On your Arrival

Most overseas visitors to Canada arrive by airplane, so we will take this as the usual form of arrival.

A flight from Europe to Vancouver takes about 10 hours and the most common destination airports is Vancouver (YVR), the largest international airport in BC.

On board, flight attendants will provide you with the Canadian Customs Form that you have to fill in correctly and hand it over to the customs officer (immigration officer) on your arrival.  This formular features the two official Canadian languages: English and French. If you have any questions regarding t"How to fill in the custom form", do not hesitate to ask the flight attendants for assistence.

This is what the custom form looks like (Remember, this is a sample and not valid to present to customs):

You have to fill in: first your adress, then Surnames, First  Names, Initials, Dates of Birth and Nationality of the people travelling within your group/ family. The form can be used for up to 5 persons.

Below you have to list the airline and flight number your arriving on, tick the reason for your stay in Canada (Study, Personal or Business) and select if you are arriving directly from another country or via the USA. Then you'll have to list, if you are bringing any restricted goods into Canada or if you have shipped goods arriving on a different flight or another transportation form. Please fill in if you plan to visit a farm in Canada within 14 days from your arrival date and how long you plan to stay in Canada.  At last, list any goods or gifts you are bringing into Canada, have all persons listed on this form sign below and - that's it.

Very important is: it is NOT allowed to bring any kind of food (raw or processed) into Canada. When you fly into Canada regularly you have surely noticed the custom officer with search dogs, strolling casually between the arriving passengers who pick up their luggage from the belts. The easiest way is - NOT to bring anything!