Customs check in Montreal station?

My wife and I are about to take the Adirondack back to NYC in a couple of days.

When we came to Montreal on the Adirondack we had to go through a special check in NYC to get special boarding passes and special tags for our luggage.

Can anyone tell me if the same process will happen in Central Station in Montreal coming back, or is that only something they do on the U.S. side? Just wondering if I need to plan the extra time for the in-station check if they have one in Montreal.

Thanks!

Discussed in this thread:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/31741-amtrak-first-timer-on-the-adirondack-to-montreal/page-3

The last post is from someone who didn't mention any kind of special procedure leaving Montreal.

Since the old topic did not specifically address whether there was passport checks at Montreal Central Station, I reopened this topic in case some has any recent information.

Not specifically addressing the OP's question, but I found this about plans to set up CPB pre-clearance screenings at Montreal's Central Station.

http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-hails-us-canada-pre-clearance-agreement-that-brings-closer-the-goal-of-restoring-vermont-to-montreal-passenger-rail-service

A key to restoring Amtrak service between Vermont and Montreal is the creation of a preclearance facility in Montreal’s Central Station. This would eliminate the need for the train to stop at the U.S. border to allow CBP officers to inspect passengers, a process that currently takes about an hour on the Amtrak’s Adirondack Line in New York. Today, air travelers from Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport to Burlington International Airport must deplane and pass through customs at a separate facility before re-boarding the plane to be transported to the airport terminal. Leahy continues to work with CBP on proposals to establish preclearance operations at these Canadian travel hubs.

I've taken the ferry before between Vancouver Island and Washington. They had a pre-screen on Vancouver Island, but that was pretty short and I don't think anyone got searched. It seemed more like a prep for the final check and a chance to do stuff like finish eating fruit that wasn't allowed (I was told it had to be labeled with a US origin to be OK). The other thing was that a small number of passengers got on at the San Juan Islands, and we got the standard CPB check in Washington.

I suppose a train is different since it's not one or two stops after entering the US (where they can have customs agents), and the customs check happens by stopping a train at the border. Sounds like fun.

The last time I was in Montreal there was no checking of anything at the station.

Entering the US the CPB check happens at Rouses Point station and not at the border. Entering Canada the check happens very close to the border at Lecolle, adjacent to the checkpoint on the road that is next to the railroad at that point. Previously it used to take place further inside Canada at Cantic where the line from St. Albans joins the line from Rouses Point.

I am finally back home and wanted to update the answer to my original question...

There was no special check of any kind leaving Central Station in Montreal. The only item required for boarding was the actual ticket.

There was no special passport check or luggage tags or anything else like what we went through in New York City.

I will also be writing a full trip report of the Adirondack for my round trip as well as a trip report for the Silver Meteor from WPK-NYP (round-trip).

Sbburkett said:

I am finally back home and wanted to update the answer to my original question...

There was no special check of any kind leaving Central Station in Montreal. The only item required for boarding was the actual ticket.

There was no special passport check or luggage tags or anything else like what we went through in New York City.

I will also be writing a full trip report of the Adirondack for my round trip as well as a trip report for the Silver Meteor from WPK-NYP (round-trip).

Click to expand...

I assume you did go through a standard customs entry somewhere. I've read enough about it that they typically ask passengers to line up the luggage in a central location.

On the New York end (before going to Canada) they did have a separate line you had to go through prior to boarding where they checked your passport, gave you special tags for your luggage and put stickers that matched to your luggage on the back of your ticket. Once your passport info was shown to be in order they stamped "Canada" on your ticket and also gave you a special boarding pass you had to show as you boarded the train.

And then of course we had the usual check at the boarding crossing going into Canada where Canadian border officials came onto the train and checked our passports, asked basic questions about our reasons for coming to Canada, etc.

(A form was also given to us on the train prior to reaching Canada to fill out for customs).

However, in Montreal (returning to New York), they did not do any kind of check at all before boarding...there was no pre-boarding screening, no passport check or anything else. Nothing was inspected and there were no special tags for the luggage. In Montreal you just line up with your ticket as if you were boarding any regular train. There was still the border check during the trip when entering the U.S., but there was no pre-boarding check of any kind done at the Montreal station.

The only thing they did in Montreal was have the customs form available for you to carry onto the train (because the border check going back to the U.S. is only a little over an hour into the trip), but nothing besides your regular ticket was checked prior to boarding on the Montreal side.

All of this makes me wonder why they put you through a passport check and luggage check prior to boarding in New York to begin with, especially since there is absolutely NO check of any kind prior to boarding when coming back into the U.S.

Additionally, I didn't notice the Canadian officials check any luggage or luggage tags at the border crossing, so a lot of what was done in NYC seemed pointless to a degree.

My theory is simply that Amtrak is looking out for its own passengers--making sure those going to Canada have the correct passports and stuff before they board to keep the delay at the border check as minimal as possible to keep its passengers happy. Since Montreal station and lines are owned/operated by VIA, I suppose they don't really have an interest in doing this as the Adirondack is an Amtrak train and not one of their own. Otherwise I don't know what the point is of having a pre-boarding check on one end but not the other.

Its part of American Law that transportation companies ( Airlines, Buses and Amtrak) providing International Transportation FROM the US must ensure that travelers have the proper ID,Visas, tickets etc.

Canada doesn't require this since most Customs and Immigration inspection is done @ the Border ( excluding the Airports in Toronto and Vancouver and the Cascades to Seattle @ Pacific Central Station where the checks are done before boarding).

International travelers to Canada will be on a passenger manifest sent to Canada's Border and Customs Division by the transportation company providing the transport.

As with all countries, you still may be denied entry especially for Drug Offenses and DUI!

Another point to consider is that the Adirondack doesn't make any stops between Montreal and the border thus negating the need for any checks at Central Station as everyone boarding is headed to the US. I believe Amtrak requires check in and luggage tagging at Penn for a dual purpose first is to ensure that their passengers comply with entry requirements for Canada (sans other issues that may arise such as inadmissibility due to criminal convictions) to avoid paying to bring them back to the US and so that they can segregate the through passengers into cars they don't have to platform at the intermediate stops.

Actually, it does have a stop between Montreal and the border at St. Lambert. It picks up passengers before the border going to the US and drops off on the way to Montreal. The assumption is the stop will go away at least US bound when pre clearance in Montreal begins.

jimhudson said:

Its part of American Law that transportation companies ( Airlines, Buses and Amtrak) providing International Transportation FROM the US must ensure that travelers have the proper ID,Visas, tickets etc.

Click to expand...

Not quite sure what to make of the Canadian requirements. Apparently they'll still accept a U.S. government-issued birth certificate and government-issued ID for entry INTO Canada, but the U.S. CPB won't accept the same for reentry into the U.S. I wonder what they require for prescreening into Canada.

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/travel-voyage/td-dv-eng.html#_s2a

I've actually dealt with someone visiting a foreign country where they only checked her passport. She was a citizen of that country and didn't need a visa. However, she forgot to bring her green card, thinking that a similar looking work authorization card was the green card. Someone at home had to track down the green card and send it international courier.

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

She forgot her Green card one time on a visit to Ontario post 9-11.( flying on Air Canada non stop Austin to Toronto who accepred her Canadian Passport as ID ). I rode the Train to Toronto and took her Green Card ( it was actually Pink) with me since the US Authorities @ Niagara Falls (we came back on Amtrak) required her to have the Green Card to be accepted back into the US. Amtrak didn't care, there was no check @ Union Station when boarding the Maple Leaf!

We never had this problem @ the Airport when flying, only when crossing the border via land whether in a car or on Amtrak!

PVD said:

Actually, it does have a stop between Montreal and the border at St. Lambert. It picks up passengers before the border going to the US and drops off on the way to Montreal. The assumption is the stop will go away at least US bound when pre clearance in Montreal begins.

Click to expand...

it more than an assumption that the Saint Lambert stop will go away when the Customs facility opens in MTR. That Amtrak trains will no longer stop at SLQ has been stated in viewgraphs and articles on the plans for the in-station MTR Customs facility. In FY14, SLQ had only 1,531 passengers embarking or disembarking compared to 89,139 for MTR, so skipping it as a stop is not going to be much of an issue,

I though they had already discontinued the St. Lambert stop.

Well, looking at the numbers afigg posted nobody would notice. The station work at ALB/RENS and the track work to SDY, coupled with pre clearance in Montreal should improve the Montreal to NY run will hopefully give a nice boost to the MTL numbers in the future.

I can confirm that as of my trip on the Adirondack this past week, we did still stop at St. Lambert.

jimhudson said:

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

Click to expand...

From a purely technical standpoint, there have always been US/Canadian dual-nationals. One has to be born in one country (eligible for jus soli citizenship) and eligible for jus sanguins citizenship via one or both parents. Now naturalizing is supposed to mean renouncing any other citizenships, although there are ways to naturalize as a child where there isn't strictly a ceremony requiring said renouncement and loss of other citizenship.

Of course Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship, although that was more for political expediency.

BCL said:

jimhudson said:

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

Click to expand...

From a purely technical standpoint, there have always been US/Canadian dual-nationals. One has to be born in one country (eligible for jus soli citizenship) and eligible for jus sanguins citizenship via one or both parents. Now naturalizing is supposed to mean renouncing any other citizenships, although there are ways to naturalize as a child where there isn't strictly a ceremony requiring said renouncement and loss of other citizenship.

Of course Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship, although that was more for political expediency.

Click to expand...

Or in the case of naturalization in the US if the country of origin does not recognize the renunciation of citizenship you then have a dual national.

Sbburkett said:

I can confirm that as of my trip on the Adirondack this past week, we did still stop at St. Lambert.

Click to expand...

Then let me amend what I said to you cannot buy a ticket from Montreal to St. Lambert so there is the presumption that all those boarding at Montreal are going to the US hence no checks.

For a myriad of reasons, cross border trains are handled differently in each place. Vancouver I believe pre clears the Cascades, the Maple Leaf and the Adirondack clear at the border, but the Maple Leaf becomes a VIA train, switches crews, and does ticket intermediate stops on the way to Toronto. Hopefully in the next few years the Adirondack will clear in Montreal, and with any luck be joined by a Vermont train.

tp49 said:

BCL said:

jimhudson said:

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

Click to expand...

From a purely technical standpoint, there have always been US/Canadian dual-nationals. One has to be born in one country (eligible for jus soli citizenship) and eligible for jus sanguins citizenship via one or both parents. Now naturalizing is supposed to mean renouncing any other citizenships, although there are ways to naturalize as a child where there isn't strictly a ceremony requiring said renouncement and loss of other citizenship.

Of course Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship, although that was more for political expediency.

Click to expand...

Or in the case of naturalization in the US if the country of origin does not recognize the renunciation of citizenship you then have a dual national.

Click to expand...

I don't think that works for Canadians though.

I've known quite a few people who got naturalized as US citizens. One was the person I mentioned earlier. When she applied for her first visa to visit her native country for the first time as a US citizen, the application requested that she present her previous passport of that country. So they gave her the visa, and then canceled the passport, which theoretically hadn't expired. They clearly took her naturalization as a sign that she had renounced her original citizenship.

BCL said:

tp49 said:

BCL said:

jimhudson said:

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

Click to expand...

From a purely technical standpoint, there have always been US/Canadian dual-nationals. One has to be born in one country (eligible for jus soli citizenship) and eligible for jus sanguins citizenship via one or both parents. Now naturalizing is supposed to mean renouncing any other citizenships, although there are ways to naturalize as a child where there isn't strictly a ceremony requiring said renouncement and loss of other citizenship.

Of course Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship, although that was more for political expediency.

Click to expand...

Or in the case of naturalization in the US if the country of origin does not recognize the renunciation of citizenship you then have a dual national.

Click to expand...

I don't think that works for Canadians though.

I've known quite a few people who got naturalized as US citizens. One was the person I mentioned earlier. When she applied for her first visa to visit her native country for the first time as a US citizen, the application requested that she present her previous passport of that country. So they gave her the visa, and then canceled the passport, which theoretically hadn't expired. They clearly took her naturalization as a sign that she had renounced her original citizenship.

Click to expand...

Which is why I said if the country of origin does not recognize the renunciation of citizenship. Some do, some don't. YMMV.

BCL said:

jimhudson said:

My late wife, a natural born Canadian citizen, spent 20+ years here as a Resident Alien. ( Green card- Dual Citizenship wasn't allowed @ the time by the US and she chose to remain Canadian.)

Since she was a Canadian citizen she still had a valid Canadian Passport and Social Insurance card ( like our Medicare/ Social Security Combo).

Click to expand...

From a purely technical standpoint, there have always been US/Canadian dual-nationals. One has to be born in one country (eligible for jus soli citizenship) and eligible for jus sanguins citizenship via one or both parents. Now naturalizing is supposed to mean renouncing any other citizenships, although there are ways to naturalize as a child where there isn't strictly a ceremony requiring said renouncement and loss of other citizenship.

Of course Ted Cruz renounced his Canadian citizenship, although that was more for political expediency.

Click to expand...

And then there’s the Maine – New Brunswick Border….

http://www.acadian.org/downeast.html

"Life at this border has its idiosyncrasies. A baby born to an American family living in the town of Madawaska, Maine will most likely enter the world in Edmundson, New Brunswick – since Madawaska has no hospital – and therefore can claim dual citizenship……"

Very interesting about the Border expierence. Same thing is true along the Southern Border with Mexico.

Lots of "American Citizens" born on this side are children of Mexican Citizens, and live in Mexico until its time to start school, then commute back and forth across the Border to school!

Its become a huge political issue as we know, see the rise of " The Donald"!