A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal sanctions. Arrangements or treaties may be formed to allow or mandate less restrained crossings (e.g. the Schengen Agreement). Land border checkpoints (land ports of entry) can be contrasted with the customs and immigration facilities at seaports, international airports, and other ports of entry.
Checkpoints generally serve two purposes:
Checkpoints are usually staffed by a uniformed service (sometimes referred to as customs service or border patrol agents).
In some countries (e.g. China) there are border checkpoints for both those entering and those exiting the country, while in others (e.g. U.S. and Canada), there are border checkpoints only when entering the country. (There are also United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints.)
The Schengen Borders Code , which forms part of the law of the European Union, defines some terms as follows (particularities with respect to the EU are left out, in order to emphasize general usability of those definitions): [3]
These definitions mean that a place where a road crosses an internal Schengen border is legally not a "border crossing point".
This is a list of the busiest land border checkpoints in the world, handling more than 35 million travelers in both directions annually. These travelers (or individual crossings) comprise pedestrians, drivers and vehicle passengers. International border checkpoints are in green.
Notes:
Rank | Border checkpoints | Annual Travelers | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gongbei Port | China | Macau | Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco | 134,000,000 | (2018) [6] |
2 | Sultan Iskandar Building | Malaysia | Singapore | Woodlands Checkpoint | 127,750,000 | (2012) [2] [Note 1] |
3 | Luohu Port | China | Hong Kong | Lo Wu Control Point | 81,707,959 | (2017) [7] |
4 | Puerto Fronterizo El Chaparral | Mexico | United States of America | San Ysidro Port of Entry | 69,300,000 | (2018) [8] [Note 2] |
5 | Futian Port | China | Hong Kong | Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point | 59,464,480 | (2017) [7] |
6 | Shenzhen Bay Port | China | Hong Kong | Shenzhen Bay Control Point | 45,118,797 | (2017) [7] |
7 | Huanggang Port | China | Hong Kong | Lok Ma Chau Control Point | 37,059,848 | (2017) [7] |
8 | Puerto Fronterizo Mesa de Otay | Mexico | United States of America | Otay Mesa Port of Entry | 35,400,000 | (2018) [8] [Note 2] |
This is a list of the busiest airports in the world, by international passenger traffic, as of 2018. Airports serving international passengers are effectively checkpoints, and have the proper customs, immigration and quarantine facilities. Airports Council International's (January–December) preliminary figures are as follows. [9]
Rank | Airport | Annual Passengers | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dubai International Airport | United Arab Emirates | 88,885,367 |
2 | London Heathrow Airport | United Kingdom | 75,306,939 |
3 | Hong Kong International Airport | Hong Kong | 74,360,976 |
4 | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | Netherlands | 70,956,258 [Note 3] |
5 | Seoul Incheon International Airport | South Korea | 67,676,147 |
6 | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport | France | 66,383,494 [Note 3] |
7 | Singapore Changi Airport | Singapore | 64,890,000 |
8 | Frankfurt Airport | Germany | 61,774,663 [Note 3] |
9 | Suvarnabhumi Airport | Thailand | 50,868,846 |
10 | Atatürk International Airport | Turkey | 48,978,770 |
This is a list of the busiest seaports in the world, with proper customs, immigration and quarantine facilities to be deemed as maritime checkpoints. Although figures simply represent total passenger traffic, most (if not, all) of the passengers served at these ports are bound for other countries and have to pass through checkpoint (i.e. the port is not a domestic one). This list only includes ports that handle more than 4 million passengers annually.
Note:
Rank | Port | Annual Passengers | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Taipa Ferry Terminal | Macau | 24,000,000 | (2017) [10] [Note 4] |
2 | Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal | Hong Kong | 17,317,037 | (2017) [7] |
3 | Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal | Macau | 15,000,000 | (2013) [11] |
4 | Port of Helsinki | Finland | 12,300,000 | (2017) [12] [Note 3] |
5 | Port of Dover | United Kingdom | 11,700,000 | (2017) [13] |
6 | Hong Kong-China Ferry Terminal | Hong Kong | 7,074,940 | (2017) [7] |
7 | PortMiami | USA | 4,800,000 | (2017) [14] |
8 | Port Canaveral | USA | 4,500,000 | (2016) [15] |
Transport in Macau includes road, sea, rail and air transport. Road transport is the primary mode of transport within Macau, although a new rail system opened in December 2019 serving the areas of Taipa and Cotai. The main forms of public transport are buses and taxis.
Macau International Airport is an international airport in the special administrative region of Macau, situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters which opened for commercial operations on 9 November 1995, during Portuguese administration of the region.
Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it also encompasses controls imposed on internal borders within a single state.
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a land border. Seaports can be used as ports of entry only if a dedicated customs presence is posted there. The choice of whether to become a port of entry is up to the civil authority controlling the port.
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and they must feature longer runways and have facilities to accommodate heavier aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380 commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often also host domestic flights, which often help feed both passengers and cargo into international ones.
Tapachula International Airport is an international airport located in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, near the Mexico–Guatemala border. It serves the Metropolitan Area of Tapachula and the Soconusco region, facilitating multiple domestic destinations, flight training, and general aviation activities. Operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), the airport holds the distinction of being the southernmost airport in Mexico. In 2021, it served 424,249 passengers, and this number increased to 503,254 passengers in 2022.
United States border preclearance is the United States Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) practice of operating prescreening border control facilities at airports and other ports of departure located outside of the United States pursuant to agreements between the United States and host countries. Travelers are subject to immigration and customs inspections by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers before boarding their transportation onward to the United States. Preclearance applies to all passengers regardless of their nationality or purpose of travel. Upon arrival, precleared passengers arrive in the United States as domestic travelers, but may still be subject to re-inspection at the discretion of CBP. This process is intended to streamline border procedures, reduce congestion at American ports of entry, and facilitate travel into airports that otherwise lack immigration and customs processing facilities for commercial flights.
Huanggang Port is a port of entry on the border between mainland China and Hong Kong, in the Futian District of Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its counterpart in Hong Kong is the Lok Ma Chau Control Point, located in Lok Ma Chau in Hong Kong's New Territories, across the Sham Chun River from Huanggang.
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard and rescue service duties.
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished passports and many other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
An arrival card, also known as an incoming passenger card, landing card or disembarkation card, is a legal document used by immigration authorities of many countries to obtain information about incoming passenger not provided by the passenger's passport and to provide a record of a person's entry into the country. The card may also provide information on health and character requirements for non-citizens entering the country. Some countries require an arrival card for each incoming passenger, while others require one card per family unit, and some only require an arrival card for non-citizens only.
The Gongbei Port is an immigration and customs checkpoint located in Zhuhai in mainland China, on its border with Macau. It is operated by the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Administration of Customs.
The Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco is an immigration and customs checkpoint in the Portas do Cerco area in northern Macau, on its border with mainland China's Zhuhai.
Skypier Terminal is a cross-border facility that includes a ferry pier and a coach bay integrated within Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is operated by Hong Kong International Airport Ferry Terminal Services Limited, a joint-venture company between Chu Kong Passenger Transport Co., Ltd and Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Limited. At this building, passengers aboard can transit from Hong Kong International Airport to piers in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province or vice versa, without immigration and customs clearance through Hong Kong. Passengers can also transit to Macao through coaches or vice versa, without immigration and customs clearance through Hong Kong.
The international border between Finland and Russia is 1,340 km (830 mi) long and runs approximately north to south, mostly through taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas. It does not follow any natural landmarks, such as rivers. It is also an external border of the European Union and NATO.
Juxtaposed controls are a reciprocal arrangement between Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom whereby border controls on certain cross-Channel routes take place before boarding the train or ferry, rather than upon arrival after disembarkation. With the exception of the Eurotunnel Shuttle route, customs checks remain unaffected by juxtaposed immigration controls and continue to take place upon arrival after disembarkation. Belgium, France and the Netherlands are all member states of the European Union and part of the border-free Schengen Area. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has never participated in the Schengen Area, even when it was a member state of the European Union. As a result, juxtaposed controls aim to increase the convenience and efficiency of border checks when travelling by train or ferry between the Schengen Area and the UK by removing the need for immigration checks on arrival and by streamlining checks on departure. At the same time, juxtaposed controls are intended to detect and prevent illegal immigration. In 2016, there were over 56,000 instances when people were refused entry to the UK at the juxtaposed controls.
Automated border control systems (ABC) or eGates are automated self-service barriers which use data stored in a chip in biometric passports along with a photo or fingerprint taken at the time of entering the eGates to verify the passport holder's identity. Travellers undergo biometric verification using facial or iris recognition, fingerprints, or a combination of modalities. After the identification process is complete and the passport holder's identity is verified, a physical barrier such as a gate or turnstile opens to permit passage. If the passport holder's identification is not verified or if the system malfunctions, then the gate or turnstile does not open and an immigration officer will meet the person. E-gates came about in the mid-2000s as an automated method of reading the then-newly ICAO mandated e-passports.
Controls imposed on internal borders within a single state or territory include measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders through border controls.