Iris Scans

NEXUS Iris Scans – Why and Where

If you want to use your NEXUS Card for air travel, you need an iris scan. You need an iris scan because the Global Entry kiosks in US airports will match your eyes to the iris scan on file. The kiosks are part of the US Global Entry system and are mandatory to use when using your NEXUS Card to clear customs in an airport in Canada or the US when travelling to the US.

There is no way around this requirement for NEXUS air travel: either you get an iris scan or you only use your NEXUS Card for driving across the border or crossing the border by boat. This is why iris scanners are not at all border enrolment centres.

 

Where you can get an iris scan for your NEXUS Card

You can get your iris scan at the time of your interview if you attend your NEXUS interview at an airport in Canada.

If you are attending one of the border enrolment centres, they may not have an iris scanner. This is true of some of the American enrolment centres, though at the ones closest to the border, you can often cross the border to use the Canadian office’s scanner.

Here is a list of enrolment centres without iris scanners from west to east with the alternatives

Enrolment Centres without Iris Scanners Closest Enrolment Centre(s) with Scanners
Seattle
  • Vancouver Airport
  • Downtown Vancouver
  • Blaine, WA
Sweetgrass, MT (serving Alberta and Saskatchewan) Calgary Airport
Pembina, ND (serving Manitoba and Saskatchewan) Winnipeg Airport
Warroad, MN (serving Manitoba) Winnipeg Airport
Fort Frances, ON (serving NW Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota)
only Canadian enrolment centre without iris scanners
Winnipeg Airport
Sault Ste Marie, MI (serving northern Ontario)
  • Toronto Airport
  • Ottawa Airport
Port Huron, MI (serving southwestern Ontario)
  • Toronto Airport
  • Niagara Falls
  • Fort Erie
Detroit, MI (serving southwestern Ontario)
  • Toronto Airport
  • Niagara Falls
  • Fort Erie
Derby Line, VT (serving Quebec) Montreal Airport
Calais, ME (serving the Maritimes) Woodstock, NB

 

What if I have a NEXUS card already but want an Iris Scan?

If you got your NEXUS Card already but didn’t get an iris scan – or have attended an interview and didn’t get an iris scan, you can still get an iris scan so you can use your card for air travel.

In order to do so, go to an enrolment centre with an iris scanner during business hours. You do not need an appointment.

 

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