5. When do you go through customs on international flights? Usually, you go through customs when you exit the airport at your final destination. However, if you have a layover in a different city in your destination country, you may need to go through customs before your connecting flight.

When flying internationally, you typically go through Customs at your first point of entry into the destination country. For example, if you fly from New York to Paris and then connect to Nice, you will clear Immigration (passport control) and Customs (luggage inspection) in Paris. In early 2026, many countries, including India and the UK, have modernized their "Baggage Rules" to include digital and advance declarations, allowing for a "Green Channel" for those with nothing to declare. A major exception is the U.S. Preclearance system: if you are flying to the U.S. from certain airports in Canada, Ireland, or the UAE, you go through U.S. Customs and Immigration before you board the plane, meaning you arrive in the U.S. as a domestic passenger. Always remember that "Immigration" is about people, while "Customs" is about goods; you see the former first, followed by baggage claim, then the latter.