NEXUS (frequent traveller program)

NEXUS is a joint Canada-United States program designed to let pre-approved travellers cross between Canada and United States more quickly. Members of the program can avoid long waits at border entry points by using self-serve kiosks at airports, reserved lanes at land crossings, or by phoning border officials when entering by water. The program is operated by the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A NEXUS membership card is a valid document under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative when used at a NEXUS kiosk.

Eligibility

Only citizens and permanent residents of Canada or the United States are eligible for the NEXUS program. Applicants must have lived in one of these countries continuously for the last three years. Authorities check applicants' documentation, run background checks, and take fingerprints, photographs, and digital iris photographs. Applicants must pay a fee, which is waived for applicants under 18 years of age. Applicants who pass these checks are issued a NEXUS card, which is valid for five years.

Conditions

While NEXUS cardholders are screened more quickly, they are still subject to standard border checks and procedures. In addition, a vehicle can only use the NEXUS lane if everyone in the vehicle (including children) has a NEXUS card. NEXUS cardholders declaring certain items must use a regular lane, and are prohibited from transporting certain items across the border.

Vehicles that use dedicated NEXUS lanes at land border crossings are required to declare all items purchased using a Travelers Declaration Card (TDC) which is deposited into a special mailbox located directly before the customs booth and gate. The TDC is linked to the NEXUS user's credit card, and taxes and duties are automatically billed. The amount that a vehicle may declare on a TDC is limited: for same-day travel, the limit is $500; for a 24-hour absence, it is $500; for a 48-hour absence, it is $1000; and, for 7 days or more, it is $1,550. NEXUS users are required to use a regular customs lane and prepare a verbal declaration to a customs officer if the limits are exceeded.

Locations at which NEXUS is available

Airports

* Calgary International Airport
* Edmonton International Airport
* Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport
* Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
* Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
* Toronto Pearson International Airport
* Vancouver International Airport
* Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

Land crossings

* Ontario/Michigan/New York:
** Ambassador Bridge (Windsor, ON/Detroit)
** Bluewater Bridge (Sarnia, ON/Port Huron, MI)
** Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
** Peace Bridge (Fort Erie, ON/Buffalo)
** Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls, ON/Niagara Falls, NY)
** Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Sault Ste. Marie, MI)
** Whirlpool Bridge (Niagara Falls, ON/Niagara Falls, NY)
* Quebec/New York/Vermont:
** St. Armand-Philipsburg/Highgate Springs, VT
** St. Bernard-de-Lacolle/Champlain, NY
* British Columbia/Washington:
** Boundary Bay/Point Roberts, WA
** Douglas/Peace Arch (Surrey, BC/Blaine, WA)
** Pacific Highway/Blaine, WA
* Manitoba/North Dakota:
** Emerson, MB/Pembina, ND
* New Brunswick/Maine:
** Woodstock, NB/Houlton, ME

Marine crossings

NEXUS members can report to approximately 450 sites. [http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/listing/indexpages/indextype39-e.html]

ee also

*CANPASS
*Global Entry
*Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection

External links

* [http://www.nexus.gc.ca Official site]
* [http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/archives/2006_news_releases/092006/09212006_2.xml NEXUS Highway Program Celebrates 100,000th Member - CBP.gov (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
* [http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/media/release-communique/2006/1214ottawa-eng.html Canada's New Government announces harmonization of NEXUS traveller programs (December 14, 2006)]
* [http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/prog/canpass/instructions-eng.html]