Mar 3, 2013, 10:24 pm
Last edit by: TWA884
Current NEXUS Information messages can be found in the following thread:
The NEXUS Information Thread
The NEXUS Information Thread
Welcome to the Travel Safety/Security Trusted Travelers Forum Nexus Information Wiki! This resource will appear at the top of every page within this thread to help users learn more about this program.
About NEXUS
NEXUS is designed to expedite the border clearance process for low-risk, pre-approved travellers into Canada and the United States.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) are cooperating in this joint venture to simplify border crossing for members while enhancing security.
Program benefits
If you are approved to participate in NEXUS, you will receive a membership identification card to use when entering Canada or the United States at all designated NEXUS air, land and marine ports of entry.
Membership will enable airline passengers to save time by:
- using automated self-serve kiosks in dedicated areas at designated international airports;
- using NEXUS/SENTRI lanes at land crossings when/where available. NEXUS lanes entering Canada will likely have a constant red traffic signal. This is to discourage non-NEXUS members from using the lane. Canada-bound NEXUS land crossing operating hours. All occupants must have NEXUS cards when using NEXUS lane entering Canada. At some locations, the NEXUS lane, the inspection booth is not staffed but there should be a call button. When entering US in a NEXUS/SENTRI lane, all occupants must carry either NEXUS, Global Entry, or SENTRI cards (or any combination thereof). Notable exception is Whirlpool Bridge which requires a NEXUS card to open the toll gate on the Canadian side to cross to the US..
- As of 17 MAY 2017 - NEXUS members no longer need to complete a paper CBSA Declaration Card (Form E311) when using a NEXUS self-serve kiosk at any Canadian airport where NEXUS is available. (Refer to post #10421)
- using the Trusted Traveller Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Security Line at major and select medium-sized Canadian airports to expedite airport pre boarding security screening. For detailed information, please visit the CATSA Web site.
Join NEXUS
Here are the steps for becoming a member. There is a non-refundable processing fee of CAN$50 or US$50 per applicant for a five-year membership card.
About NEXUS
Eligibility
How to apply
Enrolment process
Key points about the program as found by forum members:
- NEXUS cardholders must advise of ANY changes to their vital information such as passport numbers/validity, visa status, legal names, primary residence, criminal convictions, and employment if it impacts your eligibility in the program.
- It's normal to find the first in-person NEXUS interview to be months into the future, but a little patience and regular checks on the TTP website almost always yields an interview date much sooner.
- Each person who wants to participate in the NEXUS program must fill out a separate application form. There is no fee for applicants under the age of 18.
- If traveling with non-NEXUS family members NEXUS cardholders are required to use the regular customs lines.
- There is a zero tolerance policy and membership can be terminated for infractions including not having your NEXUS card on you and using the NEXUS lane and not declaring items on your customs declaration card, though members have reported some leniency being granted for such infractions in the past.
- Private companies may offer services for submitting your application and charge an additional processing fee but these extra charges are not part of the official NEXUS application fee. Expedited services offered by such companies will not assist in speeding up the application process.
Updating Passport with Canada for NEXUS
As per CBSA website, updates to passport information can be handled on TTP.
Please note that NEXUS members are not required to report to an Enrolment Centre to update or change their passport information with the CBSA.
Some FT members don't trust instructions provided by CBSA and recommend the following:
Call the Canadian Processing Centre with responsibility for residents of the United States:
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
- 800-842-7647 --- Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (Eastern Time)
After going through the phone tree to reach a Nexus representative, advise them that you need to update your US passport with Canada.
The representative will give you an email address and instructions to scan your updated passport picture page (include your trusted traveler number on the scan) and then email it to a particular email address. I was advised to put the representative's name in the email message so that he could process the update on the Canadian side. He confirmed that any passport update in TTP does not reach Canada. NOTE: FT members have been able to enter Canada without any issues by updating passport online only.
He specifically requested that only the telephone number be posted (and not the email address).
In case the telephone number doesn't work, here's the webpage where the phone number is posted: Canada Border Services Agency - NEXUS - General Information
US citizens/residents who have both Global Entry and NEXUS cards and who renew the Global Entry membership whilst their NEXUS card is active, will not be able to renew the NEXUS card until after it expires. The option to do so disappears from the TTP website.
Dear mxzblftspk,
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Your NEXUS membership is not set to expire until July 11 2016.
As an approved NEXUS member, you added Global Entry for an additional $100. When you completed your Global Entry application, you received a Global Entry card. When you activated the Global Entry Card, your NEXUS Card was deactivated and the option to renew NEXUS was removed from your account.
If you wish to renew NEXUS, you will have to wait for your NEXUS membership to expire. Once it expires, you will have the option within your TTP online account to renew NEXUS. After you follow all of the steps to become a NEXUS member again, including the completion of an interview at a NEXUS Enrollment Center near the Canadian border, you will receive a new NEXUS card and will have Global Entry benefits at no additional cost.
When your Global Entry account expires 5 years after your application, do not renew it. Global Entry benefits are included with your NEXUS membership.
It is our goal to provide you the best information we have in response to your question. If you follow the information provided in our response, and still need assistance, please reply to this email and we will investigate how we may further assist you.
Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.
Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center
Archived: The NEXUS Information Thread
Jun 15, 2011, 2:28 pm
#3077
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 4
Thanks Todd, just making sure before I use the nexus lane back into Canada 
I've been using the general lines.
Does everyone here get asked questions when you cross (land)?
They still ask where were going, how long, and how do I know the other person i'm going with (who also has Nexus). It doesn't seem any quicker except for the lines into USA. (I always use Nexus lanes into USA from Canada)
I've been using the general lines.Does everyone here get asked questions when you cross (land)?
They still ask where were going, how long, and how do I know the other person i'm going with (who also has Nexus). It doesn't seem any quicker except for the lines into USA. (I always use Nexus lanes into USA from Canada)
Jun 15, 2011, 4:54 pm
#3078
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: YYZ
Programs: Hilton Gold Mariott Gold Aeroplan E25K SAS Gold NEXUS
Posts: 1,308
Thanks Todd, just making sure before I use the nexus lane back into Canada I've been using the general lines.
Does everyone here get asked questions when you cross (land)?
They still ask where were going, how long, and how do I know the other person I'm going with (who also has Nexus). It doesn't seem any quicker except for the lines into USA. (I always use Nexus lanes into USA from Canada)
I've been using the general lines.Does everyone here get asked questions when you cross (land)?
They still ask where were going, how long, and how do I know the other person I'm going with (who also has Nexus). It doesn't seem any quicker except for the lines into USA. (I always use Nexus lanes into USA from Canada)
If I cross the normal lines and use Nexus I get the usual questions, and sometimes even longer inquries, particularly at Queenston Lewiston for some reason.
I don't know anyone else with Nexus so I don't cross with other people.
And yes, you declare everything on the TDC, but if its under the limit or duty free they wont' actually charge you anything.
Coming back into Canada I'm typically asked if I have anything ,and if I filled in a TDC, unless the agent saw me put it in the box, in which case they usually say Thank you and wave.
Jun 15, 2011, 8:05 pm
#3079
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
Anytime you return to Canada and cross in the car and use the Nexus lane, you must complete a TDC. It doesn't matter what you've purchased, received or otherwise acquired, according to the rules, it must be declared.
Last edited by B1; Jun 16, 2011 at 8:34 am
Jun 15, 2011, 8:05 pm
#3080
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
Duplicate - delete please
Last edited by B1; Jun 16, 2011 at 8:34 am
Jun 16, 2011, 7:02 am
#3081
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 4
Is there a link regarding this change on a govt site?
I keep getting conflicting answers everywhere I go.. lol
I keep getting conflicting answers everywhere I go.. lol
Jun 16, 2011, 7:18 am
#3082
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: DL DM, AS MVP 100K, Amtrak peon, Colbert Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 4,534
This is not correct. The rules have changed. You produce a TDC on-line and submit it if you have duties to pay, otherwise you make a verbal declaration. Without knowing the new rule, I put a TDC in the box and so the agent in the NEXUS lane wanted to know what I had entered on the card and how much duty I owed. If I had no put the card in, I would have simply stated my having been out for the two days and the amount I had spent (under the allowed limit).
Jun 16, 2011, 8:43 am
#3083
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
Also - I read on the same site that there is no NEXUS lane on the Rainbow Bridge and there is now one on the L-Q. Can anyone confirm this?
"Canada Bound Rainbow Bridge NEXUS Lane Closing January 23, 2011
Niagara Falls, Ontario, January 5, 2011 – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) today announced that following a review of its NEXUS services in the Niagara-Fort Erie Region, the Canada-bound Rainbow Bridge NEXUS lane will be closing, effective January 23, 2011. This will enable the CBSA to concentrate on delivering its services to the wide range of other travellers using the Rainbow Bridge. NEXUS members can continue to use the NEXUS-only lanes at the Whirlpool Bridge. "
ADDED NOTE based on my recent trip: Indeed there is now no Canada-bound NEXUS lane at the Rainbow Bridge. Not all government web sites are up to date. The short trip to the Whirlpool Bridge is worth it to use NEXUS and avoid the lines.
"NEXUS enhancements in 2011 include:
•A NEXUS lane at the newly-constructed Queenston Bridge Canadian Plaza (February 2011)"
Last edited by B1; Jun 19, 2011 at 7:18 am Reason: added information
Jun 16, 2011, 1:52 pm
#3084
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 4
Queenston Bridge Canadian Plaza does have a Nexus lane, I went thru that crossing last week
Jun 19, 2011, 5:37 am
#3085
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Honors Diamond. Priority Club Platinum. Emerald Club Executive Elite
Posts: 446
I use my nexus primarily for air travel between Canada and the U.S. I have one customer I have visited 2 times where the distance and travel times makes car travel more efficient. Both times crossing into the U.S. and showing my nexus card, I've been pulled in for secondary. And both those times, the agent informed my my nexus card was invalid. (??) I have my passport and was able to gain entry regardless. However, when traveling back into Canada I've shown my card with no issues. On one occasion, there was no one in line behind me so I inquired with the border guard agent. He scanned my nexus again and said it looked good to him. I've called GOES and they report my card is in good standing, but yet I was again called in for secondary because of this reported issue.
Anyone else have similar issues? On a side note, I've been told that when entering back into Canada using an airport scanner, the receipt I receive has the letter V on it, which I was told means Visitor. A few times while traveling back into Canada or leaving, I've gone by the nexus office but it's always closed.
??
Anyone else have similar issues? On a side note, I've been told that when entering back into Canada using an airport scanner, the receipt I receive has the letter V on it, which I was told means Visitor. A few times while traveling back into Canada or leaving, I've gone by the nexus office but it's always closed.
??
Jun 19, 2011, 5:53 am
#3086
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: YHZ
Programs: TK Elite, AC SE
Posts: 192
I use my nexus primarily for air travel between Canada and the U.S. I have one customer I have visited 2 times where the distance and travel times makes car travel more efficient. Both times crossing into the U.S. and showing my nexus card, I've been pulled in for secondary. And both those times, the agent informed my my nexus card was invalid. (??) I have my passport and was able to gain entry regardless. However, when traveling back into Canada I've shown my card with no issues. On one occasion, there was no one in line behind me so I inquired with the border guard agent. He scanned my nexus again and said it looked good to him. I've called GOES and they report my card is in good standing, but yet I was again called in for secondary because of this reported issue.
Anyone else have similar issues? On a side note, I've been told that when entering back into Canada using an airport scanner, the receipt I receive has the letter V on it, which I was told means Visitor. A few times while traveling back into Canada or leaving, I've gone by the nexus office but it's always closed.
??
A few weeks ago I was going through preclearance and got called in for secondary, and eventually had to see a US CBP supervisor...he was vague, but said that "possibly" there was someone with a similar name to me who was on a list somewhere in their system. He was apologetic and said that he would make a note on my file, but implied that this could happen to me again.
PS My name is not particularly interesting (nor that common or uncommon) and definitely (to the best of my knowledge) would not lead to any immediate assumptions reagrding suspicious activity of any type!
Anyone else have similar issues? On a side note, I've been told that when entering back into Canada using an airport scanner, the receipt I receive has the letter V on it, which I was told means Visitor. A few times while traveling back into Canada or leaving, I've gone by the nexus office but it's always closed.
??
A few weeks ago I was going through preclearance and got called in for secondary, and eventually had to see a US CBP supervisor...he was vague, but said that "possibly" there was someone with a similar name to me who was on a list somewhere in their system. He was apologetic and said that he would make a note on my file, but implied that this could happen to me again.
PS My name is not particularly interesting (nor that common or uncommon) and definitely (to the best of my knowledge) would not lead to any immediate assumptions reagrding suspicious activity of any type!
Last edited by simd; Jun 20, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Jun 19, 2011, 9:07 am
#3087
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: Air Canada Aeroplan
Posts: 1,748
Jun 19, 2011, 9:10 am
#3088
Join Date: Jun 2009
Programs: Air Canada Aeroplan
Posts: 1,748
New "NEXUS processing lane" at YVR
Today, after scanning my irises at YVR, I was directed to a "NEXUS processing lane". Everyone has to go in there. The officer looks at your kiosk receipt, scans your boarding pass (for the umpteenth time), asks you a question (mine was "any checked luggage?") and lets you go. Yet one more step. Also, since there is only one lane for all NEXUS members, things can get almost as slow as in the regular lines. This was 7 am on a Sunday morning, and I waited for about 5 minutes to get through.
Jun 19, 2011, 9:42 am
#3089
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: YYC
Posts: 4,035
On a side note, I've been told that when entering back into Canada using an airport scanner, the receipt I receive has the letter V on it, which I was told means Visitor. A few times while traveling back into Canada or leaving, I've gone by the nexus office but it's always closed.
??
??
Either way, a quick stop to a Nexus office should get that cleared up for you.
Jun 20, 2011, 8:27 am
#3090
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,665
The page describes how you make a written declaration when there is tax or duty to be paid and allows it to be paid without going to secondary to the cashier because you include credit card information. If you are within the exemption, you simply state it to the agent - this is the implication from the information and the reality I have seen since the system went into effect. I use the Whirlpool entry point and that is how it works. If you drop a card in the box, the agent will ask what was on it. If you don't, the agent will ask about what you are bringing with you. The US has a verbal-only system.