Customs at London heathrow?
If you've actually been paid for to travel as an unaccompanied minor, someone from the airline will guide you through the airport so it shouldn't be difficult. Take a pen and a note of the address you are staying at on the flight with you. You'll need these to fill out the UK landing card - everyone who is not a citizen of a European Union country has to do this. The flight attendants will come round giving these out. First thing you come to once you get off the plane is passport control. Join the queue for non-EU citizens. Heathrow is a huge airport and this queue will probably be VERY long. When you finally get to the front, hand the immigration officer your passport and landing card. They'll probably want to know the purpose of your visit, how long you are staying, and maybe if you have brought enough money to support yourself. It helps to take a printout of the flight booking and some evidence of your money, but they may not even ask to see it. They're just concerned that you actually will go home afterwards and not get a job illegally. Then they stamp your passport to show you are allowed entry and off you go. They've got their ways of identifying possible terrorists, drug smugglers etc - and they and the police are very good at it - not that you will even notice. They really won't be bothered much with someone your age. Baggage reclaim is next and if you've flown before it's just the same as anywhere - wait by the conveyor displaying your flight number and grab your bag when you see it. Finally there is customs. UK customs works on colour-coded exits. There is a blue one for if you are arriving from another EU country, a green one if you've got nothing you shouldn't have, and a red one for if you do. Just walk straight through the green one. You MAY get stopped by a customs officer and asked to open up your bags, but this is very unlikely. Going back, you can of course join the queue at immigration for US citizens (if there is a separate one), and everyone goes through the same way at customs. You'll get a customs form on the flight and will need to hand it in there.
How long does it take to clear immigration/customs upon arrival at London Stansted?
No way of knowing, could be 20 min, could be 1.5 hrs, depending on how busy the place is. Mid-January, mid-week, shouldn't be too bad, and as an EU citizen with no luggage, you could be out of the terminal half an hour after wheels-down if you're lucky. If you take the train from Stansted to Tottenham Hale, and change there to the Tube (Victoria Line) to Victoria, that journey should take you maybe 1:15 hrs, 1:30 at most. Which would give you about an hour to spare (leave Stansted at 8pm, get to Victoria by 9.30pm). So I'd say on most days you should be fine, although on any given day you might miss it if your flight is late or there's a delay at the immigration or the train is disrupted or there's a Tube strike or...
How long does it take to go through customs at Heathrow and get to the Eurostar?
Well, the whole point of the Eurostar is that it takes you from city centre to city centre. You're kind of defeating the purpose by arriving at LHR then taking a train into central London to get on the train. I assume that you are from the USA so you would be lucky to get through customs, immigration and baggage reclaim in less than 1 hour. Getting to St. Pancras could easily take another hour. You would be better off in getting a connecting flight to CDG.
How long to get through customs/immigration at Heathrow?
As long as it takes. The fact is that the 'low lifes' that work for the hated 'Border Patrol' are working to rule to ensure that newcomers to England learn our ways. (To be treated like trash by Commie led government employees.) To paraphrase Mao Tse Tung, "Power grows out of a long, long queue". The first thing the Border Patrol did when they took over was remove the "Welcome to Britain!" signs and replace them with warnings that if you are rude to them, you will be arrested and the maximum penalties will be sought. etc. etc. They should be treated as the BBC's spokesman, Mr Jeremy Clarkson, advised.
How long does it take to clear customs at heathrow?
That gives her two hours to get through, which should be fine. Not being an EU citizen, she'll have to join the non-EU queue for immigration control, which always takes longer, and around breakfast time it can be awful as all the Americans arrive together on their overnight flights - but at 9 pm it shouldn't be so bad. Then there is baggage reclaim, and finally customs which is simply a matter of her walking through the green channel and hoping not to be stopped by a customs officer. The queue for immigration control is the biggest uncertainty. But there are other factors too. Heathrow is enormous - it occupies an entire third of the borough I live in - and it can take quite a time just to get to the terminal, especially if the 'plane parks at one of the outlying stands and the passengers have to be bussed there. This is especially so at Terminal 5. Last time I flew to the USA from there, the drive out to the 'plane took so long somebody made the inevitable joke "are we DRIVING there?" What I'm confused about here is the reference to a train from Heathrow. The only trains that go from Heathrow Airport, apart from the Underground, are the Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services to Paddington. Heathrow Express costs twice as much but takes half the time as it is non-stop.
When do you go through customs on a connecting flight?
You go through immigration, customs and baggage recheck at your port of entry, in this case Chicago, O'hare. After that you will be on a domestic flight where there will be no further customs etc involved. If you have limited time you will have to hurry, you should always allow plenty of time between flights to allow for immigration and customs. Customs is usually a breeze but immigration can be a quite hold up. Hopefully you will be cleared in Canada as Neil states, never flown in through Canada so maybe you will be OK.
First international flight, confused about customs/immigration and bags?
You will go through customs in New York as you will be coming in from an international flight. After New York customs you will then go on a domestic flight to Houston, where you should not need to go through customs again because you will have been given the "all clear" in New York. You should not have to check in again since it is all on the same ticket so you will be checked in all the way to your last destination. If this is different then the person at the ticket counter when you first check in will tell you so. No, you won't get any other charges when you check-in so long as your bags aren't oversized, too heavy, or too many. The airline carrier will probably have a baggage drop-off area for you if you have to leave bags, if not you will need to still wait in line. Online check-in really only saves time for people who are only bringing carry-on luggage. Carry-on is the luggage you bring with you when you go on the plane. You can carry a purse and a bag that fits under your seat, or a laptop and a bag that fits under your seat or a purse and a laptop. This is so long as none of these bags are bigger than the size restriction for carry-on. I've never actually been checked at check-in that my bag fits, but sometimes if carry-on is too large the flight attendants will require that you let them hold on to it and you pick it up once the plane lands. Yes, you can put your laptop and purse both inside your backpack. They don't care. Just remember that when you go through security you will need to take out your laptop completely from your bag, as well as any keys, cellphones, and other metal objects in your purse. Yes, so long as everything is wrapped and/or unopened. It will have to go through security along with everything else. Just no liquids of any kind are allowed from outside. However, you can buy a drink once you pass security and bring that on the plane with you. You will have to collect your bag in New York when you go through customs, then you will drop it off again and collect it when you arrive in Brownsville, provided the airline(s) you use are partnered with each other. If there is any change you will be told when you check in for the first time.
How long does it take an American to get through customs at London, Heathrow?
It all depends on how well staffed the airport is at that time and how many flights come in the same time as yours and where the others are from. I'd say it may take a while because its late at night. i'm a uk citizen and came back with a us citizen in the summer. she passed through customs before me. and heathrow is just outside london so i wouldnt expect to be at your hotel till 11, as you have to get off the plane, walk to customs, get your baggage, find your way out. and get into London.
Where will I go through customs?
In Canada, most major airports (like Pearson International in Toronto) have a US Customs area at the airport. Canadians normally have to clear US customs at the Canadian airport. Then when you reach Boston's Logan International, you just disembark, get your luggage, and go. Coming from London (assuming England), I believe that you will go through security checks at Heathrow, but no customs area. You will probably fly into Toronto's Pearson International Airport. When you get off the plane, one of two things could happen: 1) Since you are on a flight originating from London, England you may be required to stay in the international travellers section and catch your connecting flight without ever going through Canada customs. Then when you get off in Boston, would have to face US Customs officials there. 2) More likely to happen is that you will have to go talk with Canada customs agents and clear the international area. Then you will go out and over to the US Customs agents, and then be interviewed by them before being allowed back into the US international area to catch the flight to Boston. If that happens, there will be no customs interview when getting off in Boston.
Will we have to go through Customs if we are just connecting flights?
Arriving in the States, you have to pass Customs and Immigration in your "First Point of Entry". Going London to Chicago, via Atlanta means you would do this in Atlanta. The FAA is super-strict about this and no exceptions are made. In Europe, that's not always the case. I've gone through Customs at my final destination, or I just did immigration at my first stop on that side of the Atlantic, and then Customs at my final destination. I didn't know this once and was looking for my bags... to find they were in the "international arrivals" area when I got to the end of my trip. So this can be confusing! Be careful when you book. "Direct" and "non-stop" are not always the same thing. A "direct" flight CAN stop, and even can change aircraft. It only means that the *flight number* stays the same. As a Flight Attendant, I can't tell you how many times people said to me "...but I thought it was a direct flight!" It ***IS*** a "direct" flight, I'd explain, but you have to stop, and go through immigration and customs, here before going on to... To save money, go ahead and get a connecting flight but give yourselves at least 2 1/2 hours to go through everything. I recommend connecting through a city from which your final destination is well served. For example, someone going to San Diego does better connecting through L.A. than Chicago. Atlanta is much further south than Chicago so that would really add flight time to your journey, coming from London. There are actually quite a few non-stops between LHR (London) and ORD (Chicago) so good luck getting a deal!