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 |
|
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) |
|
Port Huron, MI (serving southwestern Ontario) |
|
Detroit, MI (serving southwestern Ontario) |
|
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.