Customs - RED and kids/non-Spanish speakers

[bigwally]

There are six of us coming through customs together. It seems possible that at least one in the group will get the dreaded red light. Two in the group are minors; one is just 18 but completely wet behind the ears. Non of us are particularly well versed in Spanish, but can speak some.

My recollections from other posts is that the victim of a red light at customs has to face the ordeal by him or herself, and that others in the group have to exit the customs hall. What happens if one of more of those is a minor...is a parent/adult allowed to accompany them? Is it safe to assume that the customs agents will speak at least some English? How do you think we should manage the luggage so the unlucky person might not have much to search?

[Solomon]

I am probably going to open myself up to somebody telling me how wrong I am here, but anyway:

Don't bring anything illegal and customs searches shouldn't be a big deal.

[u2girlie]

Originally Posted by bigwally

There are six of us coming through customs together. It seems possible that at least one in the group will get the dreaded red light. Two in the group are minors; one is just 18 but completely wet behind the ears. Non of us are particularly well versed in Spanish, but can speak some.

My recollections from other posts is that the victim of a red light at customs has to face the ordeal by him or herself, and that others in the group have to exit the customs hall. What happens if one of more of those is a minor...is a parent/adult allowed to accompany them? Is it safe to assume that the customs agents will speak at least some English? How do you think we should manage the luggage so the unlucky person might not have much to search?

Since you fill out one customs form as a family and it's one push per form, the kids are fine. The adult would hand them the form and push the button. You'll be fine not knowing any Spanish.

[bigwally]

Originally Posted by u2girlie

Since you fill out one customs form as a family and it's one push per form, the kids are fine. The adult would hand them the form and push the button. You'll be fine not knowing any Spanish.

Ah, I didn't know that. I thought everyone had to push for themselves. Since I posted here I did a Google to Tripadvisor where there is a post that the red/green system was gone anyway at CUN and that it was random search by discretion of the Customs officers. Is that true?

Not aiming to bring anything illegal in, Solomon, but obviously worried about a 14-year old maybe having to face a rather stern Customs official, speaking a language she doesn't understand, by herself.

[lovetheroo]

Well, we were there last month and still red light/green light in service. But relax, they are generally very nice and patient, and laughed at us when we got caught with contraband (sunflower seeds) and just politely took them away. Unless you have something really bad, they are pretty understanding about tourists.

[Michael]

The customs people at the Cancun airport always talk to me in English.

If you get the red light your luggage will be checked. It is no big deal.

If you get a green light and there is something interesting in your luggage (as seen on the x-ray machine) you may also have your luggage checked. It is also no big deal.

If you bring in something that does not have the paperwork it should, in my case a car part that looked high value, but without a receipt to show the real value. It may go into impound and await your return with a receipt to get it out. When that happened to me. It was .............yes you guessed it..............no big deal.

The customs lady was very helpful in telling me what to do, and repeating it in English till the penny dropped. Again the point here is not to explain how to bring in expensive car parts, but to emphasize that a small possible infraction is no big deal. And the customs people are likely to be very nice and helpful to you in guiding you to a resolution. I have had no negative experiences with customs at Cancun airport and I've certainly pushed the limits as to the value of items I bring in.

Cancun airport is privately owned and run. Their staff don't want unhappy tourists. I had one customs meeting that started out going badly, but after 10 minutes everything was resolved happily. Immediately as I walked away from the customs people two nice young ladies came up to me with a form and clip board and asked if I wanted to lodge a complaint against the customs people. I was still very close to the customs people and I thought that was pretty brazen (and funny and kinda cute). The customs people had cut me a lot of slack and sent me on my way without even a full search of my luggage. And so I declined to complain (I had nothing really to complain about, except the loss of 10 minutes of my time).

Again the point being, that the chances of a problem are miniscule. Unless of course you are planning to ignore the law and common sense and bring in something super illegal.

[abuelo]

Originally Posted by bigwally

Ah, I didn't know that. I thought everyone had to push for themselves. Since I posted here I did a Google to Tripadvisor where there is a post that the red/green system was gone anyway at CUN and that it was random search by discretion of the Customs officers. Is that true?

Not aiming to bring anything illegal in, Solomon, but obviously worried about a 14-year old maybe having to face a rather stern Customs official, speaking a language she doesn't understand, by herself.

I got the dreaded red light two years ago, I don't feel the red light is always random from this experience. Just before you get to the light is where you go through x-ray of your baggage and I had a feeling something was up by the actions of the scanner observer.

I hit the button, it turned red, my wife hauled her a** and there I was. She asked to check my carry on, which had syringes and a vial in it, all legal, ask for my passport, checked the name on my medication against the passport and said "thank you, have a good stay", all in perfect English

Barry

[SharonD]

We've gotten the red light and travelled with groups of friends who got the red light. Not a big deal, from the moment you land, you will be embarrassed by your lack of being bi-tri-quad-lingual. They are professional, courteous and just doing their job to insure the safety of others and the environment. If you get stopped, thank them. Tell the kids what might happen, why they do this and the everyone will wait for them on the other side of the doors. Remind them that it is a secure area if they are concerned, probably one of the safest, most watched areas in any public place.

[Uno]

I get the red light more often than green. They have always been polite and speak english. You never get out of sight from your party, and it's just an extra bag search. Never been a problem, just takes me a few more minutes than them. I'm sure if it was a minor, they would let a parent stay nearby.

[prbst]

It really isn't a big deal unless you have something you shouldn't. And. as they have said in previous posts it goes by groups, family, etc. So only one person has to hit it! We always play who does it!!! And. if you get it it isn't that bad!! Smile, and let them do what they feel they need to do! Then you'll be off to paradise.

[YWGDon&Deb]

We've had a few red lights over the past decade (they seemed quite random) and every one has resulted in nothing more than a very cursory look into the bags by a cheerful, smiling woman. It usually takes longer to open the bags than she spends poking around. They all speak English, in our experience. One time, Deb had a bag full of little more than paperbacks and shoes. That got a big grin and a thumbs up, woman to woman, and we were on our way.

[kathy.web]

My husband sometimes carries a soft-sided cooler as a carry-on. They check it every.single.time looking for fruit or something else you're not supposed to bring. It's no big deal.

[Trev]

It's not a big deal, just smile and nod.
You don't need to speak Spanish.
Just know ahead what you're allowed to bring and, more importantly, what you're not allowed to bring.

[kaki321]

We were "detained" last month not because we got the red light, but because of our suitcase full of donations. They asked quite a few questions because I had multiple packages of brand new items (sharpies, crayons, jump ropes, etc...) and hundreds of thin books that were brand new. I think the initial thought was that we were there to re-sell the items, but I explained the charity they were going to, and where, and after they had a little "conference" amongst themselves, we were let go.

Were they friendly? No, not really. Unfriendly? No, not really. Just doing their job. Spoke excellent English too.

[rainbow]

...got the "red light" last august...no big deal...they were quite polite, spoke in English and smiled as they carefully went through our bags...less than a minute and we were on our way...got the "green light" in may this year...but the bag my husband was carried was pulled aside to examine...this time more carefully...they asked "do you have food in the bag?"...no, of course we didn't!...and then, i realized it was the bag of beaded necklaces i had brought for our beach bar crawl......they thought they were beans...and, again, no big deal, we were on our way with a smile...don't worry...all will be fine...