Carrying iPhones through border?

[iuzunov]

Hello,everyone!I'm new to this forum,although I constantly "steal" information from it.
The reason why I'm writing to you is because I have a friend in the US (I'm from Europe - Bulgaria) who would like to bring a couple of the upcoming iPhone 6s'.Since we have never done that before and don't have any information on the current laws in the US,we are concerned that there might be added some kind of fines at the airport or even worse - not letting my friend get on the plane with the iPhones.
Decided you could help on that matter
Thank you in advance!

 

[timeconsumer]

Welcome to the forums. Depending on which state your friend is purchasing the iPhone's from, he or she may have to pay sales tax on the item. Typically between 6-10%.

Here's all I could find in regards to what will need to be declared for the U.S. customs but this is mostly upon return to the U.S. and not leaving the U.S.: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go/declare

However I can't find anything that states any additional charges or fees will be required on the U.S. side. I can't speak of Europe/Bulgaria laws so there might be a tax or fee there.

But in reality this happens all the time, a lot of people fly into the U.S. and purchase the latest version of the iPhone and I haven't read or heard of any issues. Perhaps somebody on this site has some experience in doing this.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Yep, I would worry more about getting back into Bulgaria.

 

[silverblack]

The U.S. custom will not care what you bring out of the country. You should however worry about entering your own country with a couple of iPhones for duties and violations.

 

[Applejuiced]

Like others said. You local customs might charge you government tax fees or if there's many devices they might even confiscate them.
Ask your countries customs agency for information on importing electronics and what is allowed and what fees there might be.

 

[david91]

I didn't know that it was an issue. Good thing I can add up my knowledge with these forum. Still learning though! You could use VPN in crossing borders but I bet you have to pay tax for the device you have when you land into that place.

 

[Crichton333]

Or just not declare it and walk right through into Bulgaria ? Do they do body searches over there ?

 

[Applejuiced]

Or just not declare it and walk right through into Bulgaria ? Do they do body searches over there ?

Customs can inspect all carry on bags and checked luggage.
You can have your cell phone on you as a personal device but if you have 2-3 sealed in their box iphones with you then they are treated as merchandize that needs to be declared and taxed accordingly.
And if you lie and don't declare anything you could face fines and penalties.
That's why I told him to find out the rules before, not after he gets there

 

[Crichton333]

Customs can inspect all carry on bags and checked luggage.

"Main article: Human trafficking in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor."

And he cant smuggle an iPhone to the worlds center of human trafficking

"Corruption is a problem in Bulgaria. In 2011, a survey showed that one out of every four Bulgarians who dealt with doctors, police officers, customs officials or judges offered money, a gift or a favour to see their problems solved"

 

[C DM]

I didn't know that it was an issue. Good thing I can add up my knowledge with these forum. Still learning though! You could use VPN in crossing borders but I bet you have to pay tax for the device you have when you land into that place.

VPN in crossing borders?

 

[iuzunov]

Thanks a lot,guys!Your help is much appreciated.
Could anyone confirm that the T-Mobile iPhones are NeverLocked and don't require some kind of activation in order to work with all kinds of carries?Another thing I'm concerced about is whether the problem with the CDMA/GSM versions still exist,because as far as I can recall the iPhone 5 CDMA couldn't work with my local carrier?

 

[RetiredInFl]

Customs can inspect all carry on bags and checked luggage.
You can have your cell phone on you as a personal device but if you have 2-3 sealed in their box iphones with you then they are treated as merchandize that needs to be declared and taxed accordingly.
And if you lie and don't declare anything you could face fines and penalties.
That's why I told him to find out the rules before, not after he gets there

In Bulgaria you face the death squad (you can choose either firing squad or self-immolation) for sneaking in undeclared iPhones. This guy was caught bringing in Galaxy S5's for resale without the proper declaration: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/09/body-of-british-tourist-found-bulgaria-teacher-ethan-mcken-missing-swim (too soon?).

 

[Applejuiced]

"Main article: Human trafficking in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor."

And he cant smuggle an iPhone to the worlds center of human trafficking

"Corruption is a problem in Bulgaria. In 2011, a survey showed that one out of every four Bulgarians who dealt with doctors, police officers, customs officials or judges offered money, a gift or a favour to see their problems solved"

He's going by Plane so there's usually customs agents there when you board off.
He's not running in by foot over some wooded area...

 

[geoff5093]

I didn't know that it was an issue. Good thing I can add up my knowledge with these forum. Still learning though! You could use VPN in crossing borders but I bet you have to pay tax for the device you have when you land into that place.

He's talking about any legal issues with bringing multiple iPhones from the US into his country, and any taxes or fees that would be necessary. Why are you talking about a VPN?

 

[iuzunov]

Thanks again,guys!Can anybody confirm that the T-Mobile (free of contract) Iphone 6 is unlocked to any carrier and doesn't have to be activated when bought new?

 

[rui no onna]

Thanks again,guys!Can anybody confirm that the T-Mobile (free of contract) Iphone 6 is unlocked to any carrier and doesn't have to be activated when bought new?

Pretty sure I still needed an already activated SIM for initial set-up. That said, yes, it is unlocked. I've used my T-Mobile iPhone 6 on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. VoLTE even worked fine with Verizon right from the start. I've also used it overseas (Philippines) with a local carrier.

 

[iuzunov]

Pretty sure I still needed an already activated SIM for initial set-up. That said, yes, it is unlocked. I've used my T-Mobile iPhone 6 on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. VoLTE even worked fine with Verizon right from the start. I've also used it overseas (Philippines) with a local carrier.

Excuse me if I'm wrong,but isn't there a T-Mobile SIM already in the iPhone?Doesn't it do the job to activate the phone?

 

[rui no onna]

Excuse me if I'm wrong,but isn't there a T-Mobile SIM already in the iPhone?Doesn't it do the job to activate the phone?

Yeah, that works, too. I know I needed a SIM in there. It won't let me set up the phone with the SIM slot empty.

 

[pokerplayer73]

Excuse me if I'm wrong,but isn't there a T-Mobile SIM already in the iPhone?Doesn't it do the job to activate the phone?

Take out the SIM while activating and you should be good to go. I did the same with T-Mobile iPhone6 that I paid for in full.

 

[C DM]

Thanks again,guys!Can anybody confirm that the T-Mobile (free of contract) Iphone 6 is unlocked to any carrier and doesn't have to be activated when bought new?

I think you might want the SIM-free version that is unlocked and supports even more carriers than the unlocked T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon version.

 

[iuzunov]

I think you might want the SIM-free version that is unlocked and supports even more carriers than the unlocked T-Mobile/AT&T/Verizon version.

That's a bit confusing.Is the SIM-free version available from day one?

 

[C DM]

That's a bit confusing.Is the SIM-free version available from day one?

Didn't take that into account, I don't think that version is usually there until later.