Canadian going from LAX to TO. Where do I go through customs?.
 

Heading to my sons wedding in Maui. Flying back to Canada through LAX then to Toronto. Would I go through customs at LAX or Toronto. Thanks.

On your return, you'll clear Canadian Immigration & Customs on arrival in Toronto

Move to the Canada forum as this is a Canada Customs question and not an Air Canada or Aeroplan specific query.

tcook052
AC forum Mod.

Leaving the US, this will feel like any other domestic flight - nothing special or no extra security theater... you will only have some kind of immigration clearance when arriving.

Canada does not do US style Immigration and Customs at foreigh airports, so Toronto indeed.

Um, NO, and it seems AC is even more strict IME.

You will be asked to show your passport prior to boarding and again along with your BP as you board. Unless things are done differently at LAX, which I seriously doubt.

The US is not the only country to have pre-cleared entry on foreign soil at the port of exit into the US. So it is not US style; it is just prominent at Canadian Airports.

All US intl departures you must show your photo ID as well as proof of admissibility to the destination. It is not just AC, DL and AA check passport on US to Canada flights as well.

Minor point, but I very carefully avoided using "on foreign soil," as technically it is US soil, just as Embassies may physically be surrounded by foreign soil, but are technically sovereign land of country that owns the Embassy. A good example / demonstration of this is Julian Assange on Ecuadorian land but surrounded by London.

Don't know exactly where the boundary is, but after going through passport control at YVR the agent would sometime say "Welcome to America," as I was at that point on US soil. It's the flying through Canadian airspace before entering US airspace that has me confused :confused:

IANAL but Embassy and Consulate office are different from precleared facilities at the Canadian airport.

I have witnessed two disruptive travellers arrested in the Toronto T3 post-CBP US-bound holding pen by RCMP and Peel Regional Police.

Unless preclearance gets revoked. Preclearance only clears you to land at that specific airport w/o going through customs apparently...not entry to the US officially... This happened in YYZ in 2015:

I was in the preclearance zone in the old terminal 2 commuter flight area, and a couple had just missed their flights. They were rescheduled to fly in 90 min. The Air Canada GA agent told them that they MUST leave the preclearance area because they were only cleared to land at CLE and not that the location they were rerouted to. From my understanding, they had to clear CBSA and then re-clear CBP Preclearance. Maybe rules have changed since then

Pretty sure that rules did NOT change, this was a misinformed agent @:-)

Allow me to present FIRST HAND experience, i.e. myself.

At YVR gate (probably 88 or thereabout) and ask to do SDC to maximize EQMs.

Agent: "That will be $50."

Um, no UA gold, SDC is free and agent immediately acknowledged that.

"Here you go, here is your new boarding pass."

No exiting and reentering to land at a completely different city - LAX instead of DEN IIRC. About two, maybe three years ago.

I had many VDBs at the US precleared area to a different US airport for my new connection and just got a new BPs, voucher and head over to a different gate at YYZ.

Apologies to ask, but would you mind giving examples of other countries that do have pre-clearance in another country?? I understand for example that on the Eurostar line passengers will clear UK customs & immigration in Paris (Gare du Nord train station) and French customs & immigration in London (St Pancras). Thank you

Apologies to ask, but would you mind giving examples of other countries that do have pre-clearance in another country?? I understand for example that on the Eurostar line passengers will clear UK customs & immigration in Paris (Gare du Nord train station) and French customs & immigration in London (St Pancras). Thank you

Um, apologies right back at you, but this is Canada forum @:-)