Border Questions: Traveling from US to Canada

[nkereina]

-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?

We live in Niagara Falls, USA and frequently cross the border. As mentioned, you definitely need passports. The passport card will work. You can also use an enhanced driver's license if your state offers it, which may be cheaper and faster than a passport.

As far as food restrictions, I think it's produce you can't bring back. Snacks and stuff for sandwiches will totally be fine.

Alcohol, yes but there are limitations on how much you can bring and you need to declare it at the border. I think the most we have ever brought over was two cases of beer which was fine.

You won't need to get out of the car unless they ask you to pull over. Knock on wood, we've never experienced this. Normally they ask several questions and then we're on our way. A few times they have had us pop the trunk to look at purchases (we go to IKEA frequently), but there was no issue. Also, I suggest rolling down your windows in the back seat too as you pull up. If you don't, they may ask you to, so I like to pull up with everything ready.

 

[Colleen27]

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..

We had a difficult encounter with TSA over a domestic flight when our youngest was that age too. I think it has to do with traveling with a baby too young to speak for him/herself, not with the documentation requirements themselves. You don't need anything to fly domestically with a little one that age and we had DD's birth certificate, but she was sleepy from the 2 hour drive to the airport and being shy/nervous when the TSA agent spoke to her directly and he interpreted that as suspicious. He was a bit of a jerk too, IMO - his obey-me demeanor was understandably frightening to a toddler and he wasn't interested in doing anything to change that, not even something as small as addressing her by the name she was used to (Katie instead of Katherine).

Of course, in hindsight we find it hilarious. Because by the end of the whole thing, which only delayed us by maybe a half-hour, my sassy little redhead had gone from hiding behind me and refusing to talk to planting her hands on her hips and telling the second agent we talked to, "My name isn't Katherine. My name is Katie, and I'm going to see Mickey Mouse." in a very determined 'get out of my way' tone. And the second agent, who was a woman and also a redhead, just made a comment to us about spunky redheads and wished DD a good trip.

 

[bcla]

The basic requirement to return to the US for US citizens would be a passport book, passport card, enhanced DL/ID, or NEXUS/SENTRI card. Any of these can be used to get into Canada, but even adults can get into Canada with a legal ID and birth certificate demonstrating native-born status. US permanent residents only need a green card, and no other ID to get into Canada or back into the US by land/sea.

I think as a practical matter, a birth certificate isn't necessarily any proof of citizenship, even if it is de facto proof. One could renounce or do something to renounce citizenship. The US government considers children effectively incapable of renouncing their native-born citizenship, so I suppose the birth certificate as proof of citizenship works for them. When anyone applies for a passport, part of the process may include a check on whether or not someone renounced their US citizenship.

As far as food restrictions, I think it's produce you can't bring back. Snacks and stuff for sandwiches will totally be fine.

Alcohol, yes but there are limitations on how much you can bring and you need to declare it at the border. I think the most we have ever brought over was two cases of beer which was fine.

I don't know what the limits might be, but there is definitely a duty-free limit. I can't find anything on this limit for visitors (there's a technical glitch with the CBSA website) but I think one can pay duty above that amount. I don't believe the duties are back-breaking. For the US they're actually not that bad - something like $2 for a 750 ml bottle of wine. The duty-free limits for Canadian travelers returning to Canada are listed here:

https://travel.gc.ca/returning/customs/what-you-can-bring-home-to-canada

I've only crossed through BC - both by car and ferry. My experience going into Canada was that it was painless. We were asked where we were going, where we planned on staying, and if we were visiting anyone we knew. The agent quickly asked if we had any food or beverages, and we noted that we had stuff like chips and sodas. We all used our passport cards, but had our passport books as a backup.

On the way back it was a little bit different since we took the Sidney BC to Anacortes WA ferry run by Washington State Ferries. We went through a US Customs prescreening in BC where we were mainly asked if we were bringing any produce in from Canada. We had, but it was actually Washington apples and cherries bought while we were in Canada. The agent said we could only bring them in if they had identification that were US produce. The cherries were in a bag indicating where they came from, but my wife had removed the stickers from the apples to wash them. At that point the agent said we could eat them onboard the ferry and to toss them before arrival. On arrival, we were waved through Customs in Anacortes. I guess they rely on the prescreening that they have more time to do, and do spot checks on arrival.

 

[bcla]

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.

In a hurry, a passport book is the only thing that can be done quickly. I've heard of expediting services that claim to be able to get same-day service, but they're expensive. You can theoretically go to a passport office and get it yourself same-day if you can show a need. I've heard of people who had a flight later that evening, and managed to get a passport renewal done same-day in person.

My wife forgot to get her first time passport before a trip and ended up paying for the expedite fee. We live close enough to the San Francisco Passport Agency, and they called and said it was ready for pick up the next day. She ordered a passport card on top of that, but I don't believe those can be expedited since they're made by a single contractor and shipped from their facility. Passport books are finished at each passport office, so they have control over how long it takes. Renewal by mail is supposed to be done at a national passport office, but most passports no longer say where they were finished.

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.

It's always been allowed, but then it's more about whether or not the government collects duties. It's certainly not like Utah, where it's generally illegal to bring alcohol from outside the state for personal consumption. All they allow is the duty-free limit, and it has to be a direct flight into the state from another country. Someone taking an international flight and then a connecting flight doesn't qualify.

 

[tvguy]

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.

Leaving, and it was Canadian officials. This was in 1989, before U.S. Customs was in Calgary, back when you had to fly into a U.S. International airport..

 

[bcla]

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.

If you need an "emergency passport" it will basically cost the price of a passport book and expedite fee. They're supposed to be valid for one year, but once back in the US they can be traded in for a regular 10 year (if adult) passport at no extra charge.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/services/limited-validity.html