Passing through customs at Vancouver International Airport will be quicker for travellers headed to the U.S., thanks to 12 new automated customs kiosks.
YVR has worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement the new automated customs system – the first of its kind in Canada.
Initially, only American citizens travelling back to the U.S. from YVR will be able to use the kiosks, but YVR plans to soon offer the service to Canadian travellers headed to the U.S. as well.
Travellers will no longer have to fill out their customs declarations with a customs officer when they arrive at the airport.
Instead, they will simply fill out a questionnaire on the kiosk, which takes a photo of the traveller and scans his or her passport. It then issues a receipt, which is shown along with passports to a customs officer as travellers make their way through border clearance.
“Increasing efficiency and streamlining processes are critical components of CBP’s modernization efforts at ports of entry,” said Thomas Winkowski, acting commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
“Travellers will still speak with a CBP officer after using the Automated Passport Control kiosk; however, this will allow for faster processing and increased focus on the traveller.”
The new service is an extension of the automated border clearance that is already in place for Canadian travellers returning to Canada from the U.S.
It is expected the automated customs clearance system will speed up processing and reduce wait times at customs.
