back on boat to Athens, because I didn't have an entry visa.
No contraband or anything German
, except at Q of soldier in Haifa: 'Have you been with your backpack all the time?', I replied: 'No! It stinks! I really don't want to be too close, if am honest....'
He was aiming at 'if you left your luggage unattended, somebody could plant explosive inside, and you carry it without knowing ...'.
Israelis are beyond anal at entry.
I successfully entered moshav at my 2nd attempt by boat and had great month there.
Shining_brow:
"Could someone have put something in your bag without your knowing about it?"
D'uh! Of course! That's why I wouldn't know about it!
I had a friend who was grilled in Israel, because her company needed her there pronto, and the Israelis are somewhat paranoid, and so held her for hours for questioning, until the local business who requested her finally got her out.
Recovering drug addict - does that also imply a criminal record which equates to an automatic barring?
icnif77:
Israelis are beyond paranoid. My event happened more than 20y ago, so your 'Du'h, of course!...' didn't apply at the time. Israelis demand you have your eyes on luggage all the time/whole journey to Israel.
Today, I'd might give sensible reply to the soldier, but at that time I was like: 'What's wrong with this guy/Q....?', and also after I entered things became much clearer. It's different world there for an outsider, especially security wise.
My thought before exiting was: 'This country was build/assembled for quarrel/war'.
Before departure, I bought bottle of wine for my Israeli host, and he said: 'I'll open it at your next return to Jerusalem. We'll drink it together....'.
I have good memories from moshav, S of Dead sea, close to the Jordanian border, where I spent majority of my stay. Tough people.
I had flashbacks at Martian's Q/thread and promise I gave to my buddy....
'The Gatekeepers' - 2012 is good flick (1/2 documentary) about Israelis and security there. Flick is narrated in Hebrew with English subs, and I practise Hebrew by repeatedly watching it.
I've never heard of anyone being asked how much money they have, but I was asked to show evidence of a return ticket when I came in on a tourist visa once as I assume your mother will be doing.
Of course, I also assume she will have her return ticket.
Absolutely no issue. As Stiggs says. Visa & return ticket is fine. The only problem my Mum had was a bag of oranges in her hand luggage.....they were confiscated!
canada has some tv show i think its called border wars or canada border patrol, some reality hit show and showed a poor bloke who came to canada from australia with 3 dui's and a drug conviction and they generously let him spend 12 hours with his girlfriend in canada before he had to leave, not sure why any body would not know that canada, england, australia, new zealand all have the same criminal database shared, but maybe he had never read a newspaper, even a dumb yank like me knows better. i use the show to scare my students going to canada about the food they smuggle in their luggage, of course they dont listen and 2 of them were fined 800 dollars last year for bringing in pigs feet. idiots
i have never been asked about money entering china, i have flown in to china about 12 times over 35 years, first time in 1983 in a mcdonald douglas plane from the fifties with bolts rattling and no carpet on the floor of the plane, still amazed it landed safely, things have definitely improved over the years.
I haven't been asked to show funds for entering China, but I was asked to show a bank statement for a 30 day extension!!! WTF?
I had been living and working here for a number of years, but they wanted to see 20,000RMB just for 30 days! Holy crap! How much do the PSB officers earn each month, and how do they manage to survive?
