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I took a domestic flight from Toronto to Vancouver, and transited to an international flight leaving Canada. When I got to the region for international departures,there was someone (looked like normal airport staff) who looked at my boarding pass and let me through. No one checked my passport, nor did I pass through any automatic kiosks/e-Gates where my passport was scanned.

This confused me because every other country I'd been in had immigration counters checking the identities of people leaving. I was afraid I'd accidentally taken the wrong path in the airport and skipped passport control, and 'illegally' left the country, but things seemed to be fine when I entered Canada again. Surely they are still somehow keeping track of people leaving -- how do they otherwise know if people overstay visas/are escaping fines etc.? So the question is how? Do they get the names of passengers who boarded from the airline? Do they check as I check in in Toronto? None of these would seem very 'safe' options if I were the government since airline staff don't have the same training as immigration officers. Am I missing something after all?

The Hagen
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  • I bet you gave your passport number to the airline when booking the flight, or selecting your seat, or at check-in at the latest. The airline informs the country when you departed. – Michael Hampton Jan 02 '19 at 18:13

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Unlike most other countries, Canada doesn't have exit immigration controls. Similarly the US and the UK don't either. This makes perfect sense as there's no point in checking a person on the way out of the country. Your exit was recorded by the airline and passport control will see it in their systems the next time you enter Canada. If you did overstay your visa, you'll be refused entry the next time you try to fly to Canada - it's as simple as that.

If someone is a criminal trying to escape the justice system this is likewise not a big deal - the police will see that a person on the wanted list has booked a ticket and would arrest them at the airport. And if you try to leave through the land border with the US, you'll be arrested by American passport control as Canada shares information about wanted criminals with their international partners.

JonathanReez
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  • See also https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/74904/entering-and-exiting-canada-with-different-travel-documents?rq=1 – Nate Eldredge Jan 02 '19 at 08:20
  • The OP doesn't state his nationality and one of the larger concerns for airlines is ensuring that a passenger has the required permission to enter the country that the flight terminates in. It causes a lot of problems if a passenger doesn't have the correct permission. See this question for example – Peter M Jan 02 '19 at 12:44
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    FYI, I passed through exit immigration in Vancouver airport en route to Seattle. It was a surprise to me since I'm from the UK and, as you point out, we don't have any exit immigration, nor had I encountered it before. However this seems to be an anomaly of sorts as it was staffed by US border guards, was billed as entering US territory and was located specifically around gates heading solely to the US. As such, one might argue that this is technically entry immigration, albeit located on the originating end of the flight. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 13:12
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    @PeterM But they do that. Without the right-to-enter your destination country an airline won't let you board because otherwise it'll cost them to fly you back. That's not the same as the actual destination country permitting you in, but it's a strong check that you at least have the right to give it a good go. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 13:14
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit Technically you didn't pass through exit immigration; it was entry immigration for the United States. The same is available at most Canadian airports that fly to the US and at DUB. – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Jan 02 '19 at 13:16
  • @chrylis Right, that's what I said ^_^ – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 13:20
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    @JonathanReez can you give a reference for the assertion that most countries have exit controls. I can only remember experiencing this once but I just may not have been paying attention. –  Jan 02 '19 at 14:29
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    @KeithLoughnane surprisingly there isn't a single page tracking that, but all Schengen countries, all post-Soviet countries, all Middle Eastern countries do that at the very least. You must be traveling a lot between Canada, US, Mexico and UK :) – JonathanReez Jan 02 '19 at 17:27
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit The comment I read above specifically states: "FYI, I passed through exit immigration in Vancouver airport en route to Seattle." But what the comment then described is not exit immigration, but US preclearance. – Michael Hampton Jan 02 '19 at 18:17
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit yup, preclearance. We have it in several places, mostly in CA, Ireland and the Caribbean. Many more on the planned list including Bogota, Keflavik, and Dubai. CBP reserves the right to void the preclearance of a particular airplane and make everyone clear again on landing. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jan 02 '19 at 18:23
  • @MichaelHampton: Now read the last sentence of that comment! You have to read all of it not just parts :( – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 19:20
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit I did read the whole thing! Again, US preclearance is not exit immigration. It is not technically entry immigration to the US; it actually is entry immigration to the US. – Michael Hampton Jan 02 '19 at 19:22
  • @MichaelHampton It ends "As such, one might argue that this is technically entry immigration, albeit located on the originating end of the flight." – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 19:23
  • @MichaelHampton Ah well I'm sorry if I didn't word it precisely enough but it was a comment not a legal document! Have a good evening. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 02 '19 at 19:23
  • @JonathanReez I though Schengen countries didn't have passport control between them? –  Jan 03 '19 at 08:47
  • @KeithLoughnane Schengen countries do this for non-Schengen flights. – JonathanReez Jan 03 '19 at 09:18