Operational Bulletin 223-B - February 1, 2012

Expansion of the China Transit Trial - Modified

The purpose of this Operational Bulletin is to advise officers of a change to the China Transit Trial (CTT) pilot program which commenced on February 1, 2012.

Issue

The one year CTT has been expanded on February 1, 2012, to include Air China.

Background

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), in co-operation with the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), introduced a limited one-year CTT at the Vancouver International Airport (VIA) on July 30, 2009. As of March 2011, this also included Toronto’s PIA (Terminal 1 only).

In order to be eligible to travel under the CTT, Chinese foreign nationals must:

• be in possession of a valid visa issued by the United States;
• be in possession of a valid passport issued by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China;
• hold a confirmed onward ticket for a connecting flight that departs Canada immediately (Chinese nationals transiting Canada under the CTT may not seek entry into Canada as temporary residents);
• be arriving in Canada on an airline that has an up-to-date Transit without Visa (TWOV) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and China Transit Trial MOU with CIC and the CBSA; and
• be transiting through either the VIA or Toronto PIA (Terminal 1 only).

The one year trial is currently limited to five airlines – Air China, Air Canada, Jazz Aviation LP, Cathay Pacific, and Philippine Airlines. In addition, Chinese nationals participating in the CTT must have as their last embarkation point one of the following six cities:

• Beijing;
• Hong Kong;
• Shanghai;
• Guangzhou;
• Manila;
• Taipei.

Procedures

Chinese foreign nationals who meet the above criteria can transit Canada at either VIA or PIA without obtaining a temporary resident visa until September 30, 2012.