I just flew into Cancun this afternoon, terminal 3. The immigration line was slammed, right back to the escalators. BUT the E gates were empty. So I wandered over to see if they work. And they did! I was through in secs missing out on a 1 hr wait.
If you’re over 18 and from Canada, USA or UK use the e gates on the far left side!
Thank You! I saw this right on time lol
It really doesn’t matter, the baggage claim is slow af
If you do carry on only then you don’t have to wait for luggage! We were through the egates in seconds and out of the airport and on our way.
Not if you’re carry on only!
Even if you are not, it's a lot more comfortable to wait on the other side of customs
More slow than usual? I know terminal 4 has had labor issues, but I haven't heard much about terminal 3.
I don't know the situation here but I've seen a lot of complaints lately in this sub. A friend of mine visited recently and I told them to just make sure they didn't do a checked bag just in case...they had a short trip and I didn't want to lose an hour of their time
I wish I could do carry-on, but the need for specific sunscreen makes it impossible.
Wait a second. I never noticed before but just examined my passport again and there is indeed a little embossed camera looking symbol on the front cover! Ha! Thank you.
We did! No children allowed.
So if you have kids you can’t use the e gates?
Correct. We landed Saturday at 4:30 with kids. All gates were packed but made it through in 20 min, but the time we were done, our luggage was ready.
I was there last week and I remember it was written no children (or 18+) When you arrive at the hall go on your left side check the gates it’s written clearly. If you still see the sign 18+ Canada US UK if I remember correctly. It’s pretty confusing at the beginning I thought it was only for Mexican nationals but the customs/immigration officer told me in Spanish that I can use it too with my Canadian passport
E Gates are open for UK passengers too??? I thought only USA & Canada, that’s gonna make things so much quicker, nearly all airports in Europe are 90% E Gates w barely any agents
When I arrived from Madrid in mid December they forwarded spaniards to e-gates as well. I wouldn't be surprised if e-gates in cancun actually work with any compatible passport, but who they allow to use them depends on some arbitrary policy.
That’s what I was thinking, probably more policy over actual working ability. Thanks for the info!
Yep, UK national here and I used them. Dont lose your slip, I got in a world of trouble with immigration because I didn't have a stamp or a slip.
Slip?? Do you mean the printed immigration form like declaring everything? I would actually prefer to get the stamp hearing that because then it’s physical proof if you need it. Thanks for the info.
They worked with my German passport, I knew they exist before flying into Mexico City before. In Mexico City they’re not pretty prominently located, so I needed to pass the line of the foreign immigration to the residents immigration. But it worked like a charm… it’s only this little piece of paper that makes me nervous. I almost threw it away with all the receipts one time…
They told us we can't use the E-gates with a passport book.
What did they want you to use??
Regular lines. They said the E gate wasn't for passport books and you had to use the electronic one on your phone.
Yeah so I flew thru Thursday and don't know what your going on about. I used my passport book.
Do you have an American, Mexican, or Canadian passport with an e-reader stamp on the front?
The e reader symbol looks like -o- and is in the lower center of the passport cover.
The airport person said it didn't take books, only e passports. Going on what they said.
There was a staff person standing there and wouldn’t let me use it even when I flashed my Canadian passport. They told me to line up in the long queue. However, my friends were just slightly behind me and they were allowed to go through the electronic gates with no explanation why earlier Can/US passport holders had to line up 🤷🏻
Thanks for chiming in. I will be going through the egates in order to make sure I get my 180 days. I don’t want it up to the discretion of an immigration officer. So I will take my sweet time and let the lines backup just in case. If I am told I can’t use them I will just go to them anyway.
It was slammed when I arrived last week but it moves alot faster than you think. We were probably through in 20-30 minutes.
Majority of people bring checked bags when traveling to another country so getting through immigration faster doesn't help you get anywhere faster because baggage claim takes forever.
Ok. I’m carry on only and had zero interest in that line. It didn’t seem to be moving. I’m here for 2 weeks and still go carry on only. I don’t know why people need big suitcases to pack a bikini and some shorts lol. There is laundry available In Mexico.
I usually do dinners every single night. Plus I don't like to outfit repeat lol. I'll bring two or three pairs of shoes, button down shirts, pants because some of the fancier restaurants require them, etc. I usually always over pack too.
But yea the cluster in the beginning is a mess because I think there's technically only 4 lines. But once you get into the roped off area it moves along pretty well.
Not to mention there’s Zara at La Isla and Ahorro everywhere. Flight attendant style suitcase is my go to.
Where are the E gates? I see only terminals 1,2 3
Electronic immigration gates. You scan your passport and it takes your photo to compare and you're through.
What time was this? I’m flying in tomorrow morning.
I landed 430pm
Thanks for the tip
Do not use E-Gates if you are a resident. It will revert your status to Tourist.
Anyone know what it looks like on a Monday at noon-1? Or is it random every day?
What is e gate? Do we do customs online or something? Should we download any apps or prepare anything in advance?
E gate is just electronic customs agent that would stamp your passport. No apps. Nothing online in advance. You just need the little camera symbol on your passport cover, be over 18 and be from USA Canada or I think the UK.
I've never heard of a camera symbol on passports. We're Canadian, if that helps.
Hah, I never realized that it's supposed to be a camera symbol, but it means that the passport is biometric - it's a simple rectangle with a horizontal line and a circle in the middle.
Yeah, I don't think I have that. We do have some apps available of late meant to expedite customs, we'll look into that.
Interesting, according to Wikipedia Canada has been issuing biometric passports since 2013, but they might also be doing non-biometric ones still.
I don’t think it’s supposed to be a camera symbol. It just kinda looks like one to me. :).
we just used egates this week (canadian) they were having issues scanning for a lot of people though. what did everyone do with the paper slip they issued out? nobody asked us for it when we departed to go home
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