Entry Requirements & Customs

Entry Requirements

All U.S. citizens, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and South Africans must have a valid passport. No visa is required. An immigration officer may also want proof of your intention to return to your point of origin (usually a round-trip ticket) and visible means of support while you're in Scotland. If you're planning to fly from the United States or Canada to the United Kingdom and then on to a country that requires a visa (India, for example), you should secure that visa before you arrive in Britain.

Obtaining a Passport

For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov. For general information, call the National Passport Agency (tel. 202/647-0518). To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center (tel. 900/225-5674); the fee is 55¢ per minute for automated information and $1.50 per minute for operator-assisted calls.

For Residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca).

For Residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Those under age 18 and over 65 must apply for a €12 3-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/272-525) or at most main post offices.

For an up-to-date country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go the "Foreign Entry Requirement" web page of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov.

Passport Savvy -- Allow plenty of time before your trip if applying for a new passport or renewing an old one; processing normally takes 3 weeks but can take longer during busy periods (especially spring). And keep in mind that if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay a higher processing fee. When traveling in Scotland, you don't need to carry your passport with you. If you do, safeguard it in an inconspicuous, inaccessible place such as a money belt and keep a copy of the critical pages with your passport number in a separate place. If you lose your passport, visit the nearest consulate of your native country as soon as possible for a replacement.

Customs

What You Can Bring into Scotland -- The same rules for travel to any part of the U.K. apply to travel to Scotland. From outside the European Union, you can bring in for your own use without paying tax or duty: 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 60cc of perfume; 2 liters of still table wine; 250cc eau de toilette; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs or 2 liters of fortified wine; £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. Any amounts over these limits should be declared.

If you bring in goods from a European Union member country on which tax has been paid in that country, no tax or duty is due (as long as they are for your own personal use.) Some special rules may apply, however, for tobacco from some E.U. countries.

For up to date information on customs, go to www.hmrc.gov.uk and search for "information for travelers."

What You Can Take Home from Scotland --

U.S. Citizens -- For specifics on what you can bring back and the corresponding fees, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov. (Click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure.") Or contact the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667), and request the pamphlet.

Canadian Citizens -- For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).

Australian Citizens -- A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

New Zealand Citizens -- Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).