Two queues, two uniforms, and about fifteen questions between them. Nobody is testing your English here — they want short, clear answers, and the same ones work in every country.
1. Emptying your pockets
Officer: Anything in your pockets? Keys, coins, phone?
Ravi: Just my phone. Does it go in the tray?
Officer: Phone and belt in the tray, please.
Ravi: What about my watch?
Officer: Leave it on. Step through when I say.
2. The bag that came back
Officer: Is this your bag? We need to open it.
Lena: Yes, it's mine. Go ahead.
Officer: There's a bottle of water inside.
Lena: I forgot about it. Sorry.
Officer: No problem. Liquids over 100ml can't go through.
Lena: I'll empty it. Can I keep the bottle?
3. Jacket on or off
Karim: Should I take off my jacket?
Officer: Yes, please. Shoes stay on today.
Karim: And the laptop?
Officer: Out of the bag, in its own tray.
Karim: Done. Is that everything?
Officer: That's everything. Walk through the scanner.
4. A quick pat-down
Officer: The scanner picked something up. Arms out, please.
Sofia: It's probably my hair clip.
Officer: That'll be it. You're fine.
Sofia: Where do I collect my things?
Officer: At the end of the belt, on your left.
5. Why are you here
Officer: Good evening. What's the purpose of your visit?
Anh: Holiday. Ten days.
Officer: Where will you be staying?
Anh: I'm staying at a hotel near the river.
Officer: Travelling alone?
Anh: With my sister. She's behind me.
6. Proving you will leave
Officer: Do you have a return ticket?
Marco: I do. It's on my phone — the twenty-second.
Officer: Let me see it, please.
Marco: Here. Same airline, same airport.
Officer: That's fine. Enjoy your stay.
7. Filling in the arrival card
Yui: Excuse me, do I need an arrival card?
Staff: Everyone does. There are pens on the counter.
Yui: What do I write if I don't know the address yet?
Staff: Fill in the hotel name. That's enough.
Yui: And this box at the bottom?
Staff: Leave it blank. It's for residents.
8. Getting the stamp
Officer: Look at the camera, please. Don't smile.
Diego: Like this?
Officer: Perfect. Both hands on the reader now.
Diego: Okay. Is that the stamp?
Officer: It is. Page eleven. Welcome.
Words to know
| tray | The open plastic box you put your things in before they go through the X-ray machine. Phone and belt in the tray, please. |
| liquids | Drinks, creams, gels — anything that pours. Airports limit how much you can carry on board. Liquids over 100ml can't go through. |
| scanner | The machine you walk through, or the one your bag rides through. That's everything. Walk through the scanner. |
| belt | Here it means the moving band that carries your tray. The same word is also the one around your waist. At the end of the belt, on your left. |
| purpose of your visit | The officer's way of asking why you have come. Answer in one or two words. What's the purpose of your visit? |
| return ticket | Proof that you have already booked your flight home. Officers often ask to see it. Do you have a return ticket? |
| arrival card | The small form some countries ask you to fill in before you reach the passport desk. Excuse me, do I need an arrival card? |
| stamp | The mark the officer presses into your passport to show the date you entered. Okay. Is that the stamp? |
Quick practice
Complete each line with a word or phrase from this lesson.
1. The officer wants your phone in the plastic box.
“Phone and belt in the ________, please.”
2. Your bottle of water is over the allowed amount.
“________ over 100ml can't go through.”
3. The officer asks why you have come to the country.
“What's the ________?”
4. The officer wants proof that you are flying home.
“Do you have a ________?”
5. You are not sure whether you must fill in a small form.
“Excuse me, do I need an ________?”
6. The officer has just pressed a mark into your passport.
“Okay. Is that the ________?”
Show the answers
1. tray 2. Liquids 3. purpose of your visit 4. return ticket 5. arrival card 6. stamp
Common mistakes
Not: I'm living at a hotel for ten days.
Say: I'm staying at a hotel for ten days.
Live is where your home is. Stay is where you sleep for a while, so every traveller stays, nobody lives.
Not: Please put off your jacket.
Say: Please take off your jacket.
Put off means to move something to a later date. Clothes come off, so the verb is take off.
Not: Please fill up this arrival card.
Say: Please fill in this arrival card.
You fill up a bottle or a tank with liquid. You fill in a form, because you are writing in the spaces.
Your turn
Say these out loud. Answer as yourself — real dates, a real city — so the answers come out fast when someone really asks.
- An officer asks what is in your pockets. Answer, and ask where to put it.
- Security finds a bottle of water in your bag. Apologize and offer to fix it.
- Answer these three in a row: purpose of your visit, how long, where you are staying.
- An officer asks for a return ticket. Say where it is and give the date.
- Ask a member of staff what to write on an arrival card when you have no address yet.
Quick review
Security gives instructions; passport control asks questions. For instructions, listen for the noun — tray, scanner, belt — and do that one thing. For questions, answer in four words or fewer: Holiday. Ten days. A hotel near the river. Long answers invite more questions, not fewer.