One of the sacrifices I make for liberty is traveling to foreign lands. Previous hardship duty includes trips to Monaco, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Switzerland, and Anguilla.
I’m currently in Antigua, which is a remarkably beautiful island. But nice places nonetheless have un-nice governments.
When I arrived yesterday, I didn’t know the address where I was staying. That detail didn’t seem important since I was being picked up at the airport.
But there was a “residence in Antigua” slot on the immigration form and the bureaucrats refused to let me in the country without knowing that irrelevant piece of information.
This isn’t the first time this happened to me. I was once detained at Heathrow Airport in the U.K. because I didn’t know the address of my friend’s flat. After a couple of minutes, though, the bureaucrat was overcome by common sense and let me through.
That was not the case in Antigua. I had to wait an irritatingly long period of time before one of the bureaucrats accompanied me into the arrivals section to find the person who was picking me up. Then, after putting the address on the immigration form, I was finally allowed in the country.
I realize I’m whining a bit (just like I did with my personal stories about Amtrak, tax returns, traffic tickets, and air travel), but what possible purpose did it serve for the government of Antigua to create an unpleasant experience for me?
After all, there’s no welfare system in Antigua, so I wouldn’t be sneaking in the country to mooch off local taxpayers.
Unfortunately, the government did recently introduce an income tax after decades of independence without that burdensome levy. So perhaps it’s just a matter of time before politicians augment that mistake with a welfare state.
[…] Since I have to do a bit of travel, I’m especially resentful of the lines I face for customs and immigration when I cross borders. In some cases, these restrictions can even turn “Heaven into Hell.” […]
[…] Since I have to do a bit of travel, I’m especially resentful of the lines I face for customs and immigration when I cross borders. In some cases, these restrictions can even turn “Heaven into Hell.” […]
[…] prefer the hardship duty of arguing for tax competition and tax havens in places such as Bermuda, Antigua, Monaco, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and the Cayman Islands. Yes, I’m willing to go […]
[…] P.S. Antigua and Barbuda is a beautiful place, but I’ve noted before that government always has the ability to turn Heaven into Hell. […]
[…] P.S. Antigua and Barbuda is a beautiful place, but I’ve noted before that government always has the ability to turn Heaven into Hell. […]
[…] P.P.S. I’m happy to report that I wasn’t detained at the airport, which happened on my last trip to Antigua. […]
[…] P.P.S. I’m happy to report that I wasn’t detained at the airport, which happened on my last trip to Antigua. […]
Yup, I had the same problem getting into the States when I came to speak at Cato (perhaps that’s why – engaging in subversive activity). I think I ended up inventing an address.
Then they failed to check me out properly when I left, so I was banned from the USA for having supposedly out-stayed my visa.
What Quentin Langley said. Except it is getting worse. You now have to fill in those details online 3 days before travelling for authorisation, even from a ‘visa waiver’ country. And then prepare to be quizzed on them on entry. Since the DHS was invented, you are supposed to file a complete itinerary as well if you are not going to be staying in one place.again.
Rather than stay with the immigration people, just put in Marriott or Sheraton, or if you have time before you travel google hotels and pick one to use.
What is the point anyway? They just file their paper and you carry yours. It is never checked.
US immigration officials do the same to non-nationals. They also frequently want to know if I am staying with friends of relatives. Most commonly, I am staying with my wife’s ex-husband, so I let them decide how to classify it.