Immigration and Passport Control officers monitor visitors arriving in a country. Most travellers are only in contact with Immigration and Passport Control officers for a few minutes during their trip, but they serve an important purpose.

Officers are stationed at airports, train stations, boat landings, and other places where people can enter a country. Upon arrival, an immigration officer will inspect a visitor's identity papers, usually a passport indicating a person's country of origin, and asks a series of questions like:

• How long will you be staying?
• What is the purpose of your visit?
• Whom are you visiting?

These questions are asked to be sure that visitors plan to return to their home country, and are not going to stay in the country permanently. Immigration officers also receive people seeking asylum from persecution at home.

Passports are required of every US citizen who travels to another country. Some countries, like South Africa, require certain visitors, such as students and journalists, to obtain a visa for entering the country. The visa states how long the person can stay and whether they are able to work.

Copyright © ProjectExplorer 2007
Text: Rebecca Marks & Jenny M Buccos