I suppose you can google for a while and find it. Bottom line is with GE you don't need the blue card. I have a stack of them at my desk, so I already had one filled out to appease the card dragon, but I didn't use it.

+1....also in case the GE machines are down

GE - no blue declaration card
NEXUS - still need WHITE custom card (says so on the NEXUS machine/receipt) <- I don't know why though

Does one have to register a new non-Canadian, non-U.S. (and FWIW, non-Mexican) passport before using Nexus or GE?

In my experience, if you answer "yes" to any question it's an automatic trip to US secondary where the world is totally arbitrary but usually pretty quick. You will have to show a passport and have your carry-on inspected before they release you. The regular line could also send you to secondary as you have made a declaration. I have been sent to secondary by both routes.

I just read the blue form again, and it says "animal products" - so i guess it is safe to assume that chocolate is an animal product.

Someone said here that on GE machines, it'll be more specific rather than catch all animal products.

Should I just select Yes and goto secondary?

Yes.....if you have just gained another country passport it must be added/(declared if you will). This is because you could be travelling on that passport. I asked this at my interview as i was considering applying for a UK passport.

(i believe it may affect/end your status immediately you should definitely call in and ask)

This is the GE kiosk question:

"Do you have any fruits, vegetables, plants, insects, meats or products containing meat, dairy products, animals or animal/wildlife products, disease agents, cell cultures, snails, soil; or have you visited a farm/ranch/pasture outside the United States?"

As I read the question, it is asking about dairy products, not products containing dairy products. The phrase "products containing" applies only to meat, not the following listings. Your chocolate should be okay.

If I were you, I would select No.

I'm ecstatic about the change to the Nexus eligibility rules that make Canadian citizens living abroad eligible. I was always bitter about the old rules.

But of course it's kind of tricky to apply when living abroad since I have to time a trip to Canada to coincide with the interview. How long does it take for an application to be processed? How long after the application is approved do I have to do the interview? And how long in advance do I need to be scheduling the interview to have a chance of getting one in, say, a specific week?

What I'm trying to figure out is, say I plan to be in Canada Jan 1-14 when should I file the application so that when it comes time to picking interview slots there'll be one available during that period?

A month before? 3 months before? just a week before?

The passport in question is registered and still currently valid but will be renewed while we are out of country. Can one update this on GEOS?

I'll ask the Nexus desk before we leave.

Depends on where in Canada you would seek to be interviewed, but the YYZ centre was scheduling interviews in early January several weeks ago. Several posts up-thread show the time between application to conditional approval and invitation to schedule the interview.

Because GE kiosks ask you all the customs questions on screen (though some are a bit different, like the food question). The Nexus kiosk's don't, they only ask you if you've answered yes to anything on the customs form or have gone over your allowed declaration.

I would almost certainly be trying to get an interview in YUL. It would also be possible to get to Champlain, NY. If i could get an interview at YYZ timed with a connection that might be possible but that seems like extremely long odds.

Looking up above I see conditional approval takes about two weeks. And there's one data point for someone who found no interview slots for 4 months but then checked again later and found one in a few weeks.

So it looks like sending in the application 3-4 months before a planned trip might be necessary. Egads.


I guess the real question is what would happen if I send in an application now and don't actually visit Canada for 6-12 months? Could I keep scheduling an appointment in the latest slot available and then canceling and rescheduling later until I actually have travel plans? If I don't do the interview for a while does the application expire? Do they get cross?

Just apply whenever, the only requirement listed was to book an appointment within 30 days. After that, I don't think they care if you change to later dates.
My sister applied August 2, got approved Sept 4 or so, the first available slot was in January at YVR.

From there, we went earlier and later as we got a slot for Seattle in October, then YVR in November, and then after watching it like a hawk, got a time slot for September 19 or so.

If you have a two week time slot that you can do, it should be doable assuming you are able to check GOES constantly during North America business hours - early time slots only last a few minutes at most, if they're coming up soon

The wording on the GE screen is different from the listings on the Blue form and does not make reference to certain types of food so as others have posted, using GE lets you through with chocolates since you don't have to mark "yes" to that section the way it's worded.