Custom/Immigration Lines In Paris?
 

How long generally are the lines coming into Paris for Immigration/customs? Ive heard expect 1 1/2 hours or less. Im travelling in October, any help would be appreciated :)

It took maybe 30-40 minutes last time I was there.

It depends on som many factors that no definite answer comes to mind. Coming from the US ? Which terminal are you flying to ? What time do you arrive ? etc ...

As a general rule, though, and supposing you are a US citizen, the immigration proces is very speedy - the PAF officer just scans your passport (no more stamps) and hands it back to you, barely emitting the least sound. This is very different from US immigration ... ((*))

Customs inspection is also unnoticeable in general. The /Douanes/ policy is to carry out full searches on selected flight arrivals, especially Asia, South America and to a lesser extent the Middle East.

It all depends on how many planes arrive at the same time and how many lanes are open. Like Sandi, I've never had to wait more than 30 minutes. The lines move pretty quickly.

We had to wait more than 1.5 hours to get through immigration one morning - but The US and France were changing from summer back to regular time on different weeks - and we were landing at 5:30 am - versus 6:30 am. Also, a plane from Africa landed soon afterward - and many of the passengers apparently had problems with papers - and took forever for each person. Eventually more officiasl arrived and divided the lines - so tourists weren't delayed by potential immigrants.

On other trips through CDG immigration took 15 or 20 minutes - but the wait for luggage was sometimes as much as 30 minutes.

So would it be any one's recommendation then to if we can, take carry ons? We are just trying to budget our time.

Last time I was there in November, plane pulled into the gate at 9:50 AM, at 10:30 AM I was walking with my checked bag to the shuttle. I was on USAir.

Under the worst of circumstances, the amount of time you spend in immigration and customs will be such a small amount of your total trip that it shouldn't even be a factor in your decision whether to check or not to check bags.