Answering Border Questions at Immigration Control.

In this lesson you walk from the plane to the long queue at immigration. You prepare to answer common questions from border officers about your passport, your plans and your accommodation. You learn clear ways to say why you are visiting, how long you will stay and where you are staying, and you practise giving hotel names, addresses and contact numbers. You also work with a simple arrival card, so you can understand and fill in fields such as nationality, purpose of visit and flight number. Listening tasks help you catch key questions even when the officer speaks quickly or with a different accent. Finally, you learn safe language for customs, declaring items and saying clearly if you have nothing to declare. By the end, you can pass through immigration more calmly and explain your situation without panic.

1. Arriving at immigration after landing.

You have just come off a long flight. You follow the crowd, walk down the corridor and suddenly you see a big sign that says “Immigration and passport control”. There is a long queue and you can hear officers speaking quite quickly to other passengers. In this first part of the lesson, we are going to slow everything down and make this moment feel more familiar and less stressful for you. When you reach the front of the queue, the officer usually asks very similar questions. They want to know three main things. First, who you are, so they look at your passport. Second, why you are visiting and for how long. Third, where you are staying. If they need more information, they will ask follow up questions. In a moment, you will listen to a short conversation between an immigration officer and a traveller. While you listen, do not try to understand every word. Focus on the key information: the purpose of the visit, the length of stay and the accommodation. Then you will write your answers to some simple questions about what you heard.

From the plane to the passport desk.

You have arrived in a new country. You feel a little tired, maybe excited, maybe nervous. After you leave the plane, you follow the signs for Immigration or Passport control. You stand in a queue and watch what happens at the desks.

At immigration, the officer is not trying to have a long friendly conversation. Their job is to check that:

• your passport is valid;
• your story is clear and makes sense;
• you know your basic plans.

So they usually ask short, direct questions and they expect short, clear answers.

Typical first questions.

When you get to the desk, listen for questions like these:

• What is the purpose of your visit?
• How long will you stay?
• Where will you be staying?
• Is this your first time in this country?
• Are you travelling alone?

You can answer with simple, complete sentences:

• I am here on holiday.
• I will stay for two weeks.
• I am staying at the Central Hotel.
• This is my first time in this country.
• I am travelling with my wife and children.

Notice that these answers are short but complete. You give exactly the information the officer needs, nothing extra.

Listening task.

In the audio for this block, you will hear one complete mini interview. Focus on these three questions:

1. Why is the traveller visiting?
2. How long will they stay?
3. Where are they staying?

You will now listen and then write your answers in your own words.

Practice & Feedback

Listen to the short conversation between the immigration officer and the traveller. Then, in the box, write three or four short answers to these questions:

1. What is the purpose of the traveller’s visit?
2. How long will they stay in the country?
3. Where will they stay?
4. Are they travelling alone or with someone?

Write your answers in full sentences, as if you are explaining the information to a friend. For example: The traveller is here on holiday. Try to use different verbs like is, will stay, is staying, and keep your sentences clear. Do not worry about spelling every word perfectly, but try to be accurate with numbers and names.

2. Explaining purpose and length of stay.

Now that you have heard a complete mini interview, let us focus on the two core questions that you will almost always hear at immigration: why you are visiting and how long you will stay. These questions sound simple, but many travellers hesitate here. They start to tell their whole life story or they only give one word, for example “holiday”, which can sound strange at the border. In this part of the lesson, I will show you some very clear sentence patterns. With these, you can answer naturally and confidently in just one sentence. You will see different reasons for visiting, such as holidays, business meetings and visiting family, and you will practise talking about your length of stay using weeks, days and exact dates. After that, you will write about your own real or imagined trip. This is your chance to prepare a strong answer now, in a calm situation, so that later, at the real immigration desk, the sentences come to your mouth more easily, almost automatically.

Clear answers about your visit.

Immigration officers often start with a simple question:

• What is the purpose of your visit?

You can use a short, complete sentence. Here are some useful patterns and examples:

• I am here on holiday.
• I am visiting friends and family.
• I am here for a conference.
• I am here on a business trip.
• I am here to study English for three weeks.

You can change the last part to match your situation.

Talking about the length of stay.

Next, the officer usually asks:

• How long will you stay?

Again, keep it short and clear:

• I will stay for two weeks.
• I will stay for ten days.
• I will stay until the fifteenth of May.
• I am staying for the weekend.

You can also combine both pieces of information in two quick sentences:

> I am here on holiday. I will stay for two weeks.

Extra follow up questions.

The officer may ask a couple of follow up questions to check your story:

• Is this your first time in this country?

Yes, this is my first time in this country.

No, I have been here once before.

• Are you travelling alone?

Yes, I am travelling alone.

No, I am travelling with my wife and children.

Notice the repetition of key words: first time, have been here before, travelling alone, travelling with my wife and children. Repeating the question language in your answer helps you sound clear and confident.

In the task below you will plan and write your own answers, using these patterns as a model.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine you are arriving in an English-speaking country next month. Choose a realistic situation for you: maybe you are going on holiday, visiting friends and family, going to a work event or taking a short course.

In the box, write 4–6 short sentences that answer these questions:

• What is the purpose of your visit?
• How long will you stay?
• Is this your first time in this country?
• Are you travelling alone, or with someone?

Try to reuse the patterns from the phrase bank above, for example I am here on holiday, I will stay for ten days, This is my first time in this country, I am travelling alone. You can invent details if you do not have a real trip. Focus on clear, complete sentences, not on writing a long story.

3. Giving hotel names, addresses and contact details.

Once the officer understands why you are visiting and how long you will stay, the next key point is usually your accommodation. They want to hear where you will sleep tonight and how they could contact you if necessary. Many travellers know the hotel name, but they panic when the officer asks for the address or the phone number. In this part, we will slow that moment down. You will see an example of a real hotel booking, and we will turn the written information into a short, spoken answer you could give at the desk. We will also look at how to say hotel names, street names and phone numbers clearly. You will learn useful phrases like 'I am staying at the Central Hotel' and 'Here is the address and phone number'. Then, in the activity, you will read a simple booking confirmation and practise answering the officer’s question using the information. This will help you feel ready when an officer asks you for your accommodation details in real life.

Why officers ask about your accommodation.

Immigration officers often ask where you will stay during your visit. This helps them see that your plans are real and organised. Typical questions are:

• Where will you be staying?
• What is the name of your hotel or host?
• Do you have the address?
• Do you have a contact number?

Short, clear answers are best:

• I am staying at the Central Hotel.
• I am staying with a friend in Manchester.
• Here is the address and phone number.

From booking email to spoken answer.

Look at this example confirmation (you will see similar information in the reading below):

> Guest name: Maria Silva

> Hotel: Central Hotel, 25 King Street, London

> Phone: +44 20 7946 1234

> Check in: 10 August

> Check out: 20 August

You could answer the officer like this:

> I am staying at the Central Hotel, at 25 King Street in London. Here is the address and phone number.

Notice how we connect the details into one smooth answer instead of reading a list.

Saying phone numbers clearly.

When you say a phone number at immigration, speak slowly and in small groups of digits:

• The phone number is plus four four, twenty, seven nine four six, one two three four.

If you are not sure, you can offer the document:

• Here is the address and phone number.

In the task below, you will read a short booking confirmation and turn it into a clear answer for the officer.

Practice & Feedback

Read the hotel booking information carefully. Then imagine you are at immigration and the officer asks: "Where will you be staying?" and "Do you have the address and phone number?"

In the box, write 2–3 sentences you could say at the desk, using the information from the booking. Join the information together smoothly, for example:

> I am staying at the Central Hotel, at 25 King Street in London. Here is the address and phone number.

Try to include:

• the hotel name;
• the street and city;
• a short mention of the phone number, either fully or with "Here is the phone number".

Use phrases from this lesson such as I am staying at… and Here is the address and phone number.

4. Understanding and completing an arrival card.

In some countries, before you reach immigration, you receive a small paper called an arrival card or landing card. On the plane, the cabin crew may give it to you and ask you to fill it in before you land. If you arrive without it completed, the officer may send you to the side to finish it, which can be stressful. This card usually asks for simple information that you already know: your name, date of birth, nationality, flight number, purpose of visit, length of stay and address in the country. The problem is often not the information, but the vocabulary and the layout of the form. In this block, we will look at a typical arrival card and make sure you understand the most common fields. We will also talk about how to write clearly in block capital letters and how to write dates in the day–month–year order. Then you will complete a card for an imaginary traveller. This will help you feel faster and calmer when you see a real arrival card on the plane.

What is an arrival card?.

An arrival card is a short official form you sometimes complete when you enter a country. Immigration officers use it to record your basic details quickly. It normally asks for information you already know well, but the English on the card can be confusing if you are tired.

Common fields on an arrival card include:

• Family name / Surname (your last name)
• Given name(s) (your first name and middle names)
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Passport number
• Flight number
• Purpose of visit (holiday, business, study, visiting family)
• Intended length of stay
• Address in this country (hotel or host address)

Writing clearly.

Forms often ask you to write in BLOCK CAPITALS. That means you write:

> MARIA SILVA

> BRAZILIAN

> CENTRAL HOTEL, 25 KING STREET, LONDON

Use day–month–year for dates:

> 14–06–1990

> 05–09–2025

For purpose of visit, you can write short phrases like:

• HOLIDAY
• VISITING FRIENDS AND FAMILY
• BUSINESS
• STUDY

For intended length of stay, you can write:

• 14 DAYS
• 2 WEEKS

Your task.

In the activity, you will see the details of an imaginary traveller. Your job is to copy the information into a text version of an arrival card. This will help you remember the meaning of each field and practise writing clear, simple answers.

Practice & Feedback

Read the traveller information below carefully. Then imagine you have an empty arrival card in front of you with these fields:

• Family name / Surname
• Given name(s)
• Nationality
• Date of birth (day–month–year)
• Passport number
• Flight number
• Purpose of visit
• Intended length of stay
• Address in this country

In the box, write the card as text, one line for each field. For example:

Family name: SILVA

Given name(s): MARIA LUIZA

Use block capitals for names and nationality if you can. Keep the phrases short, for example HOLIDAY or VISITING FRIENDS AND FAMILY. This is good practice for real forms on the plane.

5. Going through customs and declaring items.

After immigration, many travellers relax, but there is still one more official step in some countries: customs. You follow the signs for arrivals and you often see two coloured doors or channels, usually green and red. The green channel is for travellers who have nothing to declare. The red channel is for people who must declare items such as large amounts of money, expensive electronics, alcohol, cigarettes or food. Sometimes officers simply watch you walk through the green channel. Other times, a customs officer may stop you and ask a few quick questions. These questions can feel stressful if you are not sure what to say. In this block, you will learn safe, simple phrases to use with customs officers. You will see how to say that you have nothing to declare, and how to declare something honestly if you need to. You will also practise asking the officer to repeat or explain if you do not understand their question. Then you will write a short chat-style conversation between you and a customs officer, so you can rehearse this moment calmly.

Green channel or red channel?.

At customs you usually choose between two options:

• Green channel – you have nothing to declare.
• Red channel – you need to declare something.

If you are not sure, you can ask an officer before you choose.

Useful customs questions.

Customs officers may ask:

• Do you have anything to declare?
• Are you carrying any food, alcohol or cigarettes?
• Are you carrying more than ten thousand euros or dollars in cash?
• What is in your bag?

You can answer clearly and honestly:

• I have nothing to declare.
• I only have personal items and clothes.
• I have some food and medicine to declare.
• I have some cheese and wine for my family.

If you do not understand, you can use safe repair phrases:

• Sorry, could you repeat the question, please?
• Could you speak a little more slowly, please?
• I am not sure. Do I need to declare this?

Chat-style practice.

In the activity, you will see some example officer questions. Your job is to write a short back-and-forth conversation, like a text chat, between you and a customs officer.

For example:

> Officer: Do you have anything to declare?

> You: I have nothing to declare. Just personal items and clothes.

> Officer: Are you carrying any food?

> You: I have some chocolate and biscuits, but no meat or fresh fruit.

This will help you feel more relaxed and ready if a real officer stops you after immigration.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine you are walking through the green channel and a customs officer stops you. Use the example questions below to help you.

Write a short chat-style conversation with at least 4–6 lines. Write it like this:

Officer: …

You: …

Use phrases from the lesson such as I have nothing to declare, I only have personal items and clothes, I have some food and medicine to declare, and Could you repeat the question, please?.

Decide if, in your story, you really have something to declare or not. Try to:

• answer the questions honestly;
• ask for repetition or clarification once;
• finish the chat politely.

You can invent the items in your bag, but keep them realistic for a traveller.

6. Full immigration and customs simulation.

You have now practised all the key parts of this journey: answering questions about your purpose of visit and length of stay, giving your accommodation details, completing an arrival card, and handling simple customs questions. In this final block, we will put everything together in one complete mini story. Imagine you are walking from the plane to the immigration desk, and then through customs, in an English-speaking country. Your goal is to pass through calmly and clearly. You do not need to be perfect, but you do need to be **understandable** and **polite**. Short, complete sentences are your best friend. I will show you a typical sequence of questions that an immigration officer might ask. Using this as your guide, you will write a mini script: a dialogue between the officer and you. This is your performance task for the lesson. It is a safe space to make mistakes, try out the new phrases and see how they connect. Take your time. Imagine the real situation and write the answers you would like to say at the airport. This will help your brain and your mouth remember them later.

Bringing it all together.

Let us imagine a simple but realistic story:

You arrive in a new country. You have already filled in your arrival card on the plane. You walk to immigration, wait in the queue and then speak to the officer. After that, you pass through customs where they ask you one or two quick questions.

Here is a typical sequence of immigration questions:

1. Good afternoon. Can I see your passport, please?
2. What is the purpose of your visit?
3. How long will you stay?
4. Where will you be staying?
5. Is this your first time in this country?
6. Are you travelling alone?
7. Do you have anything to declare? (often asked at customs)

You already know strong, simple answers:

• I am here on holiday. / I am visiting friends and family.
• I will stay for two weeks.
• I am staying at the Central Hotel. Here is the address and phone number.
• This is my first time in this country. / I have been here once before.
• I am travelling alone. / I am travelling with my wife and children.
• I have nothing to declare. / I have some food and medicine to declare.
• Could you repeat the question, please?

Your mini script.

In the activity, you will write a short dialogue that covers the whole journey:

• greeting and passport;
• purpose and length of stay;
• accommodation details;
• first time or previous visit;
• travelling alone or with someone;
• simple customs declaration.

Think of a real or imaginary trip. Choose details you like. Your script will help you feel ready when you next stand at an immigration desk.

Practice & Feedback

Use the question list above as a guide. Now write a complete mini dialogue between an immigration officer and you, from the first greeting to the customs question.

Write at least 8–10 lines. Use this format:

Officer: …

You: …

Include:

• the officer asking for your passport;
• your purpose of visit and length of stay;
• where you are staying (with a hotel name or host address);
• whether this is your first time and if you are travelling alone or with someone;
• one simple customs question and your answer, for example I have nothing to declare or I have some food and medicine to declare.

Try to reuse as many lesson phrases as possible, but change the details to match your own real or imaginary trip. Focus on clear, polite, natural sentences.