Arriving at Toronto Pearson International: A Visitor's Guide to Entry, Customs and Getting Into Town

Arriving at Toronto Pearson International is a sequence rather than a single event: entry documents, border check, bags, the arrivals hall and the ride into town. Visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Gulf and Asia face the same sequence with different paperwork at the start. Read this once before you fly and each step becomes routine.

What do I need to enter Canada at Pearson?

The rules turn on your passport and on how you arrive. An eTA is electronic, linked to your passport and applied for online with a passport, an email address and a credit or debit card. The fee is CAD $7, and the government says most applications are approved within minutes, although a few need documents and take longer. Apply well before the flight, not at the airport, because airlines typically check for it at check-in and may refuse boarding without it.

Official guidance also notes that an eTA is for air travel: in most cases a traveller arriving by land or sea from an eTA-required country does not need one, though a passport is still required. Dual Canadian citizens must travel on a Canadian passport. Read the government's eTA page and its eligibility page for your situation.

Check your fixed fare

Entry requirements at a glance, by where you are travelling from

Rules change, so treat this table as orientation and confirm with the Canadian government before booking. The same applies when you travel on from Canada: the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union each run their own entry systems, and they have evolved quickly. Look up the destination government's own page before you fly.

Terminal 1 and Terminal 3: where you will land

Pearson has two terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. The old Terminal 2 no longer exists. A free Terminal Link Train runs between them, so if your pickup is at one and your flight lands at the other, a short ride fixes it.

Airline assignments change, so look at your ticket. Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners generally use Terminal 1, and many other airlines use Terminal 3. If your itinerary connects onward with another carrier, allow extra time for the link train and the security checks.

Customs and immigration, step by step

International arrivals go through the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). At Pearson this usually looks like this:

1. Declare in advance (optional). In the ArriveCAN app you can submit your customs and immigration declaration up to 72 hours before you land. It shortens the time at the kiosk.
2. Use a kiosk or eGate. Primary inspection kiosks and eGates are at both terminals. Scan your passport, take the photo when prompted, answer a few questions and collect the receipt. Up to five travellers living in the same country can use a kiosk together.
3. See an officer. Take the receipt to a border services officer. Travellers with a non-machine-readable document, a document other than a passport, or unaccompanied children under 16 go straight to an officer.
4. Collect your bags. Then follow signs for the exit. Pearson has been trialling a "Goods to Declare" lane for travellers with something to declare, and everyone presents their declaration to an officer on the way out.

NEXUS members have their own kiosks. The CBSA's ArriveCAN page and the airport's customs and immigration page set out the current procedures. If you are asked a question you do not understand, answer honestly and ask for it to be repeated.

How long to plan from landing to the car

No one can promise a number, because queues depend on how many wide-body flights landed together. As a planning rule, allow roughly an hour from touchdown to the arrivals hall on an international flight, and longer in the evening bank when several long-haul flights arrive. This is why 60 minutes of free waiting after international landings is part of every Onroutz.ca airport pickup (30 minutes after domestic landings), counted from the landing time rather than when you appear.

Meeting your chauffeur at Pearson

You do not meet your chauffeur inside customs, which is a restricted area. You meet after you clear it, at the point named in your confirmation. A name-board meet and greet inside arrivals is available on request, and the board can carry an alias if you prefer your own name stays private. Flight tracking is included on every airport pickup, so a delay or an early arrival moves the chauffeur's timing, not your booking.

Pearson also controls how commercial vehicles pick up. Pre-arranged services have their own desk at Door A in each terminal, and walk-up taxis and limousines load at separate doors. Our Toronto Pearson page covers the doors and the rules in detail.

Getting from Pearson into the city: the options compared

Downtown Toronto is about 28 km (17 mi) from the terminals, and the drive usually takes 30 to 45 minutes outside rush hour. It can take 60 to 90 minutes on a weekday afternoon.

The fare for the UP Express comes from the UP Express fare page. For a single traveller with a carry-on and a hotel near Union Station, the train is honest first choice: every 15 minutes, seven days a week, avoiding the highways. A booked car wins with three or more travellers, heavy bags, children (ask for a child, toddler or booster seat at booking), a late flight or a business schedule.

For the route details, see Pearson to downtown Toronto and Pearson to Union Station.

Reserve your car

What visitors from each region should know

From the United States

Canada feels familiar, but a few details differ. Driving is on the right and signs use kilometres and litres, so a speed limit of 100 on the highway means 100 km/h, about 62 mph. Prices on shelves are in Canadian dollars, and sales tax is added at the till; Ontario's combined sales tax is 13%. Cell plans from the US may roam at a cost, so check your plan.

From the United Kingdom and Europe

Toronto sits on Eastern Time, normally five hours behind the UK. Power sockets are the North American two-pin type at 120 volts, so bring an adapter and check that your chargers accept 120 V. Tipping at restaurants is expected as a rule. Distances in Ontario are larger than they look on a map, and Niagara Falls, for example, is about 130 km away.

From the Gulf

Toronto has mosques and halal restaurants across the city. Check visa or eTA requirements for your passport early, since they differ by nationality. A late-night arrival on a long-haul flight benefits from a pre-booked car, because the desk tracks your landing and the chauffeur is waiting after midnight.

From Asia

If your flight lands in the afternoon, you land into Toronto's rush hour. Plan the trip downtown around that: the UP Express runs through it, while a car can take 60 to 90 minutes. Check visa or eTA requirements for your passport, and allow for the customs kiosks on a busy arrival bank.

Practical basics for your first day

• Money. Canadian dollars. Cards are accepted nearly everywhere, and contactless is routine.
• Tipping. Common practice for a chauffeured ride is 15% to 20%, but it is discretionary. Your confirmation shows what your fare covers.
• Weather. Winter can be very cold, with snow from December to March. Pack for the season and expect delays when storms arrive.
• Time zone. Eastern Time, with daylight saving.
• Water and amenities. Water and phone charging are provided in most vehicles.

If you are connecting to Billy Bishop or beyond

Toronto has a second airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, on the waterfront. There is no direct shuttle to Pearson. Read our Billy Bishop page for the free shuttle, tunnel and ferry. For onward travel, Pearson to Niagara Falls is about 130 km (80 mi), usually 1 h 30 to 2 h. Browse the guides hub, the Toronto hub and the Canada hub for related pages. For your first night, see the downtown hotel transfer guide, and for the sights, the attractions guide.

Leaving Toronto: residents heading abroad

If you live in the GTA, the same service works in reverse. A car takes you from home to the terminal, the chauffeur helps with bags and drops you at Departures. Look up the entry rules of your destination before you book, and ask your airline about check-in time. Residents of the suburbs can use our airport limousine pages for pickup areas.