Passports

[WDW1st-timers]

I'm assuming that this is the best spot to ask if us Canadians need passports for 2006? We are going to disney on Jan.1/ 2006 but not sure if we need passports or not. All I know is I don't want to be stuck for months waiting for one due to alot of canadians rushing to get one for the new year. I would like to get a jump on it aslong as we do need one. I hate to shell out money to the Government for no reason. I've heard that as of Dec.31st/2005 you will need one; but then I heard that the project has been put on hold till 2007.

 

[kellyla]

A passport will be required by the end of Dec.2006 if arriving by air or sea and required by the end of 2007 if arriving by land.So if you are going Jan/06,it will not be required.

 

[surfer_ed]

My advice is to act now and get the passports. Even if you do not "need" one it makes thing go smoother.

When we went Christmas 2003, a "Code Orange" was declared a few days before we left. Boarder crossing lines we a couple of hours since they were being very careful with everything. In this situation, the fact that we had passports made things quicker and easier.

 

[Amberle3]

Here's the timeline for passports :
- December 31, 2005: Requirement applied to all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central America and South America.
- December 31, 2006: Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.
- December 31, 2007: Requirement extended to all air, sea and land border crossings.

But... if something should happen to increase the US's alert level, they can impose a passport requirement at any time.

 

[CharlesTD]

I don't think we need to have them for 06 but we wnet and got all our family passports done to save the hassle of trying to get them 6 months before we go on our cruise. Also we will need to have them for 07 to enter the US apparently and there will be a big rush and backlog coming as we get closer to that time so you may as well get them now and not worry about the delays later on.

 

[Amberle3]

Charles, if you're going on a Caribbean/Bahamian cruise then you should need the passports. According to the information the US Govt has provided:

December 31, 2005: Requirement applied to all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central America and South America.

So that should mean that when when the cruise ships docks back in the US and you go through customs you'll need a passport, since the ship is arriving from one of the above areas.

 

[CharlesTD]

Yes you will need them if you are cruising but not to just go to WDW but we still picked ours up now to save the delays that will be inevitable in the next year when people rush to get them before the law changes.

 

[WDW1st-timers]

Thanks for everyones input on this subject. Does anyone know how long the passports are good for and how much they cost?



Thanks

 

[GilesFamily]

Hi,
We just picked up our passports a couple weeks ago. It's $87 for adults and $37 for children. They are good for five years.

 

[SnowWhite]

The only good news I hear from this is that George Bush is trying to change this law. Apparently he doesn't want Canadians or Mexicans needing passports to cross into the USA. We will have to wait and see what happens before we run out and get passports. I have crossed the border literally hundreds of times and never had a problem yet with US customs. The last time was a couple of months ago and the US agent didn't even look at our IDs and we had our two children with us. I think it is because we have always had the same licence plate when we went over and we tend to cross at the same location for our shopping trips. If this law goes through then I will get passports for the family, but I am going to wait this one out.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

 

[digskat]

Hi,
We just picked up our passports a couple weeks ago. It's $87 for adults and $37 for children. They are good for five years.

Thanks for posting the pricing I planning on getting ours next spring Is it extra for the photo? Kat