APIS - what's it all about?

[deltahotel]

So .... over the last few years I've got used to doing the APIS thing either online or over the phone because that's what the airlines ask for. Just got back from skiing in France, LGW/GNB with Aer Lingus flight and no-one asked for APIS at any point. When I confirmed/paid for the booking with the holiday provider I asked if they wanted passport details and the response was "no, just the names please."

[edi_local]

Some countries want passport details of passengers in advance so they can get a good idea of who's coming and they an spot any potential problems before the people even get to the the immigration officers desk.

Most airlines will take these details at check in when they swipe the passport. If you had a return ticket the odds are the APIS details are probably stored against your booking and are still there from the outward flight.

Travel Agents don't really need the information as they are not usually the ones passing the data on to the relevant customs and immigration departments, however airlines will collect it, either online at the time of booking or at check in. It was probably done automatically when you checked in at LGW/GNB, the agent will have just swiped your passport and the details will have been put in. It's usually impossible to get a boarding card without the details being put in.

[Hartington]

Passport Control is a funny thing. As you say, we've all got used to being asked for all sorts of data when we go to visit a country and in some places we get photographed and fingerprinted on entry. I departed Argentina a few days ago. We entered the country on a cruise - the cruise operator took our passports away on boarding the ship (in Chile) and we got them back just before we got off in Buenos Aires and they were duly stamped; the authorities hadn't seen me at all. When we left Buenos Aires we were photographed and fingerprinted (so was everyone else as far as I could make out, locals included). I can understand the logic of being photographed etc on entry but I'm not so sure I inderstand the logic for departure.

APIS itself depends on the country you're entering. Some places are more worried about people entering their country than others. In other cases there is an element of tit for tat - my wife and I got into Chile and Argentina with no problems but there were signs at Santiago airport warning citizens of some countries that they would be charged a "reciprocity fee" (you charge our citizens for entry so we'll charge yours) and the Americans on our cruise got a bit of a shock when Argentina introduced some new fee for US citizens whch they were supposed to pay via a website (ever tried using the web from a cruise ship; slow) before disembarking in Buenos Aires.

In the end, I just go with the flow and accept the inevitable!