My husband is a PR in Canada, and he wasn't told that he could NOT use GE. Interesting, we will have to look into this a bit.

Never seen anyone use the customs declaration form by land. Not required.
TDC only comes in if you are over your limit. Since you are going to talk to the agent anyway seems pointless to fill it out. You have a better shot at the agent using their discretion to allow you to go without paying. TDC means you will be charged. TDC can speed up the process if you are way over and you know you will be charged.

The official word on when to use a TDC:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-vo...tions-eng.html

Actually, the only "when" is in the "where" column:

May, as in you don't have to, you can do a verbal declaration instead.

GE machines take the nexus card
 

Just an FYI that while going through Pearson last week and having my kids fingerprinted for GE the agent showed us that you can use your Nexus card in the GE machines. I thought you could only use your passport but it worked with the Nexus cards....

Cool! Looking forward to trying it.
Welcome to FT.

Green Light/Red Light
 

I have seen a couple of posts here about a red light on the NEXUS lane not necessarily indicating that the lane is closed.

Is this common? If I see a red light, I can still give it a try?

Does this happen on the U.S. side or the Canadian side? At only certain crossings, or at all crossings with NEXUS lanes?

Thanks. I've been lurking for awhile but I had some info that I thought that fellow travellers would like to know.

I prefer using the GE machines. They are much easier to use especially for my kids

I think it may be common. Check http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/nexu....html#where-ou first to make sure the actual hours. If you're within those hours listed, you should be able to use it even if the light is red.

BY AIR: Each NEXUS and CANPASS Air member arriving in Canada by commercial airline who has exceeded their personal exemption, as stated on the CBSA Declaration Card (E311), may complete a TDC or must proceed to a cashier to pay any duty and taxes owing.



For air, I guess one can use the TDC, or the customs declaration card (ie E311)? Which is the most convenient card to use - in scenarios of one bringing in nothing through to something within the duty-free limit, or the second scenario being over the duty-free limit (it is not clear to me if the statement above suggests one should use either a TDC or go directly to the cashier (after filling out the E311 form).

I've never done it voluntarily, but well before the Nexus days, I was once sent into secondary coming back into Canada, and was asked to fill in the form.

Interesting...I had no idea you could do this either. Wonder if it would work at GE machines at US airports, coming back from, say Europe or Asia.

Can you lose your Nexus card if you forget to declare something and aren't using your Nexus card to enter the country? Say you are coming into a Canadian airport that doesn't have the Nexus kiosks so you use your passport to enter the country but forget you purchased a something that you don't declare.

Yes. Yes you can. Ultimately it's up to the discretion of the officer who finds it but chances are you'll lose your Nexus.

... and, of course, you could have your conveyance seized if you're at a land crossing, and other punishments that apply to people who fail to declare.

There are further punishments for people who either:
- Deny their knowledge of the smuggled item
- Appear to have gone out of their way to conceal the item

and an extra punishment if you do both.

How can I get the driver license information updated in nexus? I could change passport information on GOES Website but not drive license information.

That's interesting. The GOES website specifically says to NOT do that.

Global Entry Benefit: As a NEXUS member, you can now use the Global Entry kiosks located at the top 20 major U.S. international airports to enter the U.S. To use the Global Entry kiosks, you must use a valid machine readable passport. Do not use your NEXUS card in the kiosk, but you may wish to carry it with you.

Yet more inconsistency...sigh.