Micki

Please help. Has anyoen traveled the US/Canadian border this year? I have heard that since 9/11 no matter what US border you entr from you must show a passport. I am flying to Toronto from NYC next weekend with a group and we just need to be 100% sure. Is it still just birth certificate/driver's license at the border?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help.<BR><BR>

Cindy

Suggest you call the Canadian consulate just to be sure, but as a Canadian I've travelled across the border a couple of times since Sept. 11 and needed to show only a birth certificate and some form of photo ID.

Melissa

I have gone across a few times from Canada to Maine, and have not had a problem. They just wanted our Birth Certificate, and a Government issued picture id like a driver's licence. They also wanted to know how long I was going across for, and why, and they wanted my occupation for some reason as well.

traveller

I have crossed several times between Alberta and Montana in the last two weeks. I was required to show picture ID at the US side on one occassion only (none at the Canadian side) but bear in mind that we cross frequently and are well known by border people. <BR><BR>I had my passport with me and just passed it on to the US customs agent and no problem. We were through in less than 5 minutes.<BR><BR>A funny quirk though, we have been stopped at the US customs upon returning to Canada every time we have crossed since 9/11. They are always most polite and easy to get along with. Questions such as are you crossing with $10,000US or more (I wish), what country are you citizens of. It seems strange though that US customs stops us upon return to Canada. I haven't quite figured out why.

A.M.

Hello Micki,<BR>I agree, check the Canadian consulate website about ID, also the customs agents are much stricter at AIRPORTS than at vehicle border crossings. If you have a passport, definitely use it.<BR>A.M.

Cindy

Just as a follow-up, I checked the Canadian government website myself; it doesn't tell you much, other than that you should phone the consulate in your area. So I guess a phone call is the sensible option.

Jim

I've found it depends on the agent you get. Most are very nice, but you get the odd jerk who seems to enjoy hassling people. Definately take a passport if at all possible-but I've never heard of anyone actually being refused entry with a birth certificate and photo I.D.

Sue

Yes, I travel to Canada (Vancouver) frequently, and it is a very good idea to bring along your passport. A young fellow I know (mid-20s) was detained for 8 hours at the Douglas Border Crossing (Blaine) as he only had his driver's license. And he is a pretty clean-cut v-neck sweater kind of guy. Just carry it with you when you hit the road!

bennie

Micki - since 9/11 there has not be any rule changes regarding identification requirements when moving between Canada and the US. If you are a citizen of either country then you must have proof of citizenship - birth certificate or naturalization papers. These along with a photo idea are sufficient. If you are a resident alien of the US or a landed immigrant in Canada then your passport and "green card" would be required. If you are a citizen of another country and not permanently residing in US or CA then your passport along with the appropriate visa would be required.<BR><BR>If you've been asked about carrying more than $10,000 its because there is a reporting requirement about transporting more than that amount to or from the US. Its not a new rule. Nor is it illegal to transport that sum - you just need to report it. It aids Customs in detecting money laundering by drug smugglers and terrorists.<BR><BR>Also Canadian and US Customs are cooperating at new levels to protect our mutual border. Our governments are allowing each agency to assist the other in ways that never would have happened prior to 9/11.

Bob Brown

For air travel there has been a different set of defacto standards in effect for years for American citizens entering Canada and returning to the USA.<BR><BR>If you have a passport take it. Life will be much simpler. I don't care what the law says, I take my passport and breeze on through at the airports whereas people with no passport get interrogated.<BR><BR>One friend of mine, an MD of Navajo ancestry, was given a rough review in Vancouver when she was leaving to come home after a medical conference. I think she even had to place a phone call to her employer. (She was not in private practice. US officials are at the Vancouver airport I am told. I know that is the case in Calgary and Toronto.)<BR>I got the wire brush treatment only once at a highway crossing. I was driving a rental car from Calgary and the US immigration official took exception to an American driving a Canadian car. I got the third degree for about 60 seconds before I could react and reach for my passport because I was caught so by surprise. <BR>As I was pulling out my passport, the official waved me on. <BR><BR>I had my passport because I flew into Calgary and that time I was glad I did. <BR>

Micki

You guys have been ever so helpful. 99% of us going have our passorts [got it to make sure for this trip and others, and others renewed it]. This site was more helpful than the official places I checked into. <BR>Upon return, I'll post on this topic how it goes. Thanks again.

Bob Brown

Based on what hear, the toughness (stringency??) of the inspection on the US side of US-Canada border crossings seems to be at best inconsistent since Sept 11. If some government agency has just put out another scare message that says the sky is about to fall again at some unknown place at some unknown time, and will be perpetrated by some unknown person or persons in some as of yet unknown way, border inspections, questions, and scrutinizing seem to increase disproportionately. <BR><BR>The guys on the border don't know what they are looking for any more than we know what to look for, but they have told to alert, vigilant, and on guard. So to prove they are doing their job, they start asking a lot of questions, checking id papers more closely, etc.<BR><BR>If I were a terrorist, and wanted to cross from Canada into the USA, I darn sure would not show up at a highway checkpoint. There is a very long, very sparsely settled, and virtually unfenced border between the US and Canada from Glacier National Park all the way to the Lake of the Woods in Minnesota (??). I think I could find a place to walk across with a backpack.<BR><BR>And, specifically for Micki, the only time I ever saw a vehicle being turned inside out was near Glacier NP.<BR>Some fellow ahead of me in a wildly painted van gave a smarty party retort to the regular questions about firearms, tobacco, and liquor. I could not hear all of what he said, but he said the magic words. (Perhaps the Canadian border officials had seen him before and had grown tired of his behavior.) As I drove up the road, I could see in my rear view mirror that the van was being thoroughly searched; the contents were piling up on the pavement.<BR>

Dan

I flew into Calgary without a passport, mainly because I don't need one. Still<BR>one of the immigrations people was stunned that I didn't have a passport. When he asked me why I didn't have one I told him because it wasn't required. He was still perplexed, hassled me for a few minutes and let me go.Reminded me of one of the Canadian Mounties on Monty Python. Ya heh.

Lois

Micki, there has been increased security at the border, but it is not bad. The biggest difference that I could see, is that before 9/11, a dr. license was enough ID, and now you need a birth certif. to go along with it, or else, of course, a passport. Prior to this past fall, we frequently went back and forth with only dr. licenses, and went right through. Now it seems necessary to have the birth certificate as well.

Bob Brown

I had rather carry my passport than my birth certificate!! I can use my birth certificate to get a new passport should I lose it, but not the other way around. <BR>Now that passports are good for 10 years, the cost of getting one is amortized over a longer period of time.<BR><BR>The one time I took my birth certificate I still had to fish around for picture IDs and other documentation. <BR><BR>At airports both coming and going between the US and Canada, it is just easier to have that all important document. Believe it or not, but many European countries are easier to enter for an American than their own homeland!!<BR><BR>

Micki

I went. Been back a few days. Take your passport! There was confustion even between the ticket agents, and the agents at the gate. I would not go to Canada [ at least flying in or at the NY border], w/o a passport. Some who took the train up from NY said some agents asked for a passport others didnt. Customs agents definitely did. <BR>I had a great trip. Thanks for your help.