Fact Sheet

This document is also available in PDF (41 Kb)
April 2002

CANPASS - Private Boats Program

The CANPASS - Private Boats program is a co-operative effort between the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to streamline customs and immigration clearance of low-risk travellers.

The program combines a telephone reporting system with a pre-approval permit for recreational boaters.

The CANPASS - Private Boats permit allows boaters, who have enrolled and been security cleared, the option of calling before they arrive and receiving clearance to enter Canada.

Travellers may declare goods by telephone, and can pay any applicable duties by credit card. Those who want to pay cash have to report to the nearest customs office.

The program is available to citizens and legal permanent residents of Canada and the United States who have no record of any customs or immigration violation, and who have not been convicted of any criminal offence for which a pardon has not been granted.

Permit holders report to customs by calling 1-888-CANPASS up to four hours before they arrive in Canada from the U.S.

The master of the vessel must provide the following information to the officer:

• intended time of arrival and docking destination in Canada;
• full name of each person on board;
• CANPASS - Private Boats permit number;
• birthdate of each person on board;
• citizenship of each person on board;
• purpose and length of stay in Canada (except for returning residents); and
• whether there are any goods to declare.

Travellers who do not have a permit must call 1-888-CANPASS upon arrival at a designated reporting station in Canada.

A vessel transporting both CANPASS participants and travellers without permits may not use CANPASS privileges, must dock at a designated reporting station, and call to report upon arrival.

More information about CANPASS is available on our Web site at: www.ccra.gc.ca or by contacting one of the CANPASS offices listed below:

Western Canada
CANPASS Processing Centre
28-176^th Street
Surrey BC V4P 1M7
Phone: (604) 535-9346

Ontario
CANPASS Processing Centre
P.O. Box 126
Niagara Falls ON L2E 6T1
Phone: (905) 371-1477
or toll free at 1-800-842-7647

Quebec and Atlantic Canada
CANPASS Processing Centre
400 Place d'Youville
Montréal QC H2Y 2C2
Phone: (514) 350-6137

For media information