At the airport, each tourist goes through a certain quest, one of the stages of which is communication with special employees at passport control. What can border guards at airports or train stations find fault with if a passenger enters another country by land or water? What do they check on tourists' passports?
What is passport control
A passenger crossing the state border will be at passport control twice. Before departure, his documents will be checked by Russian border guards, and after the plane has landed, by border guards of another country.
The tasks facing the border guards on this and that side of the border are different. In Russia, at passport control, they pay attention to the authenticity of the document, determine whether the passport holder is its owner, and check whether the person has debts that may make it impossible for him to travel abroad.
Border guards of another state look for a visa in the passport of a tourist who has arrived, check its terms, request additional documents, for example, a hotel reservation, and knock the guest through the databases of debtors who have not paid the fines previously imposed abroad. Also, border guards can conduct a conversation to find out about the purpose of the visit.
If the tourist does not speak the language of the conversation, he should honestly mention it. Most likely, in this case, the border guard will simply wave his hand and will not demand an answer. Often other passengers who are waiting for their turn help with the translation. Feel free to ask for help.
By the way, modern gadgets are equipped with various translators, so they can also be used when communicating with border guards.
How does a border guard work
The border guard has only 3 minutes to serve one person. During this time, he must look at the passport under ultraviolet and infrared rays, scan his number and check the person's appearance with the photograph in the document.
The last checkpoint is of particular concern to people who received a passport many years ago and have since managed to change - lose weight or vice versa, gain weight. In this case, the border guard checks the shape of the nose, ears and the shape of the eyes with the photograph in the passport. For hair (presence or absence of bangs, hair color), border officials usually do not pay attention.
However, there are exceptions. There was a case when a border guard, seeing in the passport a brunette with straight long hair, and in front of him a blonde with curls, doubted the authenticity of the document. Then the young lady simply gathered her hair into a bun in the back, so that it would be easier for the airport employee to compare her face with the photo. All doubts immediately disappeared.
Atypical cases
You can expect some dirty tricks and nagging from the border guards in countries that are considered dangerous for tourists or are away from the beaten paths of travelers.
For example, in the ocean state of Tuvalu, the country from which you came is still searched for according to a large old atlas. It has the Soviet Union, but not Russia. And the tourist will have to tell for a long time what country of residence is indicated in his passport.
In another Oceania country called Palau, right at the border control, starting in 2019, every tourist is forced to take the guest oath, in which he undertakes to take care of the nature of the islands. The text of the oath is stamped into a passport instead of a visa. There is a signature column under it. The tourist must solemnly read the oath and sign his own passport under it. It is impossible to refuse - the newcomer will be immediately expelled from the country. Those who do not know the language can repeat the oath after the employee. And only after observing all the formalities, the traveler will be allowed to leave passport control.
Curious cases with border guards happen in quite civilized countries, for example, in Barbados. Local border guards get tense when a tourist behaves atypically and instead of lying on the beach, he begins to explore the nearby Caribbean islands, flying there for a couple of days and returning back. Such actions can be regarded as attempts to earn extra money on the islands of the Caribbean and will raise many questions.
How to behave at border control
In order not to attract undue attention of border guards and not to linger at border control for an indefinite time, spoiling your vacation, even without actually being in the country, you should adhere to some simple rules:
- behave quietly and calmly, do not shout, do not scandal;
- communicate with airport staff in a friendly, polite, judicious manner;
- answer all additional questions to the point, do not chatter and do not get nervous;
- not to be silent when the border guard demands an answer.
And then your long-awaited vacation will begin with a smile … border guard!
