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Flying to Canada

Bavafa

Well Known Member
I have not flown outside of US and thinking of a visit to Canada. Looking at the requirements, it looks like I need a Restricted radiotelephone operators permit, but I am not clear how to obtain this?
Beside this, it looks like just a simple VFR flight plan and flight following that hand me over to a Canadian ATC will be sufficient.

Am I missing anything?
 
There was a time when it was that simple.
AOPA & COPA (Canadian Owners Pilot Association) web sites outline the process & steps required to cross the border. Most of this is to satisfy US Customs & Homeland requirements.

Hope you do come up to visit,
 
I don't know about the need for Americans to get the radio operator certificate, but I'm familiar with the rest of the process having done it 3 times this month (of course I just call it going home).

You need 4 things, a flight plan, a discrete transponder code (with or without flight following), an eAPIS Notice of Departure and 2 hours prior notice with Canada Customs (1-888-CAN-PASS). As it is with entering the US, your first landing needs to be at an airport of entry, but don't be surprised if you don't meet anyone there. It may just be a phone call clearance (not the same as calling ahead, you still need to do that). Of course, that might be different for Americans, but you'll certainly find the scrutiny is a lot less than what you'll get going back. I think you probably need a US customs decal (or proof of purchase) for your return. For re-entering, you'll also need the same 4 things you needed going north - flight plan, transponder code, eAPIS Notice of Arrival and prior notice to the US Airport of Entry.

Brush up on the airspace differences and the requirement for flight plans (or itineraries) in Canada for flights over 25 NM from departure point. We also do circuits here (as opposed to patterns) and our circuit entry procedures are a bit different.

One last tip, leave your handgun and your cannabis at home (not saying you have either of those - they are just problems crossing into Canada).

Do come and visit us, we're a friendly bunch who like to apologize. Sorry aboot that.
 
There radio permit, operator license, and CBP sticker are all pretty fast and only an internet application. Send your email and I will forward the instructions for the FCC licenses i got from their help desk. Very easy to spend that money and 1 week response. For the CBP sticker, it takes longer but the purchase receipt is adequate, to my understanding.

Agree the AOPA list is a good one. also get a eAPIS login for the flight plan so they know you are coming/crossing.

I have not exercised my privileges yet, but hopefully soon.
 
...CBP sticker are all pretty fast and only an internet application.

...

For the CBP sticker, it takes longer but the purchase receipt is adequate, to my understanding.

Yes, the receipt is plenty. The decal is a long wait. At least it was for me earlier this year. It took 2 months to ship. Key point here is don't pay for the expedited shipping, it's not worth anything. Print out the purchase receipt and they're happy with that.

Of course you can skip the decal altogether and pay the user fee if you are only crossing once. I think the decal, which is good for the year, is the same price as a single entry, or only a little more expensive.
 
FWIW the FCC webpage to get the licence is HORRIBLE!!!

Of course you can skip the decal altogether and pay the user fee if you are only crossing once.
Not anymore. This stopped many years ago.

Before you go call US Customs at the airport you will land when you return, go over everything with them, make sure everything is OK before departing to Canada and get the name or badge number of who you talked with. CYA After you have done it once, it becomes super easy to repeat. Have fun and let us know how it went.

:cool:
 
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FWIW the FCC webpage to get the licence is HORRIBLE!!!


Not anymore. This stopped many years ago.

Before you go call US Customs at the airport you will land when you return, go over everything with them, make sure everything is OK before departing to Canada and get the name or badge number of who you talked with. CYA After you have done it once, it becomes super easy to repeat. Have fun and let us know how it went.

:cool:

Galin, I know you are the expert on travels! And not to challenge that, but in my recent experience, the license from the FCC seemed really easy. The website made no sense, so I called the help line and a super knowledgeable woman sent me an email with exact instructions that made it super easy. Maybe I got lucky but I am not a lucky guy. :eek:

I forwarded the email to Mehrdad.
 
I just came back from Alberta on a bushliving course. Theres really no airstrips out there but alot of arrow straight dirt Range Roads. I'd like to go back and take the plane....can I land on a range road (after clearing customs etc at a real airport)???
 
Are there still requirements that your tail number be 1 foot high?

I believe yes, but only if you cross an ADIZ. Most of the US-Canada airport is not a defense zone.
Bill, what does the FCC want for a station license and operator permit? Last time I looked, I thought it was expensive.
 
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Alcohol

Don't know if this is still relevant.

10 years ago I make my first (and only) flight into Canada. Land at Abbotsford. They do not have customs on site.

Get a female customs agent on the cell phone while parked at a designated area on the ramp. She is pissed at me because I am almost 2 hours late on my arrival time (my misunderstanding).

After threatening to "open a folder on me", the conversation turns.

"What is your reason for visiting us?", she asks.

"I'm here to visit my sister, " says I.

"Are you bringing any alcohol into Canada?", she asks.

"Yes, two bottles of wine," says I.

"You can't do that," she says.

Oh ****, I'm on the tarmac, can't get out of the plane until she releases me and have no idea what to do now.

"You said you're visiting your sister?" she asks.

"Yes," says I.

"Well, if the bottles of wine were a gift for your sister, that would be ok," she says.

Me: "Uhhhh."

She: "So are the bottles of wine a gift for your sister?" she asks.

Me: "Yes, they are a gift for my sister."

She: "Welcome to Canada. I hope you enjoy your stay!"

True story.
 
I just came back from Alberta on a bushliving course. Theres really no airstrips out there but alot of arrow straight dirt Range Roads. I'd like to go back and take the plane....can I land on a range road (after clearing customs etc at a real airport)???

No. Landing on a public road would be illegal unless it was an emergency.
 
Thats ok if you land in Wiley Yukon

I just came back from Alberta on a bushliving course. Theres really no airstrips out there but alot of arrow straight dirt Range Roads. I'd like to go back and take the plane....can I land on a range road (after clearing customs etc at a real airport)???

You can land perfectly legally on the road if you make it to mile 244 on the Dempster Highway in the Yukon :)

http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aviation/airports/yukon-eagle_plains-wiley.html
 
Wrong. You can land on any surface in Canada provided you don't p*ss anyone off.

So what I'm hearing is, its ok if 1) noone sees you doing it 2) you dont crash.

With phone cameras everywhere, probably would never get past 1)......
 
Wrong. You can land on any surface in Canada provided you don't p*ss anyone off.

I had a look at the CARS for clarification. It seems that landing on anything other than a designated aerodrome is only prohibited if over a built up area. I guess you are correct. Good on ya. I still think it would be a bad idea generally.
 
I had a look at the CARS for clarification. It seems that landing on anything other than a designated aerodrome is only prohibited if over a built up area. I guess you are correct. Good on ya. I still think it would be a bad idea generally.

Check your insurance policy....:)
 
I believe yes, but only if you cross an ADIZ. Most of the US-Canada airport is not a defense zone.
Bill, what does the FAA want for a station license and operator permit? Last time I looked, I thought it was expensive.

Bob,
The process seems really easy and fast. The cost is $70 which is for the lift time.
 
Bob,
The process seems really easy and fast. The cost is $70 which is for the lift time.

I think that?s correct - for the operator permit. But the FCC also requires a ?station? license, for the airplane (international only). I think that?s another $170.

I?m old enough to still have an fcc operator license. It?s a piece of cardboard that I filled out and sent to the fcc back in the early ?80?s. They stamped it and sent it back. Doesn't seem to be $70 worth of work to me...
 
Devil's in the details

Prior posts hit prime items. Here's some detail from my experience having done it more than a few times.

The radiotelephone permit and FCC license are utterly worthless. Never been asked, and I've never heard of anyone being asked.

Canada wants you to carry a form you can print off TC's website that says essentially your USA experimental A/W is valid in Canada if it's valid in the USA. Never been asked, but at least it's free.

Canada requires liability insurance of some minimum amount. You're probably good with what you have but carry the declarations page JIC you're unfortunate enough to need to reference it. Never have I been asked.

Pay attention here!! Make double-d**n sure your cell phone works in Canada! A hard CPB requirement is phoning for an appointment at your AOE. This is in addition to the previously filed eapis, and the times on the eapis really aren't important as long as it's the same day. I recently wanted to return a day earlier than the filed eapis, but had no internet to refile (the whole eapis thing is a PITA). The CPB office was able to use it since the manifest was the same. The eapis form has fields which do not carry the * response required. Ignore them if you wish even when the "WARNING blah, blah" pops up; press next. It's none of their business.

Get the decal. I've heard the government paid invoice (not your credit card charge) can be substituted, but don't invite trouble. Also, I believe the decal number is a required field on the eapis, so your submittal may choke if you don't have it.

CBSA agents have met me only once (the first time I crossed). All other times I received a clearance number during the check-in call. Have paper and pen ready, and you may be in queue for 10 or more minutes. (See next paragraph.) I suspect you develop a positive track record, and if there's nothing to declare, well, why bother?

Get out of the airplane and pee. The phone call can wait. The people aren't unreasonable.

CPB has never asked for more than my passport, pilot's license, and medical. Try to keep a straight face when the officer walks around your plane with a Geiger counter.

John Siebold
 
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Get the decal. I've heard the government paid invoice (not your credit card charge) can be substituted, but don't invite trouble. Also, I believe the decal number is a required field on the eapis, so your submittal may choke if you don't have it.

My first trip in March was long before I received my decal. I entered my invoice number in eAPIS and that worked fine. It would be nice if the decal number was included in the invoice, but it doesn't seem to matter what you put in that box.

CPB has never asked for more than my passport, pilot's license, and medical. Try to keep a straight face when the officer walks around your plane with a Geiger counter.

I've been asked for my aircraft registration every time by CBP. And these guys are not a fan of you getting out of the plane before they tell you.
 
I had a look at the CARS for clarification. It seems that landing on anything other than a designated aerodrome is only prohibited if over a built up area. I guess you are correct. Good on ya. I still think it would be a bad idea generally.

Correct. The wording is something to the effect of "without causing injury to persons or property". So backcountry roads, that you've flown along first to check for traffic and wildlife, crown land (that doesn't have a specific rule associated with it, like national parks), etc. are all fair game. Even a quiet road just outside the city limits is acceptable.

The "without p*ssing anyone off" is just a layman's way of expressing the same thing... If you hit someone, break something, damage crops, etc. etc., you'll probably p*ss someone off. If everyone comes out and says "hey, neat, an airplane!" and you visit and leave again without incident, you'll be just fine.
 
Just crossed the border a couple of times in the past few days - this being only our second trip to the USA in our airplane. Interestingly, going south into NY state the CBP officers showed up and asked only to see passports, nothing else. Of course I had my pilot and aircraft documents in hand ready to provide to him and he clearly saw I was prepared. Effortless entry to the USA. I asked about the Geiger counter - they often see lots of background radiation on trucks, or so they reported. Zero indication on our airplane.

NOTE: I had inadvertently provided my 2018 customs sticker on the EAPIS submission - didn't realize this until I cross-checked prior to filing on the way back home. EAPIS accepted my submission even with an out-of-date sticker number. Phew! I made darned sure I used the correct sticker number for the flight home and have it recorded in my file for future use. I hate it when I make that kind of simple mistake.

For Canadians coming home to Canada, get CANPASS - it's WELL worth it. I have used it when making a declaration for goods with value in excess of my exemption - just pay the taxes on the excess using credit card over the phone. On the way home this time we were well under the exemption limit. No Canada Customs officers met us at our home airport. This is where CANPASS is such a wonderful advantage as we were able to fly directly to our home airport which is an eligible CANPASS port of entry.
 
On one of my recent trip to Canada the officers arrived 3 hours late. The cowling was off and we already ate. Quite a story :D
 
The TOPS decal- this year of course I remembered to order too late, 16 days before OSH.
When ordering the decal there are 2 receipts- one acknowledging the order, & one when they have processed the order. The second receipt has the decal number on it. It took about a week for TOPS to email me the order was processed & the second receipt was available to print. I used this for the eapis form.
Decal arrived 3.5 weeks after the order was placed & was waiting for me on return from OSH.
 
Do you really need CANPASS?

Canpass is good for some reasons and doesn't really help you for others.
Canpass is good for the most part for pre-screening you.
Canpass opens you up to more AOE airports, technically only Canpass holders are allowed to clear (I think) at airports AOE/CAN & AOE/15.
Also, everybody on board would have to have Canpass, not just the pilot.

Canada Customs AOE designations:

Airport of Entry (AOE)
An authorized airport of entry for clearance of all classes of scheduled and unscheduled aircraft (travellers and cargo).

Airport of Entry/15 (AOE/15)
An airport used solely for clearing persons arriving by general aviation aircraft (private or company) where the flights are unscheduled and the number of non-paying travellers on each flight does not exceed 15

Airport of Entry/CANPASS (AOE/CAN)
An airport of entry designated for CANPASS private and corporate permit holders only. CANPASS members can land at an AOE any time the airport is open for landing, regardless of the hours of business of the local CBSA office.


I have been clearing at my home airport (AOE/CAN)... forever... with no problems & I don't have Canpass.
 
The TOPS decal- this year of course I remembered to order too late, 16 days before OSH.
When ordering the decal there are 2 receipts- one acknowledging the order, & one when they have processed the order. The second receipt has the decal number on it. It took about a week for TOPS to email me the order was processed & the second receipt was available to print. I used this for the eapis form.
Decal arrived 3.5 weeks after the order was placed & was waiting for me on return from OSH.

I ordered mine in February, got the first receipt but didn't get the second one until they processed it 6-7 weeks later. That was during the shutdown. I had already been to the US and returned well before I got the decal number, the first receipt was perfectly acceptable to CBP.
 
I have been clearing at my home airport (AOE/CAN)... forever... with no problems & I don't have Canpass.
I applied for and received my CANPASS Air when I was based at an AOE/CANPASS, but only afterwards clued in that anyone with me would have to have it as well. You can't even bring someone with CANPASS Ground with you. So in the end I never did use it in the five years I had it. I haven't renewed it, but now my home airport is a full AOE so I don't need it anyway.

Yep, done that in the past too. Just pointing out that they now also list the Decal # on the second receipt....
I seem to recall that as soon as the payment is approved the decal number shows on the DTOPS site. I have not done it personally, but i've been told that having your decal number is all that's required, so you may not need to have the final receipt with decal number on it if you can get your decal number off the site.
 
CANPASS is ending, by the way. I called just before Oshkosh to ensure that my new aircraft was listed under my form (it already was) and they said they aren't accepting any new applications but will honour those already in effect.

The plan is for Nexus to be used in the future. Thankfully, I have a Nexus card already for my business travel so I'm set.

Cheers
 
Good timing

As I plan to into Canada this weekend, I just learned that there is a airshow at the airport in Abbotsford where I was going to clear customs. The airport isn?t officially closed till 1030, and I plan to arrive around 830, clear customs then leave. What do you think, a little too tight of a timeline?

Randy
8A
 
CANPASS is ending, by the way. I called just before Oshkosh to ensure that my new aircraft was listed under my form (it already was) and they said they aren't accepting any new applications but will honour those already in effect.

The plan is for Nexus to be used in the future. Thankfully, I have a Nexus card already for my business travel so I'm set.

Cheers

It is about time that Nexus replaces Canpass Air. It should have happened years ago.

Michel
 
Abbotsford. Probably enough time but if you need fuel might be tough.
Call Canada Customs up & ask for Langley, they might be ok with that.
 
As I plan to into Canada this weekend, I just learned that there is a airshow at the airport in Abbotsford where I was going to clear customs. The airport isn?t officially closed till 1030, and I plan to arrive around 830, clear customs then leave. What do you think, a little too tight of a timeline?
Given how much else is going on there that weekend, i'd say you'd be better off choosing another airport. Boundary Bay (CZBB), about 10 miles to the west, is also an airport of entry. They don't have scheduled flight services, and as a result generally don't have customs staff on site. So your clearance could be just a phone call once you've landed.
 
Customs Confusion

>CANPASS is NOT being discontinued for private aircraft flying into Canada!
It seems that the CANPASS-Air and CANPASS-Small boats are going away but not for private aircraft.
>NO FEE is required unless you want to be preapproved at certain airports and then you will need to have a permit for yourself and each passenger ahead of time @ $40/person (good for 5 years).
>Just call CANPASS between 48 and 2 hours prior to arrival with information they need such as everyones name, address, birth dates, passport #, citizenship, etc.
>Return to US - They do not want anyone out of aircraft before their arrival!!
Honestly:They explained how they would then have to Geiger test each one of us and the airplane rather than just the airplane.
> If you are not able to reach US Customs by phone but call by radio 20 miles out and land right at your eAPIS declared time - You will have a major delay and threatened with a $20,000 fine if it ever happens again. (The customs office is on a 3200' runway and staffed 24/7)
 
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