What do they check at the Airport when you are an American flying to Paris?

No visa needed, if they believe you will stay for less than 90 days. It may be that yYour trip and ticket may get a little extra attention, no one here can predict that in advance. Re health insurance: Even if you don't have a return ticket, my guess is that they won't ask you to prove that you have health insurance; but I could be wrong so let's see what other people say about that.

You have to have a passport. If you are an American citizen, you do not need a visa. These statements are true for all of the EU. I have always routinely been asked when I plan to leave, but never been asked for proof. The UK is not in the EU and is a bit more wary, so they also ask where you are staying and expect an address - your hotel will do fine.

Your other questions make me wonder a bit. Why would you ever consider divulging your personal financial business? Or, are you not an American citizen; citizens of some countries face much closer scrutiny. In that case, contact the French embassy/consulate nearest you.

How long are you going for? A visa is only if you intend to stay longer then 90 days.

A one way ticket makes then wonder when you are leaving.

You can't get a visa in country. So if you plan to legally stay longer then 90 days you'll need to get a visa and all the other items you mentioned.

Maybe I didn't make the question clear.
Picture me with a one-way standby ticket, I get a flight, turn the standby into a boarding pass. I am getting on a flight to go to Paris. I have only my american passport.

Will I be prevented from going, will I have to show proof of something, what?

Saying "it will make them wonder when you are leaving" is very vague. Will they stop me or not? Will I be forced to buy a return ticket? Will I have to show proof of funds to buy a return ticket.

About the health insurance - I KNOW its smart to get it, but I am asking if I NEED it in order to take the trip.

MY QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THE RULES FOR ENTERING FRANCE AND THE PROCEDURES AT THE AIRPORTS.

My trip will most likely be to fly to Paris on a one way, and then travel to a few other countries by rail. And then get another one-way standby online while in europe for a return flight. i dont plan on staying in any countries for longer than 90 days.

Again thank you for your replies and your help, I hope I can get the information I am looking for.

It's not 90 days in France. It's 90 days in the whole zone. France,Italy,Germany and a whole bunch of other countries I don't remember.

You're asking how the customs people will be feeling on your day. For all we know that morning they'll be on a crack down.

A one way ticket raises eyebrows and makes it more likely you'll get hassled.

But nobody knows what will happen to you.

No problem

I travel on standby tickets all the time.

No visa required

They do not look at your ticket or boarding pass when you enter a country - only when you leave ( this may change in the coming year but for now - that's the way it is ).

You fill out an arrival form, hand it over with your passport at immigration control. They stamp your passport. The don't check funds, they don't check insurance.

Keep the departure section of the arrival form and fill it out if you leave from France. If you fly back to the US from another country get a fresh departure form at check-in.

That's it. It's easy. It works exactly the same way as when we Europeans fly into the US on standby and fly out of Canada.

No, you do not need travel insurance to go to Europe. They won't check. I've never taken out travel insurance (although I'm sure lots of people wouldn't dream of NOT taking health insurance, I'm willing to take the risk.)

YOu are not required by any law that I know of the get travel health insurance, but, any medical care you will recieve you are required by law to pay, so you figure it out. My friend didn't get health insurace when she went to Hawaii, she was killed there, it cost here grieving family hundreds of thousands of dollars, for the last 24 hrs of her life were spent in critical careunit that she was helicoptered into . No one expected that believe me.
I think one way tickets are fine, I guess at the most they may just ask about it, but as long as you don't look like you are not going to able to afford to come back , I am sure it will be fine.

Have you checked the FRench immigration site?

http://www.consulfrance-washington.org/spip.php?article384#5-Requirements

He's likely worried about that. If you're staying over 90 days those are the requirements.

The UK is in the EU. But they have a different set of rules.

The only time finances are an issue is with visas - to get a visa you need to prove that you have enough funds to pay for housing/food/healthcare etc. For instance to receive/renew my student visa, I had to show bank statements to prove that I had sufficient funds for tuition, food & housing.

If there are any problems, you will be made aware of them before you board the plane in the US - airlines are fined if a passenger is turned away by immigrations (NOT customs), so they will not allow anyone to board if there is cause to think they might be refused by immigrations at the destination.

Otherwise, it is near impossible to predict exactly which questions you will be asked - it depends on the official, whether there's a security alert, whether you fit a profile that raises a red flag.

Health insurance is a good idea because health care is not free in the EU for visitors other than initial emergency care.

The UK is in the EU, but the UK and Ireland are not part of the Schengen Union. The Schengen Union includes basically all of western Europe, and you can stay 90 days there before having to leave for either 3 or 6 months.

For the UK, if you have a US passport, you can generally stay up to 6 months, but for more than 3 months you are advised to get entry clearance and should expect that proof of funds will be required.

One way tickets are fine - I often return to the UK without a return ticket back to the US. I had a British friend who wasn't allowed to leave the UK without a return ticket, but never heard of problems the other way round. Just make sure you have at least 3 months left on your passport and answer all questions at immigrations honestly.

It helps to keep your travel docs - train or plane tickets, hotel confirmations etc. available in case they want to see more proof of your plans.

Kate

Awesome! These are much closer to the answers I was looking for.

Let me try to extract what I think I have learned and then ask another question.

1) One-way standby tickets are ok (by the way, what companies do you go with for the standby, I was thinking Airtech, but if there is a better one, please list it!)

2) Health insurance is not mandatory at entry.

3) You dont have to bring bank statements.

4) You should have the address where you are staying in France, and you should be able to give the date of your return (or is it the date you are leaving france to go to another country?).

5) The total stay in the whole Schengen Union is 90 days.

Ok, so my new questions are:

Somebody mentioned that you fill out an arrival form, when is that done? after your plane lands in France? What is an arrival form, what things must you fill out on it?

And what are the procedures for entering other Schengen countries once you have already come to france?

Thank you!

I think they're talking about an landing card, which they will hand to you on the airplane just before you land in Paris. Basically you just have to fill out your personal information, citizenship, and if you have anything to claim at customs. It's very self-explanatory and if you have any questions, the airline attendants will be able to help. Once you're thru security in Paris, you are free to travel to any other Schengen country without border or passport checks. Just hop on a train and go!

One way, stand-by tickets are never a problem. I use them frequently. So I don't imagine Gregory will have any problems whatsoever. That is assuming all documentation is in order and there are no red flags to cause concern at Immigration or Customs.

Safe Skies,
F/A

Ahh, how quickly we experienced Europe travelers forget that we had many of the same thoughts and concerns the first time we were planning our trip.

Gregory, the advice you're getting here is sound. I've never flown standby with a one-way only ticket. I've only had round trip tickets purchased. But I have never had to prove to a customs agent that I already have a return trip purchased and the date.

The customs agent will take your passport only (if you're staying for more than 90 days you should have a visa and give it to them without them asking for it) and ask you one or two simple questions about your trip. Most of them barely care about the answers as long as you don't look suspicious. As long as you're not doing anything that is outright against the law, be calm and answer the questions clearly and simply. Don't give more information than they ask for, but give them the information they ask for.

Also remember that they are there for your safety and everyone else's.

My intention is to take a spontaneous, unplanned trip to europe, not to bomb anything, I am not nervous about passing through immigration or customs, I just want to make sure I have everything I need so that I dont get held over or waste time in an airport when i could be out exploring.

Couple more questions:
What is the difference between immigration and customs?

What documentation besides a passport and a landing card is needed?

Anybody have any suggestions for the best Standby company and can you explain better how Standby tickets work, what you have to do to turn them into boarding passes and how hard or easy it is to get a flight?

Thank you again for all your help!