evagoblog

I know that going into Canada you only need your birth certificate and a drivers license but to get back into the US I need a passport or passport card. I have to go right away to attend a class and lost my passport but I have the bc, drivers license, expired passport and a receipt showing I paid and applied for a passport card which I will have a friend send to me when it arrives at his house (the State Dept. will not mail the card to Canada. I will not leave Canada until I get it.) I have contacted Canadian Border Security so not too worried about getting in after explaining things to immigration there but am worried if I can get to the border, I know that I can not do it via plane or cruise ship as they DEFINITELY check the documents and will not let you on without the passport, but has any one taken a train or Greyhound (which normally do not check documents but haven´t crossed the border with them) or one of those Seattle to Vancouver buses that go between those two cities and do they check the documents?

evagoblog

Or maybe Bolt as heard they go there also.

sludick

I've taken the train, and they DID check my passport as an airline would.

janisj

Any public carrier should check your documents . . .

kgsneds

While you may be able to get across the border with a birth certificate and driver's license, there's no guarantee. Passport or passport card or NEXUS/FAST card are far better and reduce your risk of getting pulled over for extra questioning. There's also no guarantee that the bus or train company will allow that - they can make their own rules.

Greyhound, for instance, says that a non-Canadian citizen must have a passport/Nexus card/enhanced driver's license, address of where they are staying and a return ticket to the US (not necessarily on Greyhound). Otherwise they can be refused boarding on a bus that will be entering Canada. They might be OK with the birth certificate, but I'd get confirmation in writing. Same for AMTRAK.


They will most certainly check your documents on the train or bus. A border crossing is a border crossing. Very different from riding a train or bus within one country.

At least for the train, you often change trains (from Amtrak to ViaRail), and everyone must get off, be cleared through immigration and customs, then get on the next train. Or if it's the same train, you either must get off and go the immigration buildings or everyone is kept on the train and they come by to check documents.

NorthwestMale

I'm dying to know why <i>Canada</i> would allow foreigners to enter who then wouldn't be able <b>to exit</b> their country. Can't they do the math?


And <I>IF</i> you are a U.S. citizen (and can <I>eventually</i> prove as much)... then surely your own country must <I>at some point</i> allow you back inside.


And the part about putting your return in the hands of <I>the Canadian Postal Service</i> is comic fodder.

laverendrye

<<I'm dying to know why Canada would allow foreigners to enter who then wouldn't be able to exit their country. Can't they do the math?>>

All foreigners EXCEPT Americans (citizens and permanent residents) require a passport and in some cases a visa to legally enter Canada. Americans must show proof of US citizenship (or permanent resident card), and as US citizens they can, as you have deduced, return to the US. However, without a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's licence, or a trusted traveler card, they may experience delays while the US CBP confirms their identity and citizenship. That's not Canada's problem.

So yes, Canada can do the math.

tomfuller

The birth certificate won't cut it unless you are old order Amish.
If you have a Washington State (enhanced) drivers license they will let you back into the US.
Amtrak does not check your passport but does collect the number when you buy a ticket. They pass the passport numbers on to the officials hours before you reach the border.