cancankant

I am going to the Seattle area soon and will be spending a few days on the Olympic Peninsula. I have been thinking about trying to go to Victoria, B.C., but I may not be admissible to Canada. I'd rather not take the chance on the ferry if they only clear you for entry into Canada once you disembark.

Does anyone know when you actually have to go through the border crossing procedure? Is it worth it to just go for the day? I have three days on the Olympic Peninsula.

dwooddon

I haven't done it for several years but the last time I did, the border formalities were done as you came off the ferry in Victoria. I did the southbound route last summer and US border control was in the ferry terminal in Victoria also.

Bobmrg

As you drive up the street toward the ferry entrance in Port Angeles you will be met by guys in orange jackets who will check your passport (or whatever) before they even let you get to the ticket booth. Can't go wrong. People who make the grade turn right into the ferry area, those who don't just drive straight ahead. Not a biggie, and you will have had a pleasant drive.

passerbye

"....who will check your passport (or whatever)..."

And if you're a US citizen, the only whatever they'll accept is a Passport Card.

Is it worth it for a day? Absolutely! Victoria is a cute, easily walkable little city. If you're not planning to visit Butchart Gardens, one day is just about the right amount of time there.

oldbenny

My wife and I just completed this trip July20-22. A passport is required when you exit the ferry. If you don't have one, they send you back on the same ferry. We thought Victoria was very charming and a nice visit. Don't miss Butchart Gardens...and make reservations at the restuarant for lunch. We liked El Terrazo Italian restuarant in Victoria as well. I thought 4 hours from the ferry arrival at Anacortes to the SeaTac airport was plenty of time, but clearing customs on return was VERY slow. We almost missed or plane.

globetrotterxyz

We took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria and they checked passports in Canada when we exited the ferry.

NWWanderer

you will be asked for a passport when you check in to make sure you have it, but you won't pass through canadian immigration until you're in victoria.

Orcas

Call the ferry and ask. I think Canada has passport control on the Canada side for those entering by car ferry, but am not sure. I do know that the US exercises control on the US side for those entering the US.

However, for the Victoria Clipper, I believe the swipe point is actually in the US before you board. Call the Clipper and ask. This is a passenger only ferry from Seattle.

Databases are up-to-date and comprehensive, from what I have heard and controls are strict. Here is info from Canada on admission:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/f...issibility.asp

Good luck!

Bobmrg

My bad. We did talk to a Canadian customs/immigration official after exiting the Coho. Still, if the OP is concerned about taking a ferry ride to nowhere, the folks at Port Angeles will make sure that doesn't happen. Passenger-only Victoria Clipper out of Seattle is a different situation.

Daniel_Williams

Sounds like you're considering the Port Angeles option but if you are considering the Victoria Clipper: one shows documents in Seattle before one boards, Customs & Immigration occurs upon arrival in Victoria. To me, the Clipper option sounds like a tiring day trip with 3 hours travel each way plus check-in time (I spent 3 nights in Victoria), but a recent Fodor's poster had a good time doing just this, so who am I to say?

Best wishes, Daniel

victoria_holiday

You have nothing to loose. Your ID is checked on both sides of the border. As long as you have a passport or passport card or in some states an enhanced driver's license and you are not a felon - you're in.

Victoria is a great place to visit either for a day or take advantage of seasonal deals and stay for a couple of days. there is more to do here than just the "gardens" although that alone may be worth the trip for some.

Victoria holiday
www.downtownfurnishedrentals.com

Orcas

v_h, I would think the issue of felony is the concern. It is horrible that people who have committed a felony at some point in their past, are denied entry to so many countries. How does one find out? You sure wouldn't want to alert the authorities, in case they don't have the data. On the other hand, you don't want to take the time and effort to cross the border, only to be turned away. I wonder how one finds out without jeopardizing one's status....

You can be pretty sure that it is in the databases, though. I would think the one question might be for a DUI or some crime not defined as a felony in the US, but so-defined in Canada. It is a sad situation for many law-abiding people who made a mistake when they were young.

nytraveler

Well, a felony is by definition a serious crime. And why would foreign countries want to allow a felon to enter? After all, in the US felons are denied certain rights (voting, serving on a jury etc) Why should someone who has committed a serious crime be welcome in other countries?

As for DU - I think we don;t take it nearly seriously enough. The number of people who are killed and maimed annually by drink drivers is enormous - and typically DUI is not a felony unless it is egregious (causes death or injury, is one of a series of DUIs or is combined with a lack of license, registration and insurance, or combined with some other crime - such as fleeing or hit and run, etc).

Orcas

Actually, while felonies include serious crimes (including DUI, so I agree with you there), they also include many crimes that are not so serious - the bar for what is considered a felony is set very low in many states. For example, in many states, property damage of over $250 is considered a felony.

DD has a friend who, while in high school, was with a group of kids and one of them threw a firecracker at the home of another kid they knew. (DD's friend was not the one who threw the firecracker.) The firecracker landed on a boat in the driveway which caught fire...This was not the plan, but this is what happened and it was bad, bad news.

So, DD's friend's parents spent beaucoup bucks on a lawyer (around $5,000) to keep their son from having a felony conviction that would follow him the rest of his life. He had to pay restitution and was truly regretful. Not all parents can bail their kids out like this. Trust me, this is a good kid who I hold in high esteem for many reasons which I will not go in to.

We also know a Canadian whose work used to take him regularly to the US, but when they tied together the databases a couple of years ago, a felony he had committed more than 2 decades earlier, while his late teens, turned up. He is no longer able to come to the US and do the job he has been doing for years. I don't know what has happened to him.

But, this is a discussion for the lounge and we are not in the lounge, nor am I visiting the lounge these days. I don't enjoy it anymore.

victoria_holiday

Crimes and misdemeanors one may have committed decades ago have a habit of following you around from border to border.
I once worked for a fishing charger company with a large repeat customer base. Once summer a customer who had come up to Canada every summer for the past 30 years to fish was "out of the blue" stopped and processed at the border. Border officials often use a random process technique as a general method of administering the border laws.

It appeared that when the gentleman (now 68) was 18 years old he had stolen a bike which to this very date was still on record. He called our office to tell us that he would not be making it fishing this year.

Border authorities told him he could get his record expunged or apply for some type of temporary exemption for each time he entered Canada ($300 each visit).

Talk about the most useless and demented use of crossing the border laws.

The rest of the party with him were allowed entry.

I think if you have been crime free for at least 10-15 years and your only prior was a property crime there should be an automatic exception provided.

IMHO

nytraveler

If anyone has this sort of record - a very minor conviction that is decades old - and has been upstanding ever since it is often possible to have the record cleared. I would certainly think it worth the minimal cost and effort - since it can easily affect getting a job in the US - never mind just going on vacation.

(Every job I've applied for in the past 10 years has requested information on a criminal record - and lying on it is grounds for instant dismissal. Not to mention the large number of jobs which require employees to be bonded - which includes a complete search for a criminal record.)

november_moon

It seems that the Canadians have gotten a lot more strict with their immigration policies for visitors, so I don't know that I'd chance going if I didn't qualify for entry - chances of getting through anyway have decreased. My company does business in Canada and as business travelers, we are now supposed to have a letter if invitation from the company we are doing business with plus a letter of support from our company saying that we will be supported by the company while in Canada.

The Canadian immigration web site is pretty good though - you should be able to find the info you need about entrance eligibility.