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Which countries have a law requiring you to actively seek out the police, at airports?

I don’t think the UK has. If you file the GAR, and if one is required, they might not turn up.

Same in France AFAIK but you cannot depart at time other than the filed EOBT which is probably a common requirement.

In Germany you are required to seek out the police; apparently the fine is €5000. How do they impose this if you are no longer in Germany? That 5k is for Immigration; what is it for Customs?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

In Germany you are required to seek out the police; apparently the fine is €5000.

Where do you get this from? It is not true!

Germany

You do not need to wait for UKBF some 30min-60min in the airport after your arrival ?

If you actively seek on arrival: police/cutoms (immigration), operations (landing fee), trucks (fuel uplift & invoice), fireman (gate code) and tell them when you plan to depart then it’s high likely you do not need to see anyone before departure !

If you land when no one is around to see you, I doubt you can depart without seeking anyone? (“venir comme ca, sans faire connaissance, c’est pas tres poli”), I was asked to shutdown and go to pay the landing fee once…

Last Edited by Ibra at 20 Aug 10:10
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

You do not need to wait for UKBF some 30min-60min in the airport after your arrival

The law is silent on that, so NO.

That’s presuming you were present at the ETA on the GAR form, although the law is silent on that too

Where do you get this from? It is not true!

Two sources so far, one of which is a letter from the German police (not addressed to me, btw).

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

Two sources so far, one of which is a letter from the German police (not addressed to me, btw).

Can’t judge what this letter actually says – but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t say “you are fined if you do not seek out the police”.

Of course – like in any airport in almost any country if there is a border police station you need to present yourself at this station – and taking a backdoor to leave the airport or to enter the airport for departure would be illegal. Same way, if you stated you leave at x:xx you need to be present until this time so that they can find you.

But there is for sure no rule that would imply that you have to search all the airfield buildings for police…

Germany

Not true is not true.

In Germany: If you’re leaving from an Schengen country (Germany) into a Non-Schengen country (e.g. Croatia, Cyprus, …) , you HAVE to have an inspection by the Bundespolizei (border control).

Case #1: If there are only EU citizens on board, then the task can be delegated to qualified staff at the airport. They’ll still collect your ID cards/passports, call the police, give them the data and get their okay.

Case #2: If you have Non EU citizens on board, the border control HAS to be performed through the police (Bundespolizei).

You have to delay your flight until the immigration inspection has been performed. Everything else is illegal. Basis is EU law (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02016R0399-20190611 – Article 8 §2 “Border checks on person”, Details about private flights in ANNEX VI 2.2 ff)

And please don’t mix customs here with immigration. If you for example travel between Germany and Switzerland (Schengen, but not customs union), you have to actively notify the Zoll (customs) in advance. Whether they show up or not is up to their discretion.

Germany

BerlinFlyer wrote:

You have to delay your flight until the immigration inspection has been performed. Everything else is illegal. Basis is EU law (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02016R0399-20190611 – Article 8 §2 “Border checks on person”, Details about private flights in ANNEX VI 2.2 ff)

It says that you are “subject to checks”, but does it say that you actively have to seek out someone who will check you? Not that I can see.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I think if pic/pax need passport stamps for immigration the aircraft needs temporary admission for customs, you will have to do that extra “due diligence and actively seek”

If no stamps are required and both pob & aircraft are in “free circulation” just follow shortest path: use main exit for immigration and use port of entries with proper notice (you may not even get to see anyone or stop engine or show anything)

Last Edited by Ibra at 20 Aug 19:29
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

I think if pic/pax need passport stamps for immigration the aircraft needs temporary admission for customs, you will have to do that extra “due diligence and actively seek”

That cannot be generally true because e.g. UK pilots have always required Immigration when flying anywhere abroad, but they almost never got stamps. Not in France, not in Germany, not in Croatia, Spain, etc.

While I agree that if a passport stamp is mandatory then obviously you have to wait for the police no matter how long it takes for them to appear, but how do we pilots know when passport stamps are mandatory?

Evidently they are mandatory when crossing an EU border, but I say that only now, post-brexit, when some (not all) places stamp them.

The German requirement to present oneself to the police, or wait for ever, for Immigration is the only one I know of. And it wasn’t always enforced; for example I flew UK to Heringsdorf and the police were not interested, according to the guy taking the landing fee. And same at Friedrichshafen, usually, until a few years ago, as soon as brexit was voted, after which UK pilots got queued up behind the Russians

What about other countries?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Please keep this on topic

It would be really useful for people here to contribute whether their country mandates one to seek out a police check.

This is highly relevant to GA flying because a lot of the time there is nobody there. And somebody I know is now being threatened with a €5000 fine, for passing through a major airport, with the police not present (per AIP they are there “HRS AD”). He now has a problem whether he can ever go back to Germany.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
43 Posts
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