US Preclearance in Canada process
 

A few years ago, I was YUL based and flew to the US frequently. The process went as follows:

Check in at airline, tag checked bags. Carry tagged bags to the pre-clearance area. Pass through Duty Free (and buy what you wish), wait in line for customs & immigration (still with checked bags in hand), clear customs & immigration, drop off checked bags on carrousel, go through security, enter terminal and go to gate.

My uncle and I were having a debate about this tonight, and he insisted the process has now changed to the following:

Check in at airline, tag checked bags. Drop off checked bags onto carrousel. Go through security. Go through immigration (not exactly sure where customs happens since he says your bags are already gone), get to terminal (where Duty Free is located).

Who is right?

You're both right. The process changed.

Moving thread to Canada Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

Interesting. So under the new system, how do you declare what you haven't yet bought at Duty Free? Or how do they perform a search on your bags if you've already sent them on their way before getting to customs?

My recollection is that your luggage is with you through the US preclearance section and deposited prior to security in YYZ. There certainly is no place I've ever seen to drop off luggage in advance of clearance. Any purchase after US clearance is being done within what is considered US territory for customs and immigration purposes so that it is not being imported and so there is no declaration. The area must be similar to tax-free areas in some US ports.

What happens if your flight is cancelled due to weather and you are booked on the next day’s flight after going through US preclearance? As your passport is stamped you are considered technically to be in US territory. So do you have to clear Canadian Immigration again to reenter Canada and go through the whole US preclearance process again the next day?

This has happened to me last year in YYZ. I had to line up for Canadian immigration, and was stamped back into Canada again. The next morning, I again lined up for US immigration, another stamp, and finally I was on my way.

In YUL, these days you do in fact drop off your bag before going through security and meeting the US immigration & customs officer. However, at the booth they pull up an image of your bag on the screen and ask you about its contents. My understanding is that if they don't like your answers, they can push a button and the bag is being sent up to an inspection area from the holding room it sits in until the US customs officer has green-lighted it.

As for duty free, which is indeed after customers, the thought had never ocurred to me but you're right - you could technically buy tons of stuff there and bring it into the US uninspected. @:-) Which makes me believe that the store's prices are in reality including US domestic taxes.

Yes.

Here in Vancouver, I have seen US Customs agents wandering the transborder area checking people's purchases, but it is rare.

Perhaps someone making an overly large purchase at the duty-free will trigger a visit from the customs agents. If you are even allowed to make such purchases in the first place.

My flight to LGA out of YYZ was cancelled and we were told to leave and rebook. Since I had cleared immigration I asked if I had to clear Canada customs on the way out. The agent said no: instead I was given an escort by a agent out a back door who explained it to the officer at the exit. On the other hand, I once was on an AC flight from Ottawa that wound up in an international arrival area and they opened the door to the customs area. We all got in the immigration lines and had to fill out the international arrival cards. "You're arriving from Ottawa?" "Yes" "Just leave".