Border Questions: Traveling from US to Canada

[ols386]

We were required to have passports when flying out of Detroit to Vancouver, but I think anytime you're flying, you need them.

 

[xlxo]

Pack the passport if you have it.... On the West Coast, there's a thing called the "Enhanced Driver License" and NEXUS (passport/license) combo.

Once you are across the border... they don't use Loonies.

Something else to pay attention to.... border wait times... especially on a long weekend. Don't try crossing with a full bladder. Not all crossings have convenient public washrooms.

 

[xlxo]

-Will we need to get out of our car at the border? I know they randomly do full searches, but do they do this with all cars nowadays?

It's called "secondary". If you tell them you have a weapon, service will be complimentary.

There's a great series on YouTube where you can preview the experience....

• https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=border+security+canada
• https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=border+security+usa

 

[xlxo]

I'd check the policy on alcohol. There was a time when that wasn't allowed.

Hmm.... don't they sell alcohol at the duty free stores just as you cross the border? Is there something special in the bottles where that is allowed?

 

[xlxo]

In the past.... eggs and dairy were OK. Then there was an outbreak and products are suspended. Not sure if they have lifted the ban.

Also don't try to bring Kinder Surprise when going South.

 

[sonnyjane]

Also don't try to bring Kinder Surprise when going South.

My friend lives in BC and I'm in WA about 60 miles away. She comes down here to get certain foods and drinks she can't get up there, and I go up there to get candy and stuff I can't get here. I'm guilty of smuggling in Kinder Surprises (or Kinder Sorpresas) from both Canada and Mexico Hope I don't get a knock on my door!

 

[Skippy918]

You may also want to call your car insurance company to check and see if you are covered especially if your vehicle has a lien on it.

 

[ronandannette]

I'd have Passports even for the kids. I had a nasty experience in Calgary (flying not driving) with Canadian officials with my then 2 year old. I had all the documents saying that we DIDN'T need a Passport for him, but they caused a huge stink. Subsequent trips were a breeze with a Passport.
I always brought alcohol with me, there is a limit of 1 liter per adult you can bring into Canada. It was a gift for my Uncle who love his Vodka and hated that fact that a bottle that cost him $35 a the Provincial liquor store cost me $2.99 in the U.S..

Curious. Based on the approximate age of your kids, that would have been more than 20 years ago - yes? Travel between Canada and the US was still fully accessible for everyone (not just minors) without passports as recently as 2004 (I know because we travelled to California that year in and out of YYC on B/C's and D/L's). It seems very odd that Canadian Customs officials at YYC would have demanded you have something that simply wasn't required in any way, shape or form, at that time. I could possibly see mistakes being made and that scenario taking place now, but not back then.

 

[Poohforyou]

Hmm.... don't they sell alcohol at the duty free stores just as you cross the border? Is there something special in the bottles where that is allowed?

It's about lost tax revenue. My point of reference is years old, but at the time alcohol was much more expensive in Canada than the US.

 

[teller80]

I don't know how long you were planning on staying, but we went with friends one year who did not have passports and we easily filled the entire day on the US side. I also went with a Boy Scout troop, and we filled 4 days without crossing the border. Go anyway, it'll be fun!

 

[Gracie09]

Honestly given the current political climate there is zero chance I would leave the us without a passport right now, even if it was permitted.

 

[brockash]

We are in process of booking a trip to the Niagara Falla (Canada side), and will be traveling from the US. This will be our first time driving over the border.

I checked some websites, but they were kind of vague. It's a long drive, so I just want to be certain when we get to the border, so we know what to expect....

-I read that we do not need to bring a passport. We are planning to bring our drivers licenses & birth certificates.
-Is there any food we are not allowed to bring over? We will have snacks in the car, but we are also wanting to bring PB&J & bread to keep in our hotel room.
-Can we bring closed bottle alcohol?
-Will we need to get out of our car at the border? I know they randomly do full searches, but do they do this with all cars nowadays?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks!

What kind of driver's license do you have? There are some driver's license's where you can get an "enhanced" one (I know NY for sure has this option) in which you don't need a passport to drive to Canada etc. Otherwise though, anyone over I believe it's 16 will need a passport. If there are kids you'll need their birth certificates. You shouldn't have to get out of the car generally speaking, but obviously you could be randomly selected.

Not sure about the alcohol/food.

 

[tvguy]

Curious. Based on the approximate age of your kids, that would have been more than 20 years ago - yes? Travel between Canada and the US was still fully accessible for everyone (not just minors) without passports as recently as 2004 (I know because we travelled to California that year in and out of YYC on B/C's and D/L's). It seems very odd that Canadian Customs officials at YYC would have demanded you have something that simply wasn't required in any way, shape or form, at that time. I could possibly see mistakes being made and that scenario taking place now, but not back then.

EXACTLY!!!!!!! I even wrote a letter to the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco in advance of the trip, and had their response that nothing more than a birth certificate was needed, and that didn't make any difference. DW and I (and my mom) all has Passports. Their issue was that without a photo id, they had no way of knowing if our son was the baby listed on the birth certificate. Apparently the concern was I was kidnapping a Canadian baby. I do understand that it is a bit of work for them, having to try and verify whether the Birth Certificate was real. My son was 2 and this was 1989 and yes, travel was SUPPOSED to be fully accessible in those days.. He next trip was when he was 6 and his sister was 2, and both had Passports and it was a breeze.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you guys-so glad I posted this!

QUESTION: Can I use a Passport CARD instead of a Passport BOOK?
It's way cheaper & I found this online:
https://travel.state.gov/content/st...ssports/whatisapassportcardandhowtoapply.html

Yes, the Passport CARD is fine for land travel between the US and Canada. We use these ourselves. Just be aware that if you travel in the future by air, you will need to get a full Passport Book as the card is not valid for air travel.

Snacks to eat in the car are fine. I wouldn't bring a ton of stuff. The key thing is to declare what you have that may be questionable -- if asked about fruit, be honest and say "yes, we have 6 oranges to eat on the drive" or whatever. When you aren't honest, or don't mention something, that's when they can start to get nasty. As PP mentioned, alcohol is actually to do with tax revenue -- did you know it's usually illegal to bring alcohol across state borders as well? People do it, but you could be fined. Just buy your alcohol at the Duty Free store near the border crossing.

Be prepared for lines. It might be quick, but it could take upwards of a couple hours to inch through the line and be cleared, even if your interview only takes 3 minutes. Crossing the border takes patience. Remove sunglasses, turn off the radio, have kids remove headphones, open windows on the driver's side so the official can see all passengers, just the driver speaks unless other passengers are spoken to, and be honest. 99% of the time it's painless (other than the wait).

Enjoy your trip!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Doesn't the Real ID thing also work? If your state's license implements the Real ID standard, can't you use that?

 

[sonnyjane]

Thank you guys-so glad I posted this!

QUESTION: Can I use a Passport CARD instead of a Passport BOOK?
It's way cheaper & I found this online:
https://travel.state.gov/content/st...ssports/whatisapassportcardandhowtoapply.html

It might be cheaper for this one scenario, but you couldn't fly or go to any other countries - then you might end up paying more down the road to get a passport and passport card. I would just pony up for passports.

 

[Liberty Belle]

OP, I don't know if this is an issue, but just in case:

Friends of mine headed to Canada for a two week long trip. They were planning on camping, so they had all their gear, etc, and drove up to Maine from Ky and were wanting to cross into New Brunswick. When they got to the border, a background check was done on them and it showed a DUI my friend received 8 years ago. Apparently in Canada, a DUI is a felony and they do not let felons into the country. They said after ten years my friend can apply to the US government to have the DUI taken off his record and then could apply to Canadian government for permission to enter the country.

It was a huge embarrassment for them (they had been posting a lot about their trip plans, etc) and had to make the long drive back home and tell everyone what happened (I suppose they could have lied, but they didn't).

While I think DUI is horrible and people need to face the consequences if they make that stupid decision, I hate to see this happen to someone else. Just a warning.

 

[crjack]

DD's passport just arrived and it was only 2 weeks from start to finish. I was very surprised how quickly it came and honestly it was an easy process for her. I wouldn't want to travel outside the U.S without a passport due to the potential issues.

I hope you can make the timing work for your trip.

 

[bcla]

Pack the passport if you have it.... On the West Coast, there's a thing called the "Enhanced Driver License" and NEXUS (passport/license) combo.

California and Oregon don't issue enhanced driver licenses or state ID. Washington does. It would make sense, but none of the states with a border with Mexico issue them. The Texas legislature passed a law authorizing them, but their former governor didn't implement the law.

 

[maddiel]

EXACTLY!!!!!!! I even wrote a letter to the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco in advance of the trip, and had their response that nothing more than a birth certificate was needed, and that didn't make any difference. DW and I (and my mom) all has Passports. Their issue was that without a photo id, they had no way of knowing if our son was the baby listed on the birth certificate. Apparently the concern was I was kidnapping a Canadian baby. I do understand that it is a bit of work for them, having to try and verify whether the Birth Certificate was real. My son was 2 and this was 1989 and yes, travel was SUPPOSED to be fully accessible in those days.. He next trip was when he was 6 and his sister was 2, and both had Passports and it was a breeze.

Was your problem entering or leaving Canada? If it was entering, then why would they think you were kidnapping a Canadian baby into Canada? And if it was in leaving Canada, then you would have been dealing with US border staff and US entry requirements.

I think this highlights something that people seem to forget - when you got to another country, the two ends of the trip are controlled by different entities. The Canadian government rules govern entering Canada and the US government rules govern entering the US and the rules aren't always the same. You need to meet both sets of requirements if you want to leave AND come back!

I believe passports became mandatory to enter the US by air Jan 1 2007 - my husband and I went to New Orleans on short notice in February of 2007 and I had to get a new passport to go and the lines were insane at the time. Before that as far back as I remember, you needed proof of identification and proof of citizenship which we covered by using our birth certificates and driver's licences for the adults and provincial id cards for the kids. A couple of years before the passport requirement came into effect, my husband (who used to go to the US for training/conferences for work quite often) was told on one trip by the US official that his birth certificate was getting worn and that he should get a passport. He thought it was a suggestion. He had to go back to the US unexpectedly a couple of weeks later and he hadn't gotten around to getting it and he almost wasn't allowed to enter with out a passport. He got one shortly thereafter, but there was a note in the system about him for several years after that.

M.