winnimu

Hi!

I will be going to Winnipeg (Canada) from Mumbai (India) via Mumbai > Frankfurt > Toronto > Winnipeg route with Lufthansa airlines. This is the first time that I will be traveling by plane, that too internationally. I am totally clueless about many things but gradually trying to get myself acquainted with it using internet.

After landing in Toronto, I need to undergo Immigration check and get my Study Permit issued by CBSA on the airport itself. I do not know how will I find CBSA counter/office at Toronto airport. Please let me know if anyone has some tips regarding this.

Also, I have connecting flight from Toronto to Winnipeg within 2 hours of landing at Toronto. Few people told me that I am supposed to take my Checked-in baggage at Toronto and check-in those again to Winnipeg's flight. I am worried that I'll run out of time and miss my flight to Winnipeg if I had to do immigration check and luggage re-claiming/re-checking-in both within 2 hours!!!

Any suggestions or tips or information would really be appreciated.
Thanks

Ocn Vw 1K

winnimu, welcome to FlyerTalk!

It seems that your prime concern is: what's going to happen at your Toronto destination in terms of your permit and adequate time to make your intra-Canada connection. Therefore, I'll edit the thread title slightly and move this to the Canada forum for more precise discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

tentseller

You will head to entry immigration at YYZ, at this point processing is separated by Canadian permanent residents and others. You will line up with the others and the immigration officer will send you to secondary processing which handles your study permit. This is on assumption that it has already been approved by Canadian consulate.

Yes, you will have to claim your bags, processed by customs to clear the bags, then you recheck them. If they are tagged all the way to YWG then you just drop them onto the onward baggage drop. If not then you need to have the bags "checked".

This is the general steps. I have no idea how long it will take in secondary immigration in your situation.

emma69

When you go to the main immigration desks (which will be where everyone else is heading) they will send you on to a second immigration section. There they will process the study permit, assuming all the correct paperwork. It probably took me an additional 20 minutes when I came in on my initial work permit. They ask questions about what you have with you, any goods following, how you intend to support yourself etc. How long it may take depends on how many other people they are processing and how many staff they have on. The good news is your bags will likely be waiting for you on the belt by the time they have processed you!

I would suggest 2 hours could be tight, but have no way of knowing how long it will actually take. You might want to speak to your airline about what happens if you miss the connection, will they put you on the next flight etc.

gglave

You should confirm which airline is actually operating your flights.

- It's safe to assume your Toronto (YYZ) to Winnipeg (YWG) flight will be on Air Canada. Lufthansa doesn't operate this route.

- Frankfurt (FRA) to Toronto (YYZ) may very well be on Lufthansa, or it may be on an Air Canada flight which Lufthansa has sold you with a Lufthansa flight number. This is called a 'code share.' Code shares often cause confusion for infrequent travellers.

If you're not sure, reply back with your flight numbers and times and we can tell you who is actually operating the flights to / within Canada.