Racism at Schengen ports of entry. Are there better ports of entry for people of color?

I am a tall brown Arab with a beard and a Muslim sounding name, who flies frequently to Europe.

I personally never faced the same exact thing you faced while most likely I fit every "singling-out" criterion any airport official might be applying, at least not in Europe and whatever I faced in Europe was much less that what you did. CDG was one of the main destinations I travelled to.

Just act normal, acting extra "sweet" or extra "rude" raises flags, just say hello, hand out the passport, wait for the official to ask you questions and then answer.

I worked with and friended many Indians, they are fine people who can be a bit extra friendly and might be a bit chatty sometimes which is not a bad thing at all, but this might raise flags to an airport official who might think you are hiding something or trying to distract them.

Finally, airport officials are the last "line of defense", they are the finest filter that ensures to allow access only to those who are really coming for the reasons they stated in their visa applications.

I’m brown as brown can be too .. here’re my experiences and take-aways:

1. Yes sometimes I get picked out for extra questioning.

   • Getting frustrated is the worst thing I can do.
   • Be patient, be polite, give them whatever documents I have up-front, that helps them verify that I’m a legit traveller – e.g. permanent residency from the country I’m coming from; work proof etc.
   • It’s good to think ahead and be prepared.

2. RISE ABOVE.

   • Maybe the person is having a difficult day
   • Maybe he/she IS racist or doesn’t like my face.
   • => But so what?
   • As long as I’m not physically threatened, they can behave in any way and it doesn’t have to bother me.
   • I can choose to exercise patience, compassion, tolerance and love for that person having some difficulty.
   • I have to remember that most people are lovely people and even lovely people can be assholes on occasion – INCLUDING ME.
   • So live and let live.
   • Once I’m away from the situation, let it go. Forgive. Send love. Move on. Live larger and happier.
   • They don’t have to stay in my head rent-free.

3. Be calm. Be early. Be prepared.

   • When I’m anxious and stressed from dragging big luggages and being late to boarding or check-in .. everything stresses me out.
   • Sometimes I can make simple situations into big mountains. Even a nice officer may get pissed off by my bad attitude.

4. It’s not that I have not experienced racism.

   • But thinking this one person represents everybody is wrong.
   • Thinking that every culture will or should be the same is wrong. Every culture is different and the purpose of travelling is to open my eyes to the differences (and appreciate them or appreciate what I have).
   • Treating people politely, generously and kindly usually goes well. Even if it doesn’t – I feel great!

I am an Indian national and as brown as brown can be.
…
he demanded to see if I was carrying money and also counted it.
…
And I know he singled me out because there were tons of white people before me that just got a cursory check and moved ahead.

One, of many reasons, why nationals of specific countries require a visa is due to irregular immigration.

You should therefore assume that more thorough checks will be done at all ports of entry than for nationals of countries that do not require a visa.

the immigration official was super rude to me

This can always happen. I can assure you, that in the past (as a person who did not require a visa and of the same race as the immigration officer) have also encountered some who were also super rude on occasions. That has more to do with the individual in question.

Visa policy – European Commission
…
The Commission conducts the assessment on the basis of a variety of criteria relating, among others, to irregular immigration, public policy and security, economic benefit, in particular in terms of tourism and foreign trade, and the EU’s external relations with the relevant third countries, including, in particular, considerations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the implications of regional coherence and reciprocity. New decisions on visa exemption are usually followed by bilateral negotiations on a visa waiver agreement.

Try Frankfurt: Germany is currently actively encouraging Indian IT professionals/engineers to work in Germany and I would expect all of them to pass through Frankfurt if only for logistics reasons, so the staff at FRA might be used to seeing middle class Indians (you mention overseas tourism, so I assume you aren’t exactly poor) passing through.
Having said this, an Indian acquaintance of mine told me his experience at Frankfurt improved considerably after he acquired an US-American passport, so you might be out of luck one way or the other.

Note: This answer only makes sense for Indian nationals, so strictly it does not answer the "people of colour" question as posed by the OP. It might solve his problem though.

While it’s difficult to rule out racism on the part of a specific individual or group, one has to remember that they are mostly just doing their job.

Remember that, at this time, entering a foreign country is not a right. Each country gets to choose who they want to let in. They mostly want tourists who are going to spend money, people travelling on legitimate business, and people coming to work in specific categories of jobs where local workforce is insufficient, with conditions.

They don’t want people who come under some pretence and end up flying under the radar, overstaying, taking up jobs without authorisation, etc. And of course not criminals, smugglers, etc.

Now, even if your intentions are good, it’s the job of the border officer to try to ascertain it. Lots of people with bad intentions have nice cover stories, so they can’t just take your declarations at face value. They have to check. That’s just their job. Some checks were made before you got your visa, but nothing beats a real interview right at the border.

Who they check more thoroughly and to what extent is based a lot on experience, either personal, or collective (statistics). They are indeed quite likely to have more questions for people coming from certain countries rather than others, because statistically, and because of the relative economic situation in those countries, people from those countries are more likely to try to enter under false pretences. And I’m afraid that India is not quite in the best category, as can be judged by the fact that even for transit and ATV may be required.

As, for quite a number of countries, people from one country have similar skin colour, you could think that’s racism, but it’s a lot more likely to be based on the country rather than the skin colour.

Beyond the country, there are other factors which may make them suspect a passenger more or less than others. A passenger who flew in first class, with high quality/brand name/expensive clothes, is definitely less likely to incur advanced questioning than someone who looks like they are a rough sleeper (and that’s valid for any country of origin and skin colour), with of course of lot of variations in between.

It is part of their job to evaluate whether you are a bona fide tourist. Asking questions about where you come from, where you are going, what your plans are, when you are leaving again, are completely legitimate. Even asking your name or date or place of birth (even though they have the information right in front of them in the passport) is legitimate, that may help detecting people with bogus ID. Asking the same questions multiple times is a classic tactic to detect inconsistencies.

When entering the Schengen Area (and that’s valid in many other countries as well), it is also perfectly legitimate for them to ask for a return/onward ticket, and proof of funds. You may not have noticed it, but the very last paragraph of the Schengen visa application form, just above your signature, says you acknowledge that the prerequisites for entry will be checked again on entry into the Schengen Area. Those prerequisites are listed in Article 5(1) of the Schengen Borders Code, and includes:

c) they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;

There are many ways of justifying it, it does not necessarily involve putting all your cash on the desk and counting it, but if you state that’s the only money you can count on during your stay (as opposed to using a credit card for instance), then there are no two ways about it. You must be able to prove you have enough money for the duration of your stay.

Note that at the other end of the spectrum, bringing in too much cash and not declaring it it also something they are after, so not knowing your situation, it may be difficult to know which end of the spectrum they were trying to cover.

Based on my own years of experience of flying to the Schengen area as an Indian, and conversation with countless friends, acquaintances, family members, Paris (CDG) is in general the most friendly port of entry in the Schengen area. Most entries from Paris for me have been a "hello" and "enjoy your stay". I have been questioned extensively, sometimes with the same question repeated multiple times to detect any lies, documents checked thoroughly, at many ports of entry in the Schengen area, especially at Amsterdam and Helsinki but never at Paris.

I guess your experience was more to do with the specific individual you encountered rather than reflective of the general culture at CDG passport control.

Your question is very subjective and doesn’t have a "correct" answer. Everyone would have had different experiences.

I frequently travel between India and Germany. I look very European (blond, blue eyes).

I have seen that they man the customs much more on flights from India than from other flights and I have heard from Indian friends that they were caught with a lot more gold / valuables than allowed.

My assumption is that they made the experience that with Indians they have an above average chance of finding someone that exceeds the allowed limits of undeclared cash / valuables.

If my assumption is correct, that would also mean that there is no other European port of entry that is less likely to screen you.