KIEV CUSTOMS

[FLASH2D]

hi fellas. well, my tickets are purchased, i'm applying for visa, but i was wondering how long it usually takes to clear customs. looks like the the plane is full. btw i decided to go seattle, amsterdam, kiev. the path of least resistance sounded good to me. i know that a v.i.p. service is available, but my lady friend is picking me up and will have a car to dash in to the city. god, is this exciting or what?

[hockeybrain]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

Luck of the draw.............

[FLASH2D]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

frank,
    i was looking at my itinerary and the flight from sea. to ams. served lunch and dinner (klm), on the flight from ams. to kiev it says complimentary liquor. i found that very interesting. my friend doesn't drink so i better be careful.

[Frank O]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

I will be going next month. I was there in August. You are taking the same route I did. Are you flying KLM? THe flight from Houstong to Amsterdam was full but from Amsterdam to Kiev was about 1/4 full. It's like every row had 1 seat occupied. I had 2 on my row...however it was great because it was a GORGEOUS blonde Ukrainian from Dnepropetrovsk!!! She tried getting me drunk by giving me whiskeys!!! Anyways it was my introduction to Ukraine. Once there I did NOT use the VIP serivice as per Jack & he was right. It took perhaps 20-25 minutes. However me & 2 other guys who were buddying it up on the train got hassled at customs. One travels there every month. We filled out the weird customs form they give you on the plane. When I got to the customs guy I presented my passport & the form. He signaled (he knew no English) for me to fill out another form because it was NOT the correct form I filled out. The form he gave me was the EXACT same form!? Cucksocker!!! Needless to say the gorgeous Ukrainian just went right through. Oh well. You BETTER make sure your lady is there to meet you otherwise you'll be in a world of hurt! The scene at Boryspil was CHAOTIC to put it mildly! REALLY she better be there. I was blessed to have Galina pick me up there after Jack contacted her. As for Kiev...I LOVED IT!!!! I'm sure you will too. Things did NOT work out for me my first trip but I had a blast. I can't wait for next month. From what I've heard chestnuts are NOT the only thing in bloom this time of year ;-) Keep your eyes to yourself Ukrainians are VERY jealous & possessive! Good luck & God Bless. I hope you fare better than I on my first trip. In either case take Jacks info JUST IN CASE things don't pan out.

[FLASH2D]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

thank you allen and tbird. allen have a great trip. it will be a few more weeks for me. first trip, 10 days, one women. and on top of all that, it is springtime, and from what i hear, the chestnut trees will be in full bloom as will i.

[AllenB]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

Don't worry it is not really a problem.  I've never paid VIP and most don't unless your really have something to declare.  I always take $1,000 in cash and usually I have a few extra bucks in my pocket so I put on the declaration form that I have whatever it is such as $1025.30, then I list everything that could possibly be listed as a gift  but price it as if it is just slightly higher in price than in Ukraine.  They always look at my very complete declaration and tell me to move along.  

One thing that I can tell you that will be confusing is the visa declaration sheet they give you to fill out. It will ask you for information that there is no logical reason that they have so few or so many boxes to fit the information to.  For instance, date of entry may be a series of boxes asking for your entry date and it has the proper 6 boxes for day, month, year but then you get to exit date and it has 7 boxes for some reason.  I have found that they really don't care about this form and have never been asked for it on my way out but they always look at it on the way in.  Just fill it out completely and if there are not enough boxes just keep writing.

Enjoy your trip, I leave tomorrow to Kiev for 6 weeks with my wife and then we will come back to Chicago together after her visa interview in Warsaw.

[tbirdjoy]

... in response to KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by FLASH2D on Apr 21, 2003

Yes it is very exciting. I know your joy. Your plane is full from here to Amsterdam but you connection to Kiev may not be a full flight. I've flown into Kiev twice. Once from London on British Air and the other from Frankfurt on Luftansa.  It's not too bad getting through customs in Kiev. You have to fill out some paperwork and then pick the appropriate color line to go through. Both times I did this it didn't take more than 30 minutes to get through customs. The first time they didn't check my bags and the second time they did check to compare what I was bringing in with what I had declared. Well I forgot a few things on the declaration page but it was no problem. The agent just had me add the stuff to the list. They were very professional and courteous. My thought is to try it yourself the first time and then the next time pay for the service and see which one you like the best. I wish you the best of luck and have lots of fun.

Mark

[Gman]

... in response to Re: KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by tbirdjoy on Apr 22, 2003

I've entered Kiev twice, the only form i filled out was the one that has ads for restaurants on it.  It is for passport control not customs though.

I've never filled out a customs form, they've verbally asked me if i was bringing any gifts, i told them an approximtae dollar figure and named one or 2 items and they just waved me through.

[wsbill]

... in response to Re: KIEV CUSTOMS, posted by tbirdjoy on Apr 22, 2003

Luggage.  So when the guy ask you are you bring gifts in to the country, you can pull this teddy bear out and the guy will wave you through...   Didn't even have to unpack my big bag full of goodies...   You should have seen the eyes of the girls working the x-machine.  Their eyes like lit up when they saw all the crap I was carry...but ironically, the customs guy is about 20' away from them... so it's really serves as no purpose to toss your luggage up and have them sneak a peek.

Get in the fast line and go.

Don't waste your money on VIP coming in!

Going out is another story, did it both ways leaving ~ vip and mass transit waiting... Save yourself $60 bucks and go with the flow.  $60 bucks is sixty bucks.

Though, I might change my mind in the middle of July-August, when there is a heat wave.  As the A/C in the terminal sucks!  Might have improved it by now.

[T P Cornholio]

... in response to Re: Secret tip...  carry a soft toy anim..., posted by wsbill on Apr 22, 2003

Yep, I remember 100 degree weather and roaming the waiting area for some air.  Managed to find a corner near the windows overlooking the front taxi area, just a puff of moving air right in that corner.  I planted myself there for the next hour while waiting for the loading call.

[wsbill]

... in response to Ahhhhh... air conditioning., posted by T P Cornholio on Apr 22, 2003

And for some reason near the hardware section they sell these little motorized fans that run on two AA batteries.

I broke this out and got some mightly long looks in that waiting room!!  They've gottem with squirt bottles, but that's a bit over kill. (redneck air conditioning)

It sounds corny, but those things work (w/o water).  Made a huge difference, why that building is like a vaccum is beyond me.  

Make sure you bring your own bottle water as well!  But, these fans won't be required until the June-Aug season time frame.

[MNKenr]

... in response to Re: Secret tip...  carry a soft toy anim..., posted by wsbill on Apr 22, 2003

...in Odessa Customs. I pulled out a stuffed toy (Mickey Mouse I think), and the customs guy wanted to know what else was in my bag. He did look through it, and tagged me a bogus 'electronics' tax, and alcohol tax for the Jack Daniels gift I brought. He asked me to get my 'friend'. She translated for me, and he demanded a 20% tax on the laptop for the 'electronis' tax. I gave him $20, and told him that is all, because the computer is old and does not work well.

In my 5 trips over, I have a different customs story for each one. I have found there is no 'standard' way to go through customs.

My advice, be sure you are in the front of the line, and you approach a female customs agent. If you are in the back of the line, they will take more time looking you over, because there are fewer people left. To date, I never have had a female agent ask for a bribe, but so far about half the men have.

MNKenr

[SeanT]

... in response to did not work for me..., posted by MNKenr on Apr 22, 2003

The customs people are just seeing what they can get away with. It's a game. There is no 20% "tax"... unless you said the laptop was a gift - not a bright thing to do. They make things up just to see how much they can squeeze you for. Last time I went to Odessa my wife met me at the airport, (she beat me there by a week - just before Orthodox Xmas). She come in from outside when she saw me and translated. The guy wanted to know what was in my bag (he saw my "I'm an American" tattoo that my wife says I have on my forehead). She told him what was in my bag. He said wait a minute... how do you know what's in his bag? He didn't know my wife is a tiger disguised in fashionable clothing. Wife says... I'm his wife, I packed the bag for him. OHHH.. he says. Well he says... your husband will need to pay X/Y/Z because blah blah blah. The wife says no... I don't think so... I know the rules. He says pay... she says no. Pay/no pay/no pay/no yada yada yada. Finally he realized my wife was having no of his game. He tries a different tactic. He says... you know, it's almost Christmas (meaning hint hint hint). My wife says, yes, it is almost Christmas... and wishes him Merry Christmas - but hands over zero $$$ and just looks at him impatiently. Then he tries another new tactic. He just comes out and says that 50 grams of vodka would be nice, (meaning we should give him enough money to buy a bottle of vodka). My wife plays him like a cheap violin and says... we don't have any vodka in the suitcase... but if you have a bottle under the counter we'd be glad to drink 50 grams with you. I that point he say... OK, maybe just give me $5 and go... it's almost Christmas. My wife says... I'll give you 5UAH ($1). He admits defeat and tells us we can go.

I SWEAR IT'S A TRUE STORY!!! My wife is a beautiful, demure, correct and cultural woman... but DON'T mess with her... she will clean your clock! She's tried to clean my act up... but by now she's given up and issued me a waiver. ;-)

Moral of the story: Most of the time you won't have a problem. If they want to fine you... 95% of the time customs is just trying to boost your wallet. You can stand your ground if you know the rules like my wife does... or make them a modest and discrete "counter offer" ($10 or $20) and then stand firm.

Sean

[MNKenr]

... in response to Re: did not work for me..., posted by SeanT on Apr 22, 2003

[This message has been edited by MNKenr]

I know there is no 'Electronics Tax'. It was my second trip, I did not speak very good Russian, my girlfriend never dealt with Customs and was intimidated. I just handed over $20 and told him 'that is enough'.

Arriving from the interview in Warsaw, my now finacee and wanted to do a test. She got processed in front of me, and they waved her by. Then they saw her with me and they pulled both of us aside. They looked over our passports. They asked why she was in Warsaw. The 'gentleman' then asked what gifts I gave her. I will have to pay a tax on all gifts. Katia was prepared. All gifts were hidden (only about $150 worth), and she confidently announced we did no shopping in Warsaw. The agent then asked how much money I was bringing in. I told him it was declared ($5 american dollars and 80 grivena ($14)). The agent said this amount was too little, and demanded to see all my money. Honestly it was all I had. I showed him my credit card and told him that is what I will use if I need to. He then told me it was illegle for me to import Ukraine Currency. He demanded all my Ukraine currency. Katia would have none of that. She now understands customs (as opposed to when I paid the electronics tax). She goes on to speak in Russian ( I picked up most of the words) that I have had a long and stressful trip, that I am crazy when it comes to money, and if you (customs agent) asks for my last bit of money I would go 'postal' and create a scene. The agent is smirking at me because of how Katia is standing her ground.

The agent then said "come on, you were with an american, in Warsaw, and he did not buy you anything?" With that Katia said this, "You know you are correct, he did buy me something while we were in Warsaw. Let me get it for you." She dug around in her bag, and pulled out a box of tampons, slapped them on the table for all the customs agents to see. I noticed the female agent smile. Katia asked how much customs tax for the box. The 'gentleman' officer turned red and waved us through!

True Story. Katia hates it when someone tries to extort money from me. It was very entertaining! :-)

MNKenr

[SeanT]

... in response to My story, posted by MNKenr on Apr 23, 2003

Ken... that story has mine beat by a little bit. That's funny as hell. My Lena also gets annoyed when they try to take me/us for a ride because I'm an American. When people see a girl with a "rich" foreigner they expect tge girl to spread the wealth to her fellow countrymen. Lena would like Katia I think.

Sean