My Vacation Lady recently got asked this question from clients headed to Aruba—
Why does my confirmation read that there is a 3 hour check in required at the airport? Why do we need to be at the airport so early before coming home?
The answer is actually very simple- it’s because you go through customs in Aruba and don’t need to go through customs again when you land in the U.S.
If you have Global Entry, you will be able to use the Global Entry Kiosks in Aruba and most of the airports below. Please do still early just in case the kiosks are out of order.
Right now, there are 15 airports in 6 different countries worldwide where the U.S. offers “pre-clearance”.
This is the same immigration and customs check that you would get when you landed in the U.S.
Right now, the Airports in Canada offering Pre Clearance are
- Calgary, Canada
- Edmonton, Canada
- Halifax, Canada
- Montreal, Canada
- Ottawa, Canada
- Toronto, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- Victoria Canada (ferry passengers only)
- Winnipeg
In other countries, you will clear U. S. Customs in:
- Bahamas- Freeport and Nassau airports
- Bermuda
- Aruba
- Ireland- both Dublin and Shannon
- United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)
Stockholm, Sweden and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic may be the next ones to offer U.S. customs Pre-Clearance and the U.S. Customs department is working on adding some more European Airports.
As we hear about more Pre-Clearance approvals, My Vacation Lady will let our clients know.
