itsme

If it were other than pretty quick, that is more or less hassle-free for those passing through through customs there to connect to flights to Asia, then I think they might do some real economic harm to Canadian interests. AC would probably be most upset, don't you think?

Karan97

Funny but I assume you do know that Canada has a lot to offer.

My family has been in Canada for a few months and I travel there about 2-3 weekends every month. I was only stopped once by Canadian customs a few months ago and I informed then that I was traveling back to the US during the week for work. Never been stopped since.

Traveling back to the US - thats a different story. I get stopped atleast once a month. Surprisingly I make it through the other times.

Kiwi Flyer

When I visited some FT friends for dinner in YVR I was late for said dinner thanks to my interrogation at the border.

RobertS975

I am somewhat glad to see that this Canadian customs experience is rather common, not unique to me. I guess I just remember the days when it was so easy to cross the border in either direction, just prove who you are and on you went.

Nowadays, it would appear to be far simpler for an American to do a short trip to most European countries than it is to head to Canada.

What are they so damned paranoid about anyway?

dvs

I had great difficulty getting in to the US (ORD) last week. I will grilled like never before. The reason was not terrorism but the officer thought I would outstay my welcome (not that I have ever done that on my 10 previous visits). He thought it was strange that I was travelling alone and that I had booked to stay in Chicago for one month for leisure purposes. I explained that I was renting an apartment and would use Chicago as a base and would visit a few other cities including Toronto. I literally pleaded with him showing my travel guides, diary and all sorts before he agreed to let me in.

I'm going to Toronto in a couple of days. Whilst I am not worried about being refused entry to Canada (I can live with that!), I'm worried that I might not get back in to the US to finish my holiday here!

hudson

The Canadian government has been under tremendous pressure by the US government since 9/11 to tighten up on border screening. After all the general preception in the US is that some of the 9/11 terrorists came from Canada and also the guy that was going to blow up LAX was coming from Canada. With the amount of trade between the two countries Canada can ill afford to have the US border shutdown. So it seems the US wish is happening. If being on a MR is now okay for anyone to escape secondary inspection we may soon see all terrorists saying "oh I'm on a milage run for elite status".
Going into the EU is almost too easy in that they barely look at your passport and ask no questions. Do they have some other method of screening or are they just hoping that no bad guys come in?
Also since 9/11 the US immigration has not been very pleasant for Canadians, not that is was all that pleasant before.

Karan97

I talked to the US immigration officer when I was stopped getting back into the states recently and he told me that, as you mentioned, Canadian customs is under pressure to get a lot stricter. He said the pressure has increased over the last 6 months because that lawyer with Tuberculosis came back into the US through Canada.

Axey

Typical US behavior. Perhaps someone should remind them that Canada didn't let these folks into the US, but indeed the US let them into the US. After all, it's US immigration agents who still man our borders, right?

Every EU country scans your passport into the Schengen Information System upon entry. You can read about it here.

billybob123

On the bright side, you probably don't need to worry about that - customs between Canada and the US have reciprocal agreements where if you are coming from the USA into Canada and are refused, the USA is required to take you back (and vice-versa); that being said, one can still be arrested by the US authorities upon return.

I hope you won't have any problems with customs in YYZ... knock on wood!

zrs70

Nine years ago I did a day trip MR LAX-YVR. I was grilled upon entry and I was sent to secondary. They checked everything I had, and they focussed on a family tree diagram (that I had prepared in advance of a funeral I was presiding over the following day). They thought it was drug related.

I am back up to YVR tomorrow for another day trip. Purpose is to catch the QF flight YVR-SFO. I'll report problems if they come up.

gvdIAD

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me when I flew from IAD to YOW in 1999. When the primary screener asked the purpose of my visit, I explained that I'd never visited Ottawa and thought it would be interesting to compare it to Washington, DC, where I lived. When she asked why I was only staying one night, I told her that was all the time I had available. She didn't seem to like my answers and sent me for secondary screening.

The agent conducting the secondary grilling all but accused me of coming to Canada to take a job away from a Canadian. Even when I pointed out that I was an attorney licensed to practice in the US and not in Canada, was employed by the US Government, and earned more in the US than I would in Canada, she accused me of lying to her. Finally, she decided to relent and let me enter. As she stamped my passport, she pointedly told me that she'd be checking with Air Canada to verify that I indeed departed the next day.

The experience left me with no burning desire to fly into Canada (I haven't had any bad experiences crossing the land border), and except for a flight to YVR for an Alaskan cruise in 2002, I've not flown into Canada since (I have taken the ferry to Victoria from Seattle and driven across the border on I-5 without incident).

etch5895

As a result, Europe gets the lion's share of my tourism dollars. I had one bad enough experience (not nearly as bad as some of the crap some of you have gone through) at the Niagra Falls land border crossing to not want to go back into Canada due to the Immigration BS.

And I really would love to see move of Canada, but not if it means being treated like a criminal. I am so ready for a one world government with no more immigration BS.

seanthepilot

This thread seems like a customs bashing party.

I'm not trying to push my own posts, but on page one I posted the webpage for all your customs solutions. Nexus is preclearance for USA and Canada and is $80 for 5 years. CanPass is preclearance for Canada only at $50/year (IIRC).

So, if you enjoy the drama of the Customs experience... continue on your merry mileage runs, vacations, business trips etc. I guarantee the Border crossing will not be getting easier in the near future.

If, however, you want a solution (other than I'll never go USA/Canada again) take a look at this thing. I'm sold.

Better than that. I (and thousands of other's that have one of the 2 cards) don't have a Customs hassle anymore. Put that in your hat and post on it.

jannis

Not everybody meets the qualification criteria for NEXUS.

From the Nexus home page http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel/nexus/

Eligibility:

You may qualify to participate in NEXUS if you are a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or the U.S. and have lived in one of these countries continuously for the last three years.

seanthepilot

Oh, that's terrible. I don't qualify to renew then.

And I do so terrribly in the Customs Interviews. I tell the truth, usually get a blank stare in response to my answers... and the secondary search is just a given.

I've sure enjoyed this year having the CanPass, I must say.