Global Entry in Toronto Pearson airport

[OldUser 6,624]

Did anybody use Global Entry (GE) kiosks at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) airport?

 

Do they feature facial recognition? 

 

Can they be used for pre-clearance when flying to the US?

 

Thank you

[OldUser 6,624]

Found few data points from May 2022 claiming the airport has facial GE kiosks and they work like a charm.

 

Would like to know if anybody here on VJ can confirm. 

[Just Paul 4,595]

I believe they were working on my visit this summer.

[OldUser 6,624]

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

I believe they were working on my visit this summer.

Facial recognition or older generation?

Was it similar experience as the ones in the US or you had to go through extra hoops because of preclearance?

Thank you.

Edited December 10, 2022 by OldUser

[Just Paul 4,595]

Facial - same as the US.

[Idlewild 26]

Yes, they do have GE machines, but the pandemic hasn't gone well for them.  I've left from YYZ a couple times since the start, and many machines are off or not working.  Usually only about 6 of about 30 are functional in Terminal 1.  I do miss the pre-pandemic days when it was almost always very smooth, with plenty of machines available.

 

My NEXUS card didn't work, or the facial recognition a few weeks ago when I used it.  It still saves a ton of time even if you have to stand in line for a talk with an officer, as the NEXUS/GE lines are very short.

 

I think during the pandemic, they updated the software to use facial recognition a bit differently, but I could be wrong.  I used to just scan my card, wait for the photo snap, and get a receipt.  Nowadays, it's almost entirely driven by photo for full identification, and is more finicky.  The newer (black) NEXUS machines are like this, but are much slower to use than the old Red kiosks IMO.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Idlewild

[mam521 2,060]

We've used the facial recognition kiosks at other airports and they are working well.  As for YYZ, yes, that will get you US preclearance.  

 

If you've added a greencard or new passport to your account and the information hasn't been verified by GOES yet, you'll flag in the system.  This is often the bit people don't realize and assume it's the system, be it facial recognition, retina scan or fingerprints.  It's usually something on your profile.  If you're in the US (there's 2 NEXUS offices in Canada open, too supposedly) and can get to a NEXUS office, just take your documents and have them verify them in the system.  Everything is badly backlogged, so not a lot of the online information has been updated and verified in the system.  

[OldUser 6,624]

Update: Toronto airport appears to be using older versions of GE kiosks, which are partially replaced in San Francisco by newer systems. Older systems require scanning travel document, which didn't work. Had to see agent briefly, for 2-3 minutes. Nothing remarkable. 

 

San Francisco in comparison on different trip was a smoother experience with just facial recognition (didn't need to scan any documents or submit fingerprints).

Edited January 4, 2023 by OldUser

[Idlewild 26]

As a further update, in the past week, YYZ removed all but about 6 GE machines in Terminal 1.  I hope this gets replaced by about new 30 machines. 

 

I don't mean to get into politics (it's news!), but the meeting between the US/Canada last week did result in "un-freezing" some headaches with NEXUS approval and such.  Hopefully that means things get back to pre-covid efficiency.

[OldUser 6,624]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:56 AM, Idlewild said:

As a further update, in the past week, YYZ removed all but about 6 GE machines in Terminal 1.  I hope this gets replaced by about new 30 machines. 

 

I don't mean to get into politics (it's news!), but the meeting between the US/Canada last week did result in "un-freezing" some headaches with NEXUS approval and such.  Hopefully that means things get back to pre-covid efficiency.

Thank you for the update.

When I traveled there weren't 30 machines. I do vaguely recall about 6-8 there. They might have been removed earlier.

Edited January 24, 2023 by OldUser