Larry_M

My wife and I and another couple are taking a trip to the Pacific Northwest in mid -August. We plan to drive across the border and spend a few days in Vancouver.

Here's the dilemma ... we will be making a trip to Ireland in late October to visit our daughter, who will be attending college there. Our current passports expire in November. If I send them in for renewal now, chances are I won't have them back in time for our August departure. If we wait until we return on August 20, we'll be cutting it very close for the Ireland trip.

Checking all over the Internet, it appears as though you can get into Canada with a birth certificate and driver's license, but I've read that passports are preferable, and that border delays are not uncommon without passports. The same would be true for re-entry into the US, I presume?

Any experienced guidance here? My preferance would be to send in my renewal application now, if I could get some confidence that our trip won't be ruined without a passport. Thanks for any help.

Larry

April

You don't need a passport to drive across the border. We didn't need one to cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. He drove in and out of the States last year without a passport and there were no delays because of it.

Before this year's cruise, my husband mailed in his passport application - then we realized our error in sending in his birth certificate which he would need to use if his passport didn't arrive. He had to get a new birth certificate then, to be on the safe side.

There is a spot on the passport form for your date of travel. In retrospect, perhaps we should have put an earlier date. My husband's passport arrived the day before we left. It took 10 weeks and 2 days.

oliverandharry

First of all, the issue is not getting into Canada, it is about being allowed back into the US. At the moment, you can cross the border both directions with your birth certificate and driver's license. Because the Passport Offices are so overloaded due to completely under-estimating how many people would apply this year, they have had to change the dates for requiring people to have passports to Canada and Mexico until the end of this year. So you will be fine without one this August. That said, there is still an enormous back-up in getting passports because of the muck-up. The state dept. website says 10-12 weeks, and you are cutting it close for Ireland, so I would be sending it off without delay. Lots being written on all these boards about passports not being returned on time even with expedited service.

Orcas

Remember to have a certified copy (not a photocopy) of your birth certificate and a photo id for Canada. This is as good as a passport and should not cause problems at the border.

We sent in for my daughter's passport renewal yesterday and were told to expect the passport in mid-September, so get on this right away.

Larry_M

Thanks to all for your help.

Larry

garyt22

You may also have a problem with your Irish trip... many countries will not accept Passports if they are within 6 months of expiration... check that out first!!! then hustle on the renewal...