Toronto Airport: How long to clear customs?

[C&O RR]

Does anyone have experience flying from the U.S. to Toronto? If so, how long from the time you landed did it take you to get through customs?

I am arriving at 6 p.m. on Tuesday May 5th.

Thanks.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Pearson is a very busy, large airport but the Canadian Customs and Immigration services are very efficient and the employees are friendly and professional!

You should be able to get through in less than 30 minutes depending on your arrival time and how many other International flights arrive in the same time frame. ( arriving on a Tuesday in May it shouldn't be too busy!!)

Don't forget your Passport!

For what it's worth, the American Customs and Immigration counters are also located inside the Airport and when you are flying to the US you'll clear both in the airport before boarding your flight!

 

[Blackwolf]

Just went though YYZ Canadian Customs a week and a half ago. It really depends entirely on the time of day you are traveling through the facility. My flight arrived at 11 PM at night, and customs took all of six minutes. Then again, if I was going through the process at, say, 11 AM there are reports of it taking upward of a half-hour to 45 minutes.

To put it in another way, for those doing a connection from an arriving international flight to another departing flight out of YYZ, the minimum allowable layover is 120 minutes. Airlines won't book you to a connecting flight any sooner. And its for good reason! Four years ago, I had to literally RUN from my arriving gate, go through customs and security, and then RUN to my departing gate just in time to barely make my connection (they were calling my name over the PA and closing the door!). And that was with a layover of just over two hours. YMMV.

Safe and happy travels!

 

[xyzzy]

Arriving on a Sunday night? Watch out at this time of year because many Canadians will be arriving YYZ on charter flights from the Caribbean and other warm places. In particular don't assume that you'll be able to use a toilet after you clear immigration and customs (finally) because they'll be full of people changing from t-shirts and shorts so that they don't freeze to death when they step outside.

But as the other posters say, sometimes you can walk through immigration and customs with hardly any delay. It's a roll of the dice.

 

[OBS]

I have rarely found much of a wait at YYZ for Canadian customs....Returning to the USA thru YYZ can be a whole nother story.....always allow 45-60 minutes at least for reentry to USA