Price of Nexus membership to increase from US$50 to $120

Travellers looking to skip wait times at the border by enrolling with the Nexus trusted-traveller program could pay more than double the current price to apply after September.

Starting Oct. 1, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says applicants to the program, which speeds up border crossings for pre-screened travellers from Canada to the United States, might have to pay US$120 instead of the US$50 fee that's been in place since Nexus first launched in 2002.

As shared in a press release Tuesday (April 2), the price hike is subject to approval of regulatory amendments in the U.S. and Canada.

“The current fee, set over 20 years ago, no longer covers the cost of the program,” CBSA said in a statement. “The new fee would reflect more accurately the cost of administrating the program and the investment required for future program improvements, including technology and infrastructure enhancements.”

This, the agency said, would work out to US$24 per year for the five-year membership.   

The proposed increase would also help keep up with the high demand for the program, the agency added, noting that it has received more than 510,000 applications and completed almost 10,000 interviews every two weeks since April 2023.

Within the travel industry, calls to register with Nexus were widespread at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when understaffed airports faced long line-ups at security checkpoints and customs.

In anticipation of an increase in demand between now and October, the CBSA and U.S. CBP said they “remain ready to process applications” and will continue to make interviews available.

Applicants are encouraged to book their interview “as soon as possible,” said CBSA.

Appointments are available on the Trusted Traveller Programs System and many enrolment centres offer next-day availability for scheduling interviews, allowing applicants to book their appointments quickly.

Over the past year, the CBSA and U.S. CBP have made changes to the application process, introducing split interviews at land enrolment centres, while unveiling additional interview options for applicants.

Canadian airport enrolment centres have been reopened at airports for two-step interviews, offering some flexibility for applicants to complete the interview process.

Applicants who have submitted their Nexus application and paid the US$50 fee, but have not completed their enrolment interviews by October 1, 2024, will not have to pay the proposed US$120 fee, CBSA says.

The Nexus program currently has more than 1.8 million members, with the majority of them being Canadian.

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