The short answer: international and US flights land at YVR’s main terminal, and the choice of sign comes before customs. If Vancouver is the end of your trip or your bags are not checked through, go down to the customs hall, use a kiosk (YVR has no eGates) and show the receipt to an officer; if you are flying on, follow the Canada, International or USA Connections signs. Nobody asks to see the eTA itself: it is linked electronically to the passport you used when you apply for a Canada eTA, and the airline checked it before you boarded. The service behind that link is a paid private service, separate from the Government of Canada.
Applying on canada.ca yourself costs just the government fee. In both cases the eTA lets you board but guarantees nothing at arrival; that call belongs to the officer in Vancouver.
The kiosk, officer and stamp routine is the same across the country, and our step-by-step guide to arriving at Toronto Pearson covers it in full. This page is only about what is different in Vancouver.
How many terminals does Vancouver airport have, and where do international flights arrive?
Vancouver has one main building and one small satellite. The main terminal holds the domestic side and the international side, and every international and US flight arrives there. The separate South Terminal is for smaller regional flights around British Columbia; to move between the two, collect all your bags and ride the free Courtesy Shuttle from the departures level.
Inside the main building the levels matter: arrivals and the baggage carousels are on Level 2, departures are on Level 3, and the connection signs hang on Level 4. If someone is picking you up, leave through Door 17 on the International Arrivals level and cross two crosswalks to the Public Passenger Pickup area.
Which sign do you follow after you leave the plane?
According to the airport’s own guidance, your route depends on where you are going and on whether your bags are checked through to the end.
| Where you are going next | Sign to follow | Canadian customs at YVR? | Your bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver, or anywhere by road, rail or sea | Arrivals signs to the customs hall, Level 2 | Yes: kiosk, then an officer | Collect at the carousel |
| Another Canadian city, bags checked through | Canada Connections | Yes: declaration at a kiosk in the connections area | Transferred for you |
| Another country (not the US), leaving the same day, bags checked through | International Connections | No, under Free Flow, as long as you stay in the international departures area | Transferred for you |
| A US city | USA Connections | No Canadian check; US preclearance at YVR | Transferred for you |
| Separate tickets, bags not checked through, or an onward flight on a later day | Customs hall, Level 2 | Yes | Collect, leave, check in again on Level 3 |
Two cautions. All three connection routes depend on your airline taking part in the airport’s Connections Program and on your trip being on one ticket; if either is missing, treat yourself as in the last row. And the “electronic gate” in the connections area only scans your boarding pass. It is not a border eGate and does not clear you into Canada. If the connections area is closed when you land, follow the ordinary arrivals signs.
Ending your trip in Vancouver: what happens in the customs hall?
Here Vancouver differs from Pearson in one way that matters. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) lists self-service eGates at Toronto Pearson Terminal 1 and nowhere else. Vancouver has primary inspection kiosks but no eGates, so almost every traveller, even a solo adult with no luggage, starts at a kiosk. Up to five people can share one, and children under 14 can use it only with an adult.
You can shorten the kiosk step by sending Advance Declaration in ArriveCAN up to three days before the flight. YVR takes part, and the express lanes open to anyone who filed one. At the desk, the officer may stamp the passport or state your permitted stay; without either, the default is six months after arrival or until the passport expires, whichever is earlier.
Declare all food, plants and animals; in British Columbia the minimum age for bringing in alcohol is 19. No official source publishes customs wait times for arrivals at YVR, and the “Operational Snapshot” on the airport website shows security lines for departing passengers, not customs on arrival.
Connecting to another Canadian city: do you clear customs in Vancouver?
Yes. If Vancouver is your first airport in Canada, your entry and the officer’s decision happen here, not in Calgary or Toronto.
On the Canada Connections route you scan your boarding pass at the electronic gate, complete the customs declaration at a kiosk, and may go through security on Level 4 before heading to the domestic gates. Your bags, if checked through, are moved for you. If your bags are not checked through, or you are on separate tickets, go down to Level 2 instead, collect the bags, clear customs, and check them in again on Level 3. If you are receiving a new study or work permit in Vancouver, skip the connection signs and go to the customs hall on Level 2, even if you are flying on.
Ask at your first check-in whether your bags are tagged to Vancouver or to your final stop. Minimum connection times depend on the airline and the booking.
The eTA is required on a layover as well, even when you stay airside; what a stop in Canada requires you to hold is explained separately.
Flying on to the US: does Vancouver airport have US customs?
It does. US Customs and Border Protection runs a preclearance facility in the international part of the main terminal, on Level 3. You complete the American inspection before you board, so on landing in the US you skip the CBP and TSA lines. It operates from early morning until around midnight, so check the times on the day.
According to the CBSA, a US-bound passenger in transit goes straight to the US connection area, where you and your bags are screened again and you deal with American officers, not Canadian ones.
Your eTA still matters, because you are flying through Canada. Look up what the United States asks of your own passport too. If you plan to come back to Canada later by road from the US, the rule is different again; there is more on the land-border rule for drivers.
How do you get from YVR to downtown or to Canada Place?
The easiest way into the city is the Canada Line, part of the SkyTrain network, with a station in the building between the domestic and international sides. According to the airport, the ride downtown takes less than 30 minutes and ends at Waterfront Station. Leaving the airport adds a YVR AddFare of 5 CAD, collected by TransLink; a single adult can pay by card at the turnstile.
When the Canada Line is not running, the N10 night bus goes to downtown and Richmond.
Canada Place, where many arrivals head for a cruise ship, is the cruise terminal of the Port of Vancouver, and from there ships sail the Inside Passage to Alaska. It is a short walk from the Waterfront station, and your cruise line’s instructions tell you where to go. Whether you need an eTA depends on how you travel: if your passport is eTA-required, flying to Vancouver means you do; arriving by sea means you do not. When a cruise trip needs an eTA and when it doesn’t lays out the rule with examples.
What should you have in hand at YVR?
- The passport tied to your eTA, within reach.
- The boarding pass for your next flight, if you are connecting, because the electronic gate scans it.
- The answer to one question: are my bags checked through to the end?
- Advance Declaration, if you chose to send one.
- For cruise passengers, the documents your cruise line asked for.
Before you leave home, you can check your eTA status by entering the application number or UCI alongside your passport number.
The short version
- All international and US flights use the main terminal.
- After landing, choose the customs hall on Level 2 or a connection sign on Level 4.
- YVR has kiosks and no eGates.
- A connection to another Canadian city means Canadian customs in Vancouver.
- A US-bound flight triggers American preclearance in Vancouver instead.
- The Canada Line takes you downtown; Canada Place is the cruise terminal.
FAQ
What is the arrival procedure at Vancouver airport? If Vancouver is your final stop or your bags are not checked through, go to the Level 2 customs hall, let a kiosk read your passport, give the receipt to an officer and collect your bags. If you are connecting, follow the Canada, International or USA Connections signs on Level 4.
Do I need to pick up my luggage on a connecting flight in Vancouver? Not if you are on one ticket, your airline takes part in the airport’s Connections Program and the bags are tagged to your final stop. With separate tickets or bags checked only to Vancouver, collect them on Level 2 and check them in again on Level 3. Ask at your first check-in.
How do I get from YVR to Canada Place? Take the Canada Line to Waterfront Station, less than 30 minutes from the airport, and walk to the cruise terminal following your cruise line’s instructions. Leaving the airport by this line adds a 5 CAD YVR AddFare, a transit surcharge on top of the regular fare.
Do international arrivals have to go through customs? If you are entering Canada, or changing to a domestic flight, yes, and it happens in Vancouver. A same-day international connection with transferred bags can use Free Flow, and a US-bound flight means American preclearance at YVR instead. In all three cases, a traveller from an eTA-required country must hold the eTA.