JCC Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hi, Saw a discussion about flying to China, but did not see anything about required registration/paperwork. I'm flying there in 2 weeks. I'll register my gear at US Port of Entry, but does anyone know what I need to do to get into and out of China? I have a pelican full of 30k+ worth of gear, And two others - tripods, sliders, etc.... Thank you! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gilbert Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Production should be sorting that for you, China is indeed a Carnet country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Visas from the consulate? We needed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCC Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Right - thanks: I'm getting my visas through CIBT. Brokers/Carnet services tell me that China only accepts Carnet's for Trade Shows/Exhibitions, and the golf tournament I'm working on doesn't apply. They also said I'd just have to put up bonds in Hong Kong and Shenzhen and get it reimbursed when I exit... Would prefer to have everything set up in advance.... Still pretty unclear on the way forward. If you have experience with this in China, please let me know what you did. Thanks. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 JCC: " Would prefer to have everything set up in advance.... " of course, and the folks hiring you and the gear should take care of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCC Posted February 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 Right - they should. But they're not. Wish they would. They'll pay for it, though - you can count on that! Okay. Found a broker. sounds like I can set something up with her for about $1K that'll be good for the year. yeesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 JCC: " But they're not. " that is a big bright yellow caution flag... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gilbert Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 It is indeed a massive flag, I've never ever travelled and had to sort out my own carnet, it's not how it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Childers Posted February 24, 2014 Report Share Posted February 24, 2014 When I was in China last year they checked the carnet for sure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syncsound Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 Even if your destination doesn't require a carnet, the US does in order to come back in. I learned that the hard way. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_bollard Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 A word of caution with china and a carnet. I have had them check and question absolutely everything; took so long (we had allowed plenty of time) the flight was delayed 1 1/2 hours because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 Make sure you have the US stamps for the carnet completed "before "leaving the country, or you'll be held up getting through your destination's customs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmassey Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 syncsound....what problems did you have returning to the US? A carnet is not required for re-entry into the country. The CBP guys like to see them, and it probably hastens your time at the CBP desk, but as long as you have the declaration form, signed and sealed before you left, that should be it. cleve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason porter Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Maybe things have changed in the past five years, very possible. When I went, they wanted a list that was stamped @ their embassy in my country (canada), no carnet required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syncsound Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 syncsound....what problems did you have returning to the US? A carnet is not required for re-entry into the country. The CBP guys like to see them, and it probably hastens your time at the CBP desk, but as long as you have the declaration form, signed and sealed before you left, that should be it. cleve They held us up and sent us through a full inspection sweep. When our, shall we say, "inexperienced producer" told the Customs officer that we didn't have carnets because our destination country (Croatia) didn't require them, the Customs guy told us we did need to them to re-enter the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Southern Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 I'm not sure how pertinent this is, but I recently got back from China and we did not have a Carnet for our gear. The production owned the sound gear, which was worth around 10k, and were under the impression that we didn't need a Carnet for such a small amount of gear. For some reason, the $100k number was floated around as the threshold, but I stayed out of that whole business as I'm of the philosophy that this is the sort of thing production should be worrying about. We did have equipment lists for both sound and camera. None of the officials on the Chinese or American side asked to see any documentation concerning our gear and the process was completely seamless. Just out of curiosity, is the production company based in China or the states? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 PS : " The production owned the sound gear, " then it is, of course, their issue to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Davies Amps CAS Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Production should be sorting that for you, China is indeed a Carnet country.Jon is absolutely correct. China is indeed a carnet country. What seems to be the stumbling block is people's perception of just what and how a carnet is used. You take out a carnet (here in the UK this is administrated by The London Chamber of Commerce). This document provides a list of all the equipment, serial numbers, country of origin and value. The total value is what the bond is calculated on. The bond is in case all or any of the equipment is not returned to the start destination. Different countries have different percentages to calculate the bond that must be guaranteed by a bank or other financial institute. If you are slightly unscrupulous then you would down value the value of the gear so that the bond would not be so high. The carnet is several sheets long and you must have enough spare sheets just in case your flight is diverted and you finish up in a country that is not on your carnet. You also need plenty of spare lists of the equipment as customs invariably want extra copies. On leaving your start country the carnet must be stamped and any item could be inspected so accuracy of your lists is essential. On arrival at your destination the carnet is stamped and any or all items could be selected for inspection. Leaving for home once again any item may be selected for inspection and the carnet is stamped. On arrival at your final destination inspection may be required and the final stamp is then added. The carnet is then returned to the issuing authority. It is inspected and if there are no anomalies the bond will then be released which may be up to three months after you have returned. Any production company worth their salt will organise this but just occasionally you may have to do it yourself as I had to do on a last minute movie in Canada. The current fee for the issue of a carnet is about 320 UK pounds ($500). Apologies if this has appeared a bit long winded. Malcolm Davies. A.m.p.s. CAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Green Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Been to China twice with the NBA. Last time in Oct 2013. Yes- Carnet both times -its a hassle but do it. In 2012 another crew that went in the sound man had no Carnet. He sat in a hotel for three days trying to get into the country. 136 phone calls and emails trying to get resolved (the NBA was involved as well) he caught a flight back to the states and didn't get to work. Now it could have been the Chinesse agent having a bad day or no Carnet. When you go thru the customs you'll find some days are easier than others. I have went on overseas trips with the NBA every preseason (except lock out year) since 2006 and they (NBA) insist that we do a Carnet. Yes it will take extra time to get in and out of the country-plan on it. This year we did games Taiwan before we went to China (mainland) and they (Taiwan) wants a totally different kind of Carnet. So we had to take out 2 different Carnets. The people at the broker were very helpful with advice and instructions. Also you have to get it signed (stamped) coming in and leaving the country. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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