Why did I have to fill out a Customs form?

I was in the queue to check in at Miami International Airport the other weekend, and a Cayman Islands Customs and Border Control uniformed officer standing beside the Cayman Airways desk was handing out Immigration and Customs Declaration forms. As a resident and with nothing to declare, I told him I didn’t need to fill out the customs form if I was below the $500 limit, as per a procedure that has been in place since last year. He insisted that I was required to fill out the form and hand it to a customs officer when I arrived in Cayman, and said it was part of a pre-clearance procedure that’s happening at weekends. So, I took the form and filled it out.

When I arrived in Cayman, I went to the “nothing to declare” queue where a customs officer indeed asked for the form. She noted I hadn’t ticked some box on the form but accepted it anyway and sent me on my way. 

If the legislation was changed last year regarding returning residents not needing to fill out Customs Declaration forms if they have less than $500 worth of goods to bring in, why am I being asked to fill out this form again?

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Auntie’s answer: It turns out there is good reason for you having to complete that form, but before I explain I want to thank Customs and Border Control (CBC) yet again for responding so quickly. In fact, based on my experiences with the department over the last months I feel confident in switching them from my “finger-wagging” to my “thumbs-up” list.

When you took the form from the officer in Miami, that put you into the Miami FastTrack programme, which is offered by the CBC out of Miami International Airport and enables you to be “pre-cleared” to Cayman. Part of the process requires you to complete that new Customs Declaration Card, which you can see here (except it would be green to indicate the Miami FastTrack programme), whether or not you have anything to declare, a CBC official explained.

(This is separate from the Immigration Card, which passengers who are not travelling with a valid Cayman Islands passport must fill out, and this is collected by CBC officers at the gates in Miami as part of the “landing control process”).

One other note about the declaration form: some airlines still have the old forms, so that might be what you are given to fill out, rather than the green version.

Upon arrival in Cayman, passengers can then head straight for customs, as you did. CBC requires that form to be completed to help the department identify who used the programme, which is only offered from Miami (and no other airports) on Fridays and Saturdays. The CBC official added that this provides information regarding luggage to customs officers in Cayman.

The initiative was set up “to alleviate the congestion in the arrival hall by pre-clearing these passengers in Miami and those days (Fridays and Saturdays) were identified to be best”, the CBC official said, adding, “This initiative was started during the airport expansion project when space was of concern.” However, it is still to be decided whether this programme will continue to be necessary once the airport expansion is completed.

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Tags: Customs and Border Control, Customs declaration forms

Category: Ask Auntie, Customs Questions