Customs

"customs" refers to declaring goods that require import taxes to be paid. 99% percent of the time when we are on vacation, we pass through the door marked "Nothing to Declare" and we are on our way. Unless you have separate tickets which requires you to collect your luggage and check in again, then the answer is no. This is in the prevue of the European Economic Community. "Immigration" is the passport control that checks to see that you are legally allowed to enter. Since Great Britain is not a part of the Schengen treaty, you may not need to do that in London, unless you have to change terminals and leave the secured area and enter Great Britain. So the answer is maybe or maybe not, depends. Arriving in Budapest, you will certainly need to go through both Schengen zone immigration and EEC customs.

All these things seem to fuzz together in my mind so I hope I am getting it right. We travel to Budapest a lot and sometimes we go through London, but mostly through Frankfurt. A month ago traveling through Frankfurt we had to go through passport control in Frankfurt (a quick hello and a quick entry stamp in the passport). That was the total extent of the routine for the plane change. In Budapest there was no passport control and there was no customs check. The last time I went through London it seems to me that we had to go through passport control and then we had to go through a security check similar to the US where you put everything on the belt and walk through the metal detector. At the gate our passports were checked again. I also remember on that trip that we did have to go through passport control at the Budapest airport. Again, that was a 5 minute experience. Coming back to the US we have Global Entry so we get off the plane, go to the kiosk take the receipt and move to baggage. After we find our bags we go the special (short) customs line and give them the receipt from the kiosk and we are done.

Since you said you are going to Budapest: You get off the plane, you follow the others to possibly passport control (5 minutes max) you continue on to the large baggage room (which does have restrooms – my wife appreciates this). You get your bags and you head for the exit "nothing to " I believe the sign says. You go out through the black painted glass door and you will see about 40 feet in front of you the exit from the arrivals terminal. Follow the roped line and then head for the exit doors. The ropes are there so the dozens of "private drivers" have a place to line up. It is chaos until you clear that mess. If you hired a private driver or a private cab you will have to find the guy then follow him upstairs where you wait while goes to the parking lot to fetch the car. Or maybe he will make you go to the parking lot with him. If you didn't hire a car or driver then just go out the exit doors and there is a cab kiosk on the left. Tell them where you are going and they will give you a slip of paper to give to the first cab in the line. Half the time, half the hassle compared to a private cab or driver. Same end result for about the same price generally.

If you are just changing planes, you'll go through immigration and customs in Budapest. If you are connecting on the same airline, it's more than likely you will stay in the same terminal. If changing airlines, and terminals, follow the transfer signs and you'll stay airside. You will have to go through security again. If you have checked luggage makes sure it's checked all the way through to Budapest and you won't see it until then.

Heathrow's website has a great transfer information tool. Go to this link and put in all your details, and you'll see exactly what's involved and the (estimated) time it will take: http://www.heathrowairport.com/heathrow-airport-guide/flight-connections/connection-guides And yes, customs, passport control, and security are three separate things (my mother still gets these mixed up, despite having done it several times recently).

Harold, that's excellent. I had forgotten about this. I had my kids study it before they flew out to visit me in Budapest a few years ago. In the airport you literally just follow the purple signs; actually not too complicated at all. As the instructions state no customs, your bags straight through to Budapest (where by the way I have never seen a bag inspected in 12 years of visiting). I think Heathrow gets a bad rap. Its way too large but the signage is good and the staff helpful. I once went through security in Heathrow on the way to Budapest with a rather large sum of cash in a waist pouch. The guard noticed the bulge and demanded that I retrieve it. I was late for my connection and there was a long line behind me in security so the only option was to drop my pants. Fortunately my kids had purchased me Sponge Bob boxer shorts for Christmas that year.