Immigration

Hey Everyone,

We are flying SXM-SJU-YYZ in January. What is the procedure for immigration & checked baggage..?

Will we have to claim & recheck our bags at SJU...?

I've done SJU many times. You will clear immigration in SJU, claim your bags, then go through Customs, then pass your checked bags back to continue to YYZ, then you'll exit on the way out in to the land side of the terminal. Right before you get to TSA, you see a USDA scanner and you'll have to pass your carry on bags through that, then head to TSA to get screen for entry to the air side of the terminal and complete your flight to YYZ.

The poster is from Canada. Is the procedure the same for Canadian citizens?

No, you will not have to claim your bags in SJU. If you are Canadian, you will have your bags checked right from SXM through to Toronto and go through customs there. You only have to go through customs at your first Canadian destination. We travel to Ottawa from SXM and have to claim our bags in Toronto, go through customs there and then recheck and travel on to Ottawa with no customs there when we get to our final destination. This is how it always was for us, unless something has recently changed.

I can't speak about SJU specifically, but every time we have transited through the US, we have had to claim our luggage and clear US customs, even when continuing on to Canada. I suspect the issue is that one could potentially leave the airport and stay in the US. The only exception I have heard to that was a friend who transited through an airport that had a separate secure area in the airport - a holding room - where they were allowed to stay. They had the option of clearing customs or going to the holding room.

When transiting through the US, you will still have to go through US Customs.

Nope...or maybe..non-US flights use the pass through area

Check with your airline and see if they have the information. Can't speak for SJU, but we have transited through Newark and Charlotte in the past on our return from SXM to Toronto. Both times we had to clear US Customs. Nexus/Global Entry will speed the process. In Newark we had to claim our luggage but in Charlotte we didn't. That was quite a while ago, and the situation with baggage may have changed .

Oy! There's some misinformation in this thread.

I transit through SJU on a regular basis, from SXM and from other places. If SJU is your first entry into the US then you must clear US Customs and Immigration, and you must pass through TSA security before boarding your ongoing flight. It doesn't matter if you're In Transit to Canada, or are continuing on to a US destination. If you're entering the US then you WILL clear customs and Immigration.

As always, islandgem speaketh the total facts on the matter. Heed her advice and you shall do well.

The quote I posted is from the SJU website and kinda says differently (last line of quote)..and..IslandGem seems to confirm