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The public dock at Shoal Bay. |
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Cleaning the days catch. Prince Rupert. |
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Looking north across Dent Island Rapids at slack. |
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Marilynn and Bob Hale chat with Brenda Church and Lou Simoneau at Butedale. |
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CANADA CUSTOMS UPDATES:
The Latest Information to Help Speed your Trip
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Crossing the Border, Both Ways
General. Border crossing requirements have been changing and tightening since September 11, 2001, although the U.S. requirements are more stringent than the Canadian requirements. The Waggoner recommends that any boater crossing the border, either direction, be able to meet U.S. requirements. Basically, the U.S. wants to know who you are, where you live, and your citizenship or residency status. The best single document for that purpose is a valid passport, even for children. We have ours, and our grandchildren have theirs. Passports are expensive and a nuisance to apply for, but that’s the world we live in. One big benefit is that the passport is good for all travel—land, sea or air.
U.S. residents who might be flying home from B.C. must have passports.
For Pacific Northwest boat traffic other acceptable documentation includes:
U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Card or other valid evidence of permanent resident status.
U.S. Passport Card, that fits in a wallet. It costs less than a passport, and it’s good for travel by land or sea, but not by air. It won’t work if you’re flying home to Seattle from B.C.
Enhanced Driver License, issued by the state of Washington, which shows identify and citizenship (applies only to U.S. residents).
Nexus Card, also called the Trusted Traveler program. It allows pre-screened, low-risk travelers an expedited process to enter the U.S. and Canada. Every person aboard must have a Nexus card or I-68, or the entry will be treated as if no one has a card. If entry is into the U.S., a combination of Nexus and I-68 will suffice. I-68 is not valid for entry into Canada. The Nexus card is good for five years, and now is valid for crossings by pleasure craft, by car at highway crossings, and by air from principal airports. U.S. and Canadian customs officials must interview applicants as part of the process. The cost is $50 per applicant.
If they have nothing to declare, once inside the U.S. Nexus and I-68 holders entering the U.S. can call 1-800-562-5943 to enter by phone. If something is to be declared, a standard stop at a customs port of entry will be required.
Nexus holders entering Canada can call 1-888-226-7277 to arrange clearance. You will be directed to a reporting location. If no agent appears for inspection at the appointed time, you are free to proceed.
I-68, for entry to the U.S. only. Issued by appointment at a U.S. Customs office in the Puget Sound region, and similar to a vehicle registration It is valid for one year only. It is not an identity document or travel document, and use is limited to entry by pleasure boat in the Puget Sound area only. Cost is $16 per person, $32 for families. Families do not include grandchildren. Our 13-year-old grandson Zachary travels with us to Canada for a week each year, and has his own I-68 in addition to his passport.
CANPASS, for expedited clearance for low-risk pre-screened persons entering Canada by private pleasure boat from the U.S. Annual, $40 Cdn. per year. As with Nexus or I-68 into the U.S., all on board must have CANPASS or Nexus pre-clearance.
Boater Registration Number, for Nexus or I-68 entry into the U.S. If you’re going to be on your own boat and don’t have a BR number, call a Puget Sound U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office to get one. You will be asked questions about your boat, and the answers will be assigned to your number. Otherwise, you’ll have to answer the questions when you call to clear. Our grandson Zachary’s I-68 includes our BR number.
Helpful web sites
U.S. Customs and Border Protection www.cbp.gov
Canada Border Services Agency www.cbsa.gc.ca
Our advice
Don’t be sloppy about entering another country. Go directly to a customs port of entry and clear customs before doing anything else. Don’t smuggle anything in. Except for docking and tying up the lines, no one but the vessel’s master is permitted ashore, and then only to meet with customs officers or call in. Customs officers are trained in professionalism and politeness, but if you get cute with them they have a rule book that can make your life miserable.
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Canada Customs Clearance Number Reminder
December 27, 2007.
Bob,
I would like to underscore your recommendation that U.S. boaters in Canadian waters post their customs clearance number in a side window (Waggoner Cruising Guide 2008, p. 16).
We have seen increased vigilance over the last few years in northern B.C. waters. Customs officers can be seen walking the docks at Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club checking windows for a clearance number. Several years ago an RCMP vessel did a high-speed circle around us just south of Prince Rupert looking for the number in the window; we later learned that same vessel boarded a friend's anchored boat in nearby Baker Inlet because their number was not posted.
Last summer we had a first in southern B.C. waters. This vessel came screaming up to us just below Dodd Narrows in the Gulf Islands. We looked at each other and said, "OK, here comes a boarding."
However, they veered off suddenly when they saw what they were looking for. The clearance number in the window.
We have a little suction cup hook in each helm window. Slipping the paper on it is fast, easy, and avoids tape residue on the window.
Regards,
Linda Lewis and Dave Parker
M/V Royal Sounder
Response
When we clear Canada Customs we make up two papers with the clearance number and post them in both the starboard and port side windows. We also record the number in the log book. We write the numbers with a black Sharpie pen, so they are easily read from a distance.
Bob Hale
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Nexus Border Crossing Phone-in Pre-clearance Changes
May 21, 2007. Effective April 30, 2007 Nexus border pre-clearance can be used in place of Canpass for telephone check-in into Canada. After phone-in, Nexus card holders still must land at a designated landing site at an agreed-upon time, although as with Canpass they may depart without penalty if a Canada Customs officer does not show up to inspect the vessel. Call 1-866-996-3987 (1-866-99-Nexus) for clearance.
Canpass pre-clearance card holders may continue to use their Canpass program as before. Call 1-888-226-7277 (1-888-Canpass) for clearance.
For boats entering the U.S., telephone clearance using Nexus or the annual I-68 telephone pre-clearance will work as described in the 2007 Waggoner.
Nexus application information: The Nexus application form has been updated, and older forms should not be used. Get Form BSF658E from Canada or U.S. Customs offices. The Nexus process consists of three elements: (1) the application; (2) the review; (3) the interview. The review time has been shortened, but for Seattle-area applicants the wait-time is as long as 3 months now. For telephone clearance into the U.S., boats planning to go north for the 2007 summer season should get I-68s this year and join the line for Nexus next year. Seattle interviews are held only two days each week, so for a shorter wait-time try Blaine, which holds interviews six days a week.
Remember that all persons on board will need Nexus or Canpass for telephone entry into Canada, or Nexus and I-68 for telephone entry into the U.S. If only one person on board lacks pre-clearance, the boat must touch at a designated Customs port of entry to clear.
Nexus cards are good for five years, which will create a new problem beginning in 2008. The first batch (2002) will expire before the 2008 boating season, and will be up for re-application, review and interview. This will add a number of renewals to the growing body of new applicants, straining a system that already must wait months for an interview appointment. What a fun time to be a Customs administrator.
Caution: If you have a felony conviction, no matter how long ago and how young you were, Canada won’t let you in if they know about it. The Nexus application is how they will find out. Note that DUI or DWI convictions are felonies in Canada. If you have a felony conviction, including DUI or DWI, I-68, which doesn’t check for felonies, is the way to go. The same is true of fines for border infractions, such as failure to declare something that should be declared. In any of these situations, don’t apply for Nexus; get an annual I-68.
Last, GET YOUR PASSPORT. A passport is not required to enter or re-enter the U.S. by private boat in 2007, but in all likelihood it’ll be needed in 2008. Thank you, Osama Bin Laden.
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Nexus/Canpass/I-68 Comparison
March 2, 2006. You need to pre-clear if you want to clear either U.S. or Canada Customs by telephone. For U.S. Customs, pre-clearance is by Nexus or I-68. For Canada Customs, pre-clearance is by Canpass. Here is a quick comparison of the three programs. For more complete information about Nexus, I-68 and U.S. Customs, see U.S. Customs Small Craft Reporting Requirements for 2006 elsewhere on this Web site, and the Crossing the Border chapter in the 2006 Waggoner.
- Nexus permits telephone reporting for small craft entering the U.S. from Canada, but not from the U.S. into Canada by water. (Nexus can be used by car both into Canada and into the U.S.)
- Those wishing to establish Nexus for B.C. use (i.e. entry into the U.S. waters) must file the application for LAND travel. The Marine application is for the Great Lakes only.
- The Nexus card(s) will be accepted in lieu of I-68 for entry into the U.S.
- I-68 pre-clearance, which must be renewed annually, is for entry into the U.S. It has no bearing on entry to Canada.
- Canpass is needed for telephone entry into Canadian waters. However, unlike entry into the U.S. waters, once telephone authorization is granted by the Canpass officer, you must select an initial entry from a list of "Designated Reporting Sites," shown in the 2006 Waggoner, and provide an ETA for that site. Upon arrival at the "Designated Reporting Site" you must tie to their dock and check in with the Customs office. If the site is "permit only," meaning only Canpass clearances are handled there, you must arrive no later than your ETA. If a Customs officer does not appear by that ETA, you are free to go on your way.
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For more updates:
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• U.S. Customs Updates
• Canada Customs Updates
• General Updates
• Puget Sound & San Juan Islands
• Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia, including B.C.'s Gulf Islands
• Desolation Sound to top of Vancouver Island
• Central & Northern B.C. Coast
• West Coast of Vancouver Island
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