Booking Flights
When choosing flights to go abroad, you can check for flight discounts on the official websites of major airlines; airlines like British Airways and Emirates often launch many promotional activities. You can also book flights through specialized booking websites like Omega Travel or Skyscanner. Booking through an agency is also a good option. It is recommended to book your tickets about two months in advance, as this will give you more choices and be much cheaper. I remember when returning to China, the price for booking through Omega Travel two months in advance was over 300 pounds, while about a month later, the same flight cost over 400 pounds.
Taking Flights and Exiting the Country
When taking international flights from Beijing, you generally go to Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport. Check-in at Terminal 3 opens 3 hours before departure and closes 60 minutes before departure. Taking a flight from Capital Airport, after all, is still in the country, and with parents by your side, you feel more confident. Parents can accompany you while you check in and drop off your luggage, but after entering security, you have to proceed alone. Since you won't see each other for a year, you can try to spend as much time as possible with your parents before entering security. At the time, I was afraid of missing the flight and kept urging my father to leave, which I regret now. I thought the exit process would take a lot of time, but it turned out I waited in the departure area for over an hour.
After showing your boarding pass and passport or ID card to enter the boarding area, your parents can no longer accompany you. Passengers with boarding gates D01—D14 need to take an escalator down to the 2nd floor (the check-in area is on the 4th floor) and take the passenger shuttle train to the waiting area. The train runs every 3-4 minutes, and the travel time is approximately 5 minutes. Boarding gates for international flights are all in Zone D.
After the passenger shuttle train arrives, take the escalator up one floor, and you will be greeted by inspection and quarantine. Don't be intimidated by the name; it's actually just a gate, and walking through it will measure your body temperature. As long as your temperature is within the normal range, it's fine. Very few people are stopped, so you can rest assured.
After passing the inspection and quarantine area, you will reach border control. Prepare your ID card and visa in advance and just wait in line. The staff will likely ask you a few simple questions, such as: Which country are you going to? Are you transferring? Where are you transferring? They will also ask you to look at a camera to verify if your facial features match. Note that when looking at the camera, do not smile; try to keep a neutral expression. Then it seems you have to input your fingerprints, though I don't remember clearly. After passing border control, your passport will be stamped with an exit date border control stamp.
Next, you will be greeted by security checks. The security check procedure is the same as for domestic flights, so you don't need to be nervous at all. I remember being too nervous at the time and leaving my phone in my pocket, forgetting to take it out. The lady who checked me just took my phone out, pressed it, saw that it was working normally, and gave it back to me. I was so nervous at the time, fearing I wouldn't pass safely and would be taken to a 'dark room'.
Then there is the customs inspection. There are many guides online saying you need to fill out a customs declaration form for inbound and outbound passengers' luggage. This confused me because if you don't have items that need to be declared, you don't need to fill out a declaration form; just walk through the non-declaration channel. If you are not carrying large amounts of alcohol, cigarettes, expensive items, or animal and plant products, you do not need to declare them. International students generally don't carry anything that needs to be declared. I remember walking directly through the non-declaration channel (green channel) at the time, and the staff didn't ask anything, just stamped a blue stamp with the words "China Customs" under the red border control stamp.
Although the above procedures seem cumbersome, they are actually quite fast to complete. After passing various checks, you can breathe a sigh of relief and find the corresponding waiting area to wait. The boarding gate will open 45 to 30 minutes before departure. The boarding procedure is the same as taking a domestic flight, except that international flights are generally larger and divided into several zones. Tell the flight attendant which zone you are in, and she will tell you which direction to go. After arriving in that zone, look for your seat.
Filling out the Landing Card and Entry
About 30 minutes before the plane arrives, the flight attendant will give each passenger a Landing Card. The content includes name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, occupation, contact address in the UK, passport number, place of passport issuance, length of stay in the UK, departure location, and flight number. Note that you must use capital letters when filling it out, and you must also fill in the postcode for the UK contact address. Regarding the length of stay, if you are not sure how long you will stay in the UK, just fill in the length of time on your visa. This requires us to carry a pen, flight tickets, passport, and other documents with us to facilitate filling it out. If you are not sure about filling it out correctly the first time, it is recommended to write the main content on a piece of paper first, and then fill it into the landing card.
After the plane arrives, follow the crowd, and you will see the 'arrive' sign. Follow the sign, and you will reach Immigration Control. This will be divided into European Union channels and All other Nationalities channels. We just need to line up in the non-EU channel. During immigration inspection, first turn your passport to the visa page, and have your landing card, international travel health certificate, school offer, accommodation-related documents, flight tickets, and financial proof documents ready for inspection. The immigration officer will ask you some questions, especially female officers, who will ask more carefully. The questions are generally not difficult, but it is recommended that you prepare in advance. When I entered the country, I met a Taiwanese girl who told me that Taiwan is visa-free to the UK. As a result, she was questioned for a long time when entering, while the inspection officer only asked me one question: "Are you a student?" I answered "Yes," and then the inspection officer stamped and approved my entry. This proves that the more complete the prepared materials are, the fewer questions the immigration officer will ask.
After successfully entering the country, the next step is to collect your checked luggage. Follow the flow of people, and you will see the 'luggage' sign. Follow it, and you will reach the place to collect luggage. Find your flight number and wait to collect it. Luggage inspection is not very strict, and you are generally not required to open the suitcase for inspection. Sometimes there are a few sniffer dogs at the airport. It is said that their noses are particularly sensitive and can smell drugs and explosives. If they bark wildly at a suitcase, you will be asked to open it for inspection.
I have written so much to help everyone understand every aspect of each procedure before going to the UK, so as to avoid being at a loss when experiencing it yourself.
