Whether you are entering the USA, UK, Canada or another country as a tourist or visitor, it’s important to know these customs and immigration questions and answers. Knowing how to answer the questions smoothly, will help you avoid intense interrogation. It’s expected to be aware that, there is no exact pattern to how these questions are being asked. Immigration officers could ask based on what they perceive, but there are some common immigration questions that tourists and visitors are being asked. So, in this blog post, we will be exploring the Top 10 immigration questions and answers for tourists and visitors.
Immigration Questions and Answers
We will start with favourite immigration questions and answers for tourists and visitors, and then we’ll move to some off-the-wall questions that they sometimes ask to catch tourists and visitors off guard. Some of these questions may seem obvious but they’re looking for certain things in your answers. The first immigration questions and answers are,
1. What’s the purpose of your visit?
The number one rule when answering all immigration questions is to be friendly confident short. You do not need to share your whole life story just give them the information that they need. Immigration officers are trying to determine if your plans match the type of visa that you have and to validate what you have on your document while you are applying for your tourist or visiting visa. For example, you shouldn’t be doing any in-person work in the country unless you have a visa that allows you to do so. So, if you start to mention work when you’re on a tourist visa this could raise some red flags which you do not want.
2. How long do you intend to stay?
Again, no need for too much information here if you’re staying for around 3 weeks, just answer 3 weeks. If you’re not exactly sure pretend you’re exactly sure and give your best guess all they want to know is if your plan fits within the allowed time that you have in the country. Most tourist know exactly how long their vacation is going to be. However, some travellers could have a lot of different open-ended plans in like 10 different flights coming up. So this kind of immigration question can throw you off, and speaking from experience it looks suspicious if you have to stop and look up how long you’re going to be in the country. It’s better to know your answer beforehand even if you may change plans.
3. When are you leaving?
The immigration questions and answers for tourists and visitors could vary per person, and one logical question that immigration officers ask tourists or visitors is for proof that they are going to leave when they say they going to leave. This is something that the airlines will normally ask you before you board the plane especially if you travel on one-way tickets. However, it can also come up in immigration as well and if the immigration officer asks you, then you want to be prepared, which means having a physical or a digital copy of your tickets showing that you’re leaving the country as well as the date.
Plane tickets are your safest bet but depending on the country or the border or the specific officer that you get. You also may be able to get away with bus tickets or even hotel reservations in the next country that you’re visiting. If you’re travelling open-ended on one-way flights, some websites allow you to rent proof of onward travel.
Although it feels more comfortable paying for a fully refundable ticket with a reputable airline whichever you choose there’s one easy-to-make mistake you want to avoid. If you don’t actually plan to travel on the date of your rented or refundable ticket, it’s easy to forget and let it slip your mind off the day of the actual ticket. This could look suspicious, so make sure that you have your plan and details straight before getting to the front-of-the-line immigration officer. Just to be clear, these recommendations are to help you stay flexible with your plans but you should definitely not overstay your time in a country.
4. Where will you be staying during your stay?
Among all immigration questions and answers, this is one of the most commonly asked and it’s expected you know how to answer the question. Always be ready to share the first place that you plan to stay, whether that be a friend’s house, a hotel or an Airbnb. I would highly recommend not trying to enter a country without a place to stay lined up even if you like to go with the flow. It’s always better to answer with a confident plan, a plan that you can always change later on instead of saying I plan to stay at X place and then we’ll see where I go from there. The best answer to this type of immigration question in this regard is “I plan to go to x then y then z”
If they ask for reservations beyond your first stop, there’s nothing wrong with saying that you’re not sure of the exact dates yet so you haven’t made the reservations (you can check out Booking.com to make a reservation for your accommodation). But again, you only need to say this stuff if they specifically ask for it. Also, keep in mind that certain countries do require that you have your entire itinerary planned out. So make sure to research that beforehand
5. What is your occupation?
Here, the immigration officer asks this question to see if your occupation matches what you filled out during your visa application. Also, to know the amount of money that you’re bringing into the country, but as with a lot of these questions, they’re probably less interested in your exact occupation and more interested in how you answer the question. Do not hesitate, and if your work situation is complicated, make it uncomplicated and if you’re unemployed just be honest. There’s nothing wrong with travelling while being unemployed unless maybe you’re travelling with over $10,000 in cash. As this may prompt follow-up questions but that’s perfectly ok because you have nothing to hide.
6. How much money do you have?
Depending on how they ask this question you may not know exactly what they’re looking for. Do they want to know how much cash you have right now in your bag or do they want to know how much you have in your bank accounts? This kind of immigration question usually means, how much cash you’re carrying with you because countries have different limits on how much undeclared cash you can bring into the country. The immigration officer could be trying to determine if you have enough money to support yourself for the duration of your trip. Many countries have financial requirements to enter and while a lot of times, they don’t ask for these it’s good to be prepared.
7. Did you pack your bag yourself?
This is an immigration question that you’re more likely to be asked by airline workers when you’re checking a bag or before you board the plane. You may get it when entering the country as well they essentially want to know if you’re aware of everything that’s inside of your bag. If you say yes, or someone helped you pack it tell them who helped you pack it like your wife or your son or whatever. If you just say no without any explanation they’re probably going to ask you some more questions.
8. Are you travelling alone?
To answer this kind of immigration question, it’s better to just state the relationship of who you’re travelling with if any. The immigration officers are using every little piece of information you give together with your story to make sure it makes sense. The answer is to always be honest and that goes for any of these immigration questions. Although some people get denied entry unfairly, inventing stories is not the answer. Immigration officers are good at sniffing out lies and you do not want to get caught in a net of lies.
9. Do you have family here?
This helps them understand why you’re visiting. There’s nothing wrong with having a family where you’re travelling as long as you’re not planning to violate your visa or overstay. Answer truthfully and don’t be scared, it also lets them know you have a support network if needed. Suppose you do have family be ready for some follow-up questions like their name, address and contact info.
10. Have you been here before?
Here, the immigration officer is still just piecing together a picture of your history and looking for any red flags. So, it’s good to have at least a rough idea of your last visit just in case they ask. This could be as simple as last summer or about five years ago. There’s nothing wrong with not remembering exact dates but not knowing how to answer something just adds to the stress and can make you nervous. Meanwhile, if you have answers ready, then you’ll be less nervous and less suspicious
Bonus: Where did you come from?
Immigration officers can clearly see where you came from by looking at your passport and boarding pass, but they want to see how you answer the question. If you have unordinary flight patterns, then this could lead to further questions. This is unlikely to happen if you just are going on vacation for a month. But I recommend that you always check what the country’s rules are.
It’s extra important to always carry around a power bank with you in case your phone dies. You can also just print everything out but this is usually unnecessary unless you’re specifically instructed to do this by your airline or visa application or somewhere else. If any of your answers makes the officer suspicious they may take you to the backroom for a thorough search. Obviously, you never want to have anything illegal in the country that you’re arriving in.
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