What exactly is APIS in airports and how does it work?

Question

I would like to understand how exactly APIS work? Does it actually connect your passport data at check-in with the airline all along the line - at security, at immigration exit and immigration entry at the country of destination?

I arelady studied another answered question I have two passports/nationalities. How do I use them when I travel? and got a lot of valuable data.

The advice on this website suggests that at some points in airports you will be showing the officials two passports, for example, show passport B at check-in, then passport B at exit immigration, then passport A at arrival immigration.

If I understand APIS corrctly, someone along this line will figure out that you are showing them the passport that you didn't check-in with. Especially if two passports have different names on them, this might get complicated.

I mostly want to understand how does this APIS system works and if the data from departure country is linked all the way to the country of destination with all the passengers data.

Answer 1

Typically travelling from country A to country B contains TWO separate immigration transactions

1. Exit from country A, which is handled by country A exit immigration
2. Entry into country B, which is handled by country B entry immigration.

In many cases these two transactions are completely independent and no data or information is exchanged. In other cases they may exchange information but what exact form this takes, is difficult to know.

In either case, there is NO requirement to use the same passport for both transactions. It's perfectly legal and normal to switch passports between transactions and choose the one that works best for a specific country. In some cases you MUST switch passport since some countries (like the US) requires you to use your US passport when entering and/or leaving the passport country.

show passport B at check-in, then passport B at exit immigration, then passport A at arrival immigration.

No. The passport you show at check-in MUST be the passport that you will use to enter the destination country. This is NOT arbitrary. The airlines needs to verify whether you can legally enter the destination country. Whether you can legally leave the departure country (or not) is none of their concern.

If I understand APIS corrctly, someone along this line will figure out that you are showing them the passport that you didn't check-in with.

Not necessarily. APIS is solely administered by the destination country. The airline collects all relevant data at check in and supplies it to the destination country. In some cases, they may also share some or all of this data with the departure country as well. That has nothing to do with APIS per se, but is governed by local laws and agreements in the departure country.

Especially if two passports have different names on them, this might get complicated.

Not necessarily. It's perfectly fine and legal to use different passports even with different names.

... if the data from departure country is linked all the way to the country of destination with all the passengers data.

It might, it might not. This depends on the agreements between the different countries and the airlines. These are typically not public knowledge, so it's difficult to predict what may be shared and what isn't. APIS per se doesn't require any data to be shared with the departure country.

security, at immigration exit and immigration entry at the country of destination

Security only checks whether you have a valid boarding pass and an ID that matches. That can be either passport or something completely different. For example, in the US I can use by US driver's license at the security check point even if I'm travelling internationally on a non-US passport.

All of this of course assumes that it is legal and acceptable for you to have two passports in the first place. If it isn't, then you should avoid flying directly from Ukraine to the US. If you try anyway, you might get lucky but it's impossible to know up front what will happen.

Answer 2

APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) allows delivering your document information to the country of destination when you check in. This way they know what passport and what visa you're presenting when you check in to your flight, many hours before your actual arrival and presenting of those. This allows to perform more detailed clearance without delaying you unnecessarily at the immigration line. By the time you reach the officer they already know everything and will just confirm the details with you before letting you through. APIS even allows letting the airline know that they will not let you through and you won't even be allowed to board in that case, instead of having the unpleasant experience of flying all the way there and then back again rejected.

The APIS system is managed by the country of destination. The country of departure may have its own controls, but most (all?) definitely allow using multiple passports, if they allow having them. Some don't. For example, Chinese nationals lose their Chinese citizenship automatically by acquiring a different one. Chinese immigration checks what document the passengers have that allows them to land at the foreign destination, and if it's a foreign passport - they will take away the Chinese document.

In light of your other question, it seems that the country you're traveling to has similar laws. I don't know how they're enforced, but be aware that it is likely (according to the text cited) that you're no longer a Ukrainian citizen, and using the Ukrainian passport even if you still have it may create problems for you.