In short - smooth, easy, and pretty quick
I arrived in Vancouver on a flight on Sunday evening (5:30pm). Direct flight from the UK, traveling with my wife and 2 cats.
The airport was VERY quiet. I expected it to be much busier on a Sunday evening. I don't know if this is normal or if we were just lucky.
We were one of the last to leave the plane but we still got through the passport check and initial customs check (automated kiosks) without any queue.
Went to the immigration office to get our CoPRs signed and stamped - again no queue and the whole thing took maybe 10 min. (couple of standard questions - have you ever been refused entry, do you have a criminal record, etc.)
Picked up our luggage - again, no wait - the bags were already on the belt.
Went to the customs office - again, no queue - gave the officer our import docs and goods to follow plus rabies vaccination certificates for our cats. Waited maybe 10-15 min and got everything signed. We were not asked any questions, didn't have to take the cats out for any checks, etc.
Out of the airport and into a taxi to our AirBnB
The whole process from getting off the plane took around 45 minutes.
I arrived in Vancouver on a flight on Sunday evening (5:30pm). Direct flight from the UK, traveling with my wife and 2 cats.
The airport was VERY quiet. I expected it to be much busier on a Sunday evening. I don't know if this is normal or if we were just lucky.
We were one of the last to leave the plane but we still got through the passport check and initial customs check (automated kiosks) without any queue.
Went to the immigration office to get our CoPRs signed and stamped - again no queue and the whole thing took maybe 10 min. (couple of standard questions - have you ever been refused entry, do you have a criminal record, etc.)
Picked up our luggage - again, no wait - the bags were already on the belt.
Went to the customs office - again, no queue - gave the officer our import docs and goods to follow plus rabies vaccination certificates for our cats. Waited maybe 10-15 min and got everything signed. We were not asked any questions, didn't have to take the cats out for any checks, etc.
Out of the airport and into a taxi to our AirBnB
The whole process from getting off the plane took around 45 minutes.