Customs and Immigration procedures for flights to/from Tijuana Airport (airport with terminals in two different countries)
How will passport and customs controls work (both in the outgoing and the incoming airports of the flight) on flights to/from Tijuana Airport (TIJ) when the new Cross Border Xpress terminal on the U.S. soil becomes fully functional
How will it work for flights:
- to/from Mexico airports,
- to/from US airports,
- to/from airports in other countries?
E.g. suppose I buy a ticket San-Francisco -> Tijuana. Do I have to go through the passport/customs controls in the SF airport if I intend to come out on the US side after arriving in Tijuana?
Or can I choose when I have arrived to the TIJ airport whether I wish to remain in the US or to enter Mexico?
What about going on flights like Cancun <-> Tijuana or Vancouver <-> Tijuana?
Best Answer
CBX is basically just a bridge to the airport (it also has parking, issues boarding passes, food, etc...). It is still an international border crossing and has its own set of controls, just like any other crossing (you also need a CBX ticket and can only use it if you're flying). A passport is required to cross the bridge in either direction, and if you need a visa to enter either country, you'll need that too.
Their website has a pretty good explanation. This diagram from their press release also shows how the process works for arriving and departing passengers.
So, for your example:
- San Francisco -> Tijuana. You'd go to the Oakland airport and check in just like any flight to Tijuana. Travel documents suitable to fly to Mexico would be required. You'd land in Mexico, clear Mexican immigration and customs (picking up any luggage at this time), cross the CBX bridge, clear US immigration and customs, and enter the US.
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Do you have to go through immigration before connecting flight?
A port-of-entry is the first airport you land at in the US Even if you have a connecting flight, you need to go through the immigration procedure, pick up your luggage, re-check it and get on the next flight.Do I have to go through customs for a connecting flight in Mexico?
Do I Need to Go Through Customs for a Connecting Flight in Mexico City? It is not necessary to clear immigration and customs when in transit at Mexico City International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Ju\xe1rez).What documents do I need to fly out of Tijuana?
You will need a boarding pass, a CBX ticket and official valid travel documents. You may only use the bridge within 24 hours to your flight departure....Mexican Nationals:- Passport, INE credential, birth certificate, consular card o Mexican nationality certificate.
- Boarding pass.
- CBX ticket.
How long does customs take at Tijuana Airport?
Crossing into the U.S. there can often take two hours or more, while the typical customs line for those heading to the CBX terminal from Tijuana's airport is 15 minutes, according to Luis Palacios, CBX's chief commercial officer.FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT? : Travel Tip, Airport Walk, Flight Preparation | Jen Barangan
More answers regarding customs and Immigration procedures for flights to/from Tijuana Airport (airport with terminals in two different countries)
Answer 2
We are US citizens within Mexican permanent residency cards. We must have INM signed and stamped FMM cards to depart Mexico.
Upon return we have to show our portion of said form. When we arrived from BJX to TIJ, we easily found the INM office as we entered the baggage claim area. We were told by the INM officer that the CBX was not a border crossing and he point blank refused to process our FMM's!
The CBX agents tried to reason with him to no avail.
We crossed the bridge with great trepidation, knowing that we risked losing our residency permits without having the FMM processed for our return.
We did not return thru the CBX for that reason, choosing instead to hire a private car to drive us across the border to the airport. That worked--nobody checks papers as you enter Mexico, so as far as the government was concerned we never left their country.
We flew back home to Guanajuato.
Everything we read about the CBX is that it is a border crossing, so we do not know how in the world can the Mexican Immigration officer tells us otherwise and refuse to process our exit papers.
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