Every day, the CBSA works hard to protect Canadians, support the economy and ensure the safe and efficient movement of people and goods across our borders. In 2023, we welcomed over 86M travellers and intercepted more than 72,200 kg of prohibited drugs, cannabis, narcotics, and chemicals, representing an increase of close to 30% from 2022.

The CBSA dedicates significant efforts to planning and preparing for peak periods, including long weekends and summer months. CBSA monitors traveller volumes and plan to minimize border wait times at land ports of entry and at international airports, without compromising safety and security.

Here are some tips to help you plan for your trip:

Before you travel, plan ahead

• Check border wait times and expect delays.
  • Early mornings are the best time to cross the border to avoid wait times
  • The Mondays after holiday long weekends tend to be the busiest.
  • Consider an alternative port of entry with shorter wait times or less traffic.
  • Check the port of entry’s hours of operation on the official CBSA Directory of Offices and Services
  • If you are using a GPS application (such as Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze) to direct you to a port of entry, consider checking different navigation options (such as fastest and shortest routes) to determine the preferred route of travel.
• Have your travel documents handy. Speed up processing times by always coming prepared with your travel documents.
• Travelling with children? When travelling with a child who is not your own or for whom you don’t have full legal custody, we recommend you have a consent letter from the parent or legal guardian authorizing you to travel with the child. CBSA is always watching for missing children, and in the absence of the letter, officers may ask additional questions.
• Flying into Canada? Use Advance Declaration and make your customs and immigration declaration up to 72 hours in advance of your arrival into Canada at participating airports.
• Entering Canada by boat? You must report to the CBSA without delay. Review reporting requirements for private boaters before making travel plans.

At the border, be prepared to declare

Declare everything you have with you upon entry into Canada. If arriving by land, you are responsible for everything inside your vehicle. If you are the operator of a boat entering Canadian waters with the intent to disembark, you are responsible for reporting your goods on board.

Are you bringing any of the following into Canada?

• Food, plant, or animal products: Consult the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) before bringing any food, plant, or animal products into Canada.
• Poultry products: Be sure to review current restrictions on poultry and birds from the United States before bringing these products across the border. Homemade food or leftovers containing poultry cannot be brought into Canada.
• Fireworks: Consult Importing, exporting and transporting fireworks to ensure that the fireworks you are bringing in are authorized.
• Medication: Make sure you understand your responsibilities when travelling with medication.
• Firewood: Firewood from outside of Canada is not permitted as it may contain diseases or invasive insects. Buy local and burn local.
• Goods purchased abroad: If you are a Canadian resident, personal exemptions allow you to bring goods (up to a certain value), back to Canada without paying regular duty and taxes – including alcohol and tobacco.
  • Make sure know how much you are bringing back in Canadian dollars and have your receipts readily available for the officer.
  • Use the CBSA duty and taxes estimator to help estimate the amounts owed on goods purchased abroad.

Restricted and prohibited goods

Make sure you review the necessary information before attempting to bring certain items into Canada.  If not, you risk having your goods seized or facing fines and/or prosecution.

• Firearms: Leave them at home. You are encouraged not to travel with firearms. If you choose to do so, be sure to check the rules on importing firearms.
• Weapons: Other restricted and prohibited goods include pepper spray, switchblades, and butterfly knives.
• Narcotics:  Narcotics such as cocaine and heroin, are illegal in Canada. If you are found to be in possession of illegal drugs (on your person, in your vehicle, or in your luggage) you will be arrested and may be charged. The drugs will be seized.
• Cannabis: Don’t bring it in. Don’t take it out. While cannabis is legal in Canada, bringing it across the border in any form, including oils containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD), without a permit or exemption authorized by Health Canada is a serious criminal offence subject to arrest and prosecution. A medical prescription from a doctor does not count as Health Canada authorization.

Not sure? Ask a CBSA officer. The best way to save time is to be open and honest with the CBSA officer. If you are not sure about what to declare, don’t hesitate to ask.

For more information, visit the CBSA Website or call them at 1-800-461-9999.

The post Travelling For Canada Day Or U.S. Independence Day? The CBSA Gives Tips For A Smoother Trip appeared first on Muskoka411.

This summer, travellers are returning to a border that is managed differently, with evolving COVID-19 requirements, which can mean delays during peak periods. The CBSA is working with government and industry partners to mitigate long border wait times, but there are also things that travellers can do to make the process easier for themselves and other travellers.

Travellers can help reduce wait times at the border by coming prepared and by completing their mandatory ArriveCAN submission within 72 hours before arriving at the border.

The CBSA invests significant effort annually to plan and prepare for peak periods, such as the summer months. The Agency works with bridge and tunnel operators, airport authorities and travel industry groups to plan and review service requirements, enhancement opportunities, and required resources, so that we can deliver together the best service to all travellers.

The CBSA has also established modern processes to improve the traveller experience and manage volumes, like the International-to-Domestic and the International-to-International programs that significantly decrease connection times, as well as the Primary Inspection Kiosks, and the Advance CBSA Declaration feature with ArriveCAN.

Key tips for all travellers:

• Ensure you are eligible to enter Canada Foreign nationals must meet the admissibility requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and provide appropriate travel and immigration documentation. Admissibility decisions on entry are made by a border services officer at the port of entry.

• Understand the rules around COVID-19. There are still border measures in place for COVID-19. They vary depending on who is travelling—foreign nationals, returning residents or Canadian citizens. Answer a few questions to find out which requirements apply to you and if you can enter Canada.

• Use ArriveCAN. Whether you are travelling by air, land or marine, all travellers, regardless of vaccination status, are required to submit their information in ArriveCAN (free as a mobile app or on website), up to 72 hours before entering Canada. ArriveCAN collects contact, health and travel information to protect the health and safety of travellers and expedite processing at the border. It is the fastest, easiest and most secure way for travellers to show they meet public health requirements.
  
  • Travellers must ensure they have the most up-to-date version of the ArriveCAN app (consult the Google Play Store or the App Store for iPhone).
    
    
  • Travellers should print or take a screenshot of their ArriveCAN receipt and bring it with them when they travel.
    
    
  • Travellers without a smartphone or without mobile data can submit their information by signing in online through a computing device. If travellers are unable to enter their information themselves, they can have a friend or family member enter the information for them.

• Advance Declaration. Air travellers landing in Toronto (YYZ) or Vancouver (YVR) may use ArriveCAN (app or Web version) to complete their customs and immigrations declaration in advance of their arrival in Canada. This feature will be expanded to other airports in the future.

• Have all your documents ready. Travellers should have the following ready to present to the border services officer: their ArriveCAN receipt; passport or travel documents, proof of vaccination; and identification for all persons in the vehicle.
  
  
• Plan ahead and check border wait times. Travellers crossing the border by land are encouraged to plan to cross during non-peak hours, such as early morning. The Monday of holiday long weekends tend to be the busiest, with longer border wait times.
  
  
• Entering Canada by water. Unless exempt, all travellers entering Canada by water, must report their arrival to the CBSA without delay. All travellers, including those with a right of entry (Canadian citizens, permanent residents and persons registered under the Indian Act), must submit their mandatory information in ArriveCAN before, or when, entering Canada at a marine port of entry.
  
  
• Be prepared to declare. Travellers returning to Canada must declare all goods purchased and/or received while outside the country. It is recommended that gifts not be wrapped as CBSA officers may need to examine them. Have your receipts readily available from purchases made outside of Canada.
  
  
• Know your exemption limits. Returning residents planning to make purchases or pick up online purchases across the border should be aware of their exemption limits. Be sure to check the CBSA duty and taxes estimator to calculate taxes on goods purchased in the United States and to help make informed decisions when shopping abroad.

• • Residents can bring back tax and duty free goods valued at CAN$200 after being away for 24 hours, and goods valued at CAN$800 after 48 hours. There are no personal exemptions for same-day cross-border shopping trips, so be prepared to pay tax on those purchases and possibly duty. Alcohol and tobacco allowances may also vary depending on your length of absence from Canada.

• Declare any foods, plants, or animals such as raw poultry products and by-products that are not fully cooked, to the border services officer. There are currently restrictions on imports of live birds, bird products and by-products from states affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the United States. Also declare all wood and wood products (including. firewood and wooden souvenirs). Be sure to check the
  
  Automated Import Reference System to help determine all specific import requirements.

• Declare all currency and/or monetary instruments of CAN$10,000 or more. It is not illegal to bring such amounts into Canada, but it must be declared on arrival.
  
  
• Cannabis. Don’t bring it in. Don’t take it out. Transporting cannabis across the border in any form, including any oils containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD), without a permit or exemption authorized by Health Canada remains a serious criminal offence subject to arrest and prosecution, despite the legalization of cannabis in Canada.

• Know the contents of your vehicle. Travellers can consult the CBSA’s website for information on firearms and other restricted and prohibited goods.
  
  
• Use the latest technology. Upon arrival at selected major airports in Canada, travellers can use a primary inspection kiosk to verify their travel documents, confirm their identity and complete an on-screen declaration.
  
  
• Children. When travelling with children, it is recommended that the accompanying adult have a consent letter authorizing them to travel with the child. Border services officers are always watching for missing children, and in the absence of the letter, officers may ask additional questions, to help them identify the relationship between the child and the accompanying adult.

For more information, visit the CBSA Web site or call them at 1-800-461-9999.

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