Arrive Can II
 

I deleted the Arrive Can app when the COVID restrictions were lifted. I note that it's been reconfigured for faster customs processing. Is it worth getting, does it get you through faster than NEXUS? Are there disadvantages or other advantages to getting it?

It can be a few seconds faster than NEXUS at YYZ. I think it’s worth having as it gives you more options on arrival. There’s no drawback to it.

I used it on the weekend because my daughter who I was travelling with did not have Nexus. No line up, we were through in seconds. Might be faster than Nexus. It's new and all the gates were working. Most of the times I go through Nexus there are lots of terminals that are not working.

It allows you to pre-fill in your info and answers to the typical questions. When you get there, it will save time at the machine.

But don't users of the app still have to line up at physical customs desks for an in-person interview? The most recent times we flew into YYZ and YVR from abroad, we had to queue up, make our declarations at the machines, then get a receipt, then line up again and present the receipt to an officer who asked us many of the same questions we'd already answered at the machines.

If the app enables passengers to bypass this second step, then great. Otherwise, at most it saves a minute or two. The main time-waster is the two sets of lines.

My recollection is that I answered my questions online, scanned my passport, got a receipt, showed it to agent on way out. He did not ask a question. Handed it in on way out of baggage hall,

You are always going to have some agent involvement. It just saves you from having to answer all the questions at the machine. I'd rather spend the 2 mins while taxiing to the gate answering than having to spend it at the machine.
The agent may or may not ask you any questions.

Thanks to this thread, I had my parents use this app when we arrived into YYC this past weekend. As a NEXUS card holder, I wasn't beside them as they went through their entry procedures at YYC but the key benefit seemed to be that there was a designated lane for arriving passengers with the ArriveCan app. So even if it doesn't really save that much time once you are at the kiosk and even if you have to go through some of the same procedures when you do not use the app, just being able to be in a smaller queue would make it worthwhile.

The big advantage is that you avoid the huge queues in the 'regular' line, at least in YUL. Have gone straight to the machines using ArriveCan entrance to customs all, never any lineup there.

I wish they would rebrand it. I'll always associate it with the covid madness and government excesses, and can't say the name of the app without an expletive or two on either side.

Don't think I'd use it. Irrational for sure, but I can't help it.

I don't disagree and the sentiment is part of the reason I asked the question. It was a great day when I deleted the app and have no intention of reloading it unless there is a definite benefit. As a Nexus holder I'm not sure it's something I need to have.

After using the NEXUS machine at YVR connections CBSA the other day, I got dumped in a line with everyone else to hand the agent my receipt and whatnot. ArriveCAN wouldn't have saved me any time though, because the bottleneck was after that.

At YVR arrivals CBSA last year, one time I waited a couple minutes for someone to check my receipt after using NEXUS. Because there weren't many agents, and they were handling both NEXUS and crew, it got jammed up a bit when one guy didn't have everything in order and/or triggered some suspicions. It's possible the ArriveCAN line might have been slightly quicker because while it was longer, there were more agents over there. But maybe not.

Other than that, I can't think of any time I've spent more than a few seconds in line when using a NEXUS machine in the past year or so (a couple dozen crossings at YYC, YVR, and YYZ), so I struggle to see where I could have saved time versus using ArriveCAN. I suppose it could happen, but how much time am I going to waste filling out the ArriveCAN info every time?

I've used ArriveCAN since it commenced several times when traveling by myself, and it's always been quite smooth as a process. Sometimes it hasn't really saved any time, but sometimes it has, and it's nice that it's always so empty I can immediately pick a machine.

However, when I've been traveling sometimes with my spouse, the machine can never match her passport to my pre-arrival submission. I think it's an issue with her name, but I'm not certain. Maybe she simply doesn't photograph well hehe.

For her name, the given one has a space in it (Abc Def), and the surname has none (Ghi), and it appears on her passport as (given) Abc Def / (surname) Ghi. I've tried entering her name on the pre-arrival submission as (format: given / sur-) 1 Abc Def / Ghi ; 2 Abcdef / Ghi ; 3 Abc / Ghi ; but it's not worked in any instance.

So what's happened then is we redo the declaration at the machine for her, which doesn't take too long, but it's annoying to spend the extra minute and to not be able to figure out the match. The printout from the machine shows Abc Def Ghi as her name, while on the screen before tapping confirm it shows Abc Ghi. I've tried 3 at least three times, and now 1 for the second time — but in no case (1, 2 or 3) has it worked. We use US passports, if that is significant.

Does anyone have any tips?? In the grand scheme it's not so important, but it bugs me that I can't make it work!

Thanks in advance. 🙂

So arriving in YVR, what is the consensus? Arrive Can line or Nexus line?

Yeah, ArriveCAN is worth it, especially if you’re not using NEXUS. It’s not like a game-changer, but it does help speed up customs. You can upload your info in advance, and that part makes it quicker. With NEXUS, tho, it’s already super fast, so it kinda depends on what you’re using regularly. Only downside I’d say is if you’re not traveling often, you might forget to fill it out ahead of time. But otherwise, no real negatives.