albatross710
Established Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2004
- Posts
- 3,799
there were some previous comments about the YVR transit process which I thought I would record here.
After arriving on an AC flight from BNE I was transferring to a "transborder" flight to LAS.
YVR has multiple channels for arriving PAX:
1. Exiting the airport at YVR
2. Transferring to another Canadian airport
3. Transferring to a transborder (USA) flight
4. Transferring to an International flight
Following the E channel took me to a boarding pass check and then a bag screening.
After bag screening you end up at what I will call the baggage alignment area. It is a seating area where airport staff are waiting for your bags to be confirmed. We don't touch or see the bags but this next graphic explains what is happening behind the scenes. Once your name comes up on the board your boarding pass is again scanned and you pass through to USA immigration located in YVR.
Once I was scanned and passed through the door it was the normal lengthy queue for a US immigration office to ask the standard questions:
a) What is the purpose of your visit? b) How long will you stay in USA c) Finger printed all 10 fingers.
On the immigration officer's monitor he also had a picture of my checked bag on a conveyer somewhere in the complex. So the bags and boarding pass really did align.
After this I was into the transborder area and waited for my fight to USA. there was no further immigration checks when I arrived into my USA destination. That was the first time I touched my bag since BNE.
Exiting YVR
Coming back from LAS I had decided to do an overnight in Van. This time I followed the Arriving Passengers channel. There is an ArriveCan phone app which can be completed. Prior to 1 October it was mandatory to include the COVID details. After this date the app can still be used to save time at the pre-immigration screens. The same questions are presented as the app but as I had done the app I didn't have to do them at this point.
These pre-immigration terminals print a summary of your answers plus some sort of 'coding' which the immigration officers interpret. the person in front of me had a large "X" in front of their number. I had just a two digit number. I wonder what happened to him.
After joining another queue I eventually got to the immigration officer where they ask the same questions what I am doing here, how long, when am I leaving. The Canadian officers are not accessing any terminals, just asking question, presumably relying on the pre-screening profiling.
Then it's off to baggage collection and my bag was already waiting. Next It's through the exit of the baggage collection and hand in that printed immigration paperwork.
Welcome to Vancouver.
After arriving on an AC flight from BNE I was transferring to a "transborder" flight to LAS.
YVR has multiple channels for arriving PAX:
1. Exiting the airport at YVR
2. Transferring to another Canadian airport
3. Transferring to a transborder (USA) flight
4. Transferring to an International flight
Following the E channel took me to a boarding pass check and then a bag screening.
After bag screening you end up at what I will call the baggage alignment area. It is a seating area where airport staff are waiting for your bags to be confirmed. We don't touch or see the bags but this next graphic explains what is happening behind the scenes. Once your name comes up on the board your boarding pass is again scanned and you pass through to USA immigration located in YVR.
Once I was scanned and passed through the door it was the normal lengthy queue for a US immigration office to ask the standard questions:
a) What is the purpose of your visit? b) How long will you stay in USA c) Finger printed all 10 fingers.
On the immigration officer's monitor he also had a picture of my checked bag on a conveyer somewhere in the complex. So the bags and boarding pass really did align.
After this I was into the transborder area and waited for my fight to USA. there was no further immigration checks when I arrived into my USA destination. That was the first time I touched my bag since BNE.
Exiting YVR
Coming back from LAS I had decided to do an overnight in Van. This time I followed the Arriving Passengers channel. There is an ArriveCan phone app which can be completed. Prior to 1 October it was mandatory to include the COVID details. After this date the app can still be used to save time at the pre-immigration screens. The same questions are presented as the app but as I had done the app I didn't have to do them at this point.
These pre-immigration terminals print a summary of your answers plus some sort of 'coding' which the immigration officers interpret. the person in front of me had a large "X" in front of their number. I had just a two digit number. I wonder what happened to him.
After joining another queue I eventually got to the immigration officer where they ask the same questions what I am doing here, how long, when am I leaving. The Canadian officers are not accessing any terminals, just asking question, presumably relying on the pre-screening profiling.
Then it's off to baggage collection and my bag was already waiting. Next It's through the exit of the baggage collection and hand in that printed immigration paperwork.
Welcome to Vancouver.
Last edited:
