There is a single item we want you to tuck into your bag before every international flight, and it is not bulky or pricey, yet it can spare you real hassle at the border. Pack a plain ballpoint pen. This small tool proves its value the moment you face immigration and customs paperwork right after landing.
When Pens Disappear At Immigration
A travel advisor described the kind of scene many of us have met after a red eye into a crowded terminal. She reached the counters to find that every shared pen had disappeared, and even the chained pen at the podium had run dry. In that instant, she and other travelers without pens had to wait in line to borrow one person to person while everyone behind them grew impatient.
Her story plays out because many destinations still require paper arrival cards or customs declarations that you complete before entry. The search for a pen in a busy immigration hall is stressful when you are jet lagged and just want to move forward. At a major gateway like Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, or any hub receiving several long haul flights at once, shared pens vanish quickly and small delays multiply.
People often assume a pen will be sitting at the desk, and sometimes that is true, but volume changes the picture. A few hundred passengers reaching the counters together can empty the tray in minutes, and late night arrivals make borrowing even harder. At two or three in the morning, staff are limited, fellow travelers are tired, and simple tasks become slow.
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Pack A Spare Pen And Banish Last Minute Stress
We avoid the bottleneck by carrying more than one pen, and we suggest you do the same. Keep one clipped to your passport wallet and another in your personal item so you can help the person next to you. Handing a spare to a seatmate at 35,000 feet or to someone in line turns you into a quiet problem solver and keeps the process moving for everyone.
Choose a basic, nonmetal ballpoint over anything flashy. Decorative metal pens and fountain pens can draw attention at security, and pressure changes at altitude may cause leaks that stain clothing or bags. A simple plastic click pen writes cleanly on the tray table and works well on thin forms.
Ink color matters more than most people expect. Some officers prefer blue or black ink only on official documents, and bright colors can lead to a request to fill out the form again. We stick with blue or black so the paperwork looks standard and you get waved through without rewriting.
A pen proves useful far beyond immigration. Phones die, batteries drain, and power banks sometimes end up in checked baggage by mistake. When you need to jot an address, a phone number, a confirmation code, or the pickup spot a local contact mentions, quick notes on a receipt or a small notebook solve the issue in seconds.
Unexpected Moments When A Pen Saves Your Sanity
Travel introduces small communication moments you cannot always plan. You might meet someone you hope to contact later and want to capture an email while the plane is taxiing. You may need a destination written in the local script to show a taxi driver outside the terminal. If a bag goes missing, many baggage desks still hand you a paper report, and having your own pen speeds up the claim.
A simple pen also supports small cabin tasks that make long flights easier. You can label snack packs for kids, mark a reminder for a tight connection time, or annotate a paper map if onboard Wi Fi is limited. If the crew passes out health, agriculture, or transit forms during descent, you can complete everything from your seat without waiting for a shared pen to travel down the aisle.
Think of the pen as part of your pre landing kit along with your passport, arrival address, and any entry documents. Place it where your hand naturally goes when the seatbelt sign chimes and the lights brighten. You will step off the aircraft ready to fill out anything placed in front of you without breaking your stride.
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Travel throws curveballs, and simple preparation beats last minute scrambling. By packing a low cost ballpoint pen, you remove one more friction point from international travel. It is a tiny habit that keeps you moving, helps the people around you, and turns the last minutes of a long journey into calm progress instead of a frantic hunt for a pen.
Join Our Free Community And Travel Smarter Together
If tips like carrying a simple pen help you move faster through borders, you will love what we share inside our free TheMilesAcademy community. We trade real world checklists for arrivals, packing systems that cut stress, and step by step strategies for earning and using points with clarity. You get friendly support, fresh ideas, and a place to ask questions when plans change.
While you are there, try our free card finder tool to map a smarter points plan that fits your everyday spending and travel goals. It is easy to use, and built to highlight general categories and benefits. Use it alongside our community guides so you can build a simple system that works trip after trip.
