passport for Canada ??
 

Will be traveling from US to Canada this June and would like to be as sure as possible
whether a passport is required or just recommended from those whom have recently made this trip?

Thanks in advance

A passport is not required yet, although recommended. Without a passport you will need a certified copy of your birth certificate.

I'm not sure if this applies to you or not, but you say "we" in your post so I'll add this:

If you are travelling with children and both parents are NOT accompanying the child, you do need a notorized letter from the other parent (in US)stating that he/she authorized the child being transported across the border. We recently took our neighbor's daughter with our kids up to Canada, and they asked for the letter from her parents. Luckily, we had it (along with her passport!)

Have fun.

Ooops.....I didn't have my glasses on. Now I see you said "Will" and not "We'll".

:)

A passport is best, though not yet absolutely required. If you are flying, then I would HIGHLY recommend it.

Thank you issy and Flyboy for your responses. I've decided to "bite the bullet" and get the passport. I was hoping to be able to avoid the cost (and what I sense will be a great, redtape hassle), since I seldom travel.

Shry-don't panic. This is one of the few government functions that does not involve a lot of red tape. Fill out the form, get the correct sized passport photos, write the check, and send it off. A few weeks later, you'll have your apssport in the mail.

When I renewed mine a couple of years ago, their web site warned of delays caused by increased security. In fact, my renewal came back less than two weeks from when I mailed it.

Don't wait until the last minute, though.

I applied for a replacement for my stolen passport in January and they are taking the full 6 weeks and then some to process it.

The first time I applied, though, I had it within three weeks.

Personally, I'd get the passport since you won't have to think about this problem again for 10 years. But I'd apply soon, just to avoid expedite fees and alleviate some stress.

If you do not have and have not had a passport you will also have to supply documented proof as to "who you are". A certified copy of your birth certicate I believe (it has been so long since I got my first passport I can't remember but I think that is what is required). Go the the government website for all instructions. And have fun in beautiful Cananda.

quick story. i was in a line with 4 other trucks towing boats coming back into the us. both my passenger had our passports. we got waved thru after a question or two. the other 4 trucks were flaged over. don't know how much the pp helped but i never go fishing in canada without it.

Border controls at the US-Canada border used to be fairly lax...most of the time several years ago they simply asked questions as to where I was born, ran my license plate through their computer and waived me on.

Then came 9/11 and the national paranoia especially on the American side you know it's a question of trust and quite frankly the Americans don't trust the Canadians to do what they consider a proper job of making sure terrorists don't land in Canada and try to cross the US-Canadian border; esecially after the incident in Washington state a couple of years ago where they flagged down some terrorist with bombs who was headed for LAX.

Due to this paranoia, regulations are out there that will require passports to enter the USA from Canada although I'm not sure when they are to take affect; one would presume the Canadians will want to do the same thing.

I can just imagine what rush hour traffic will be like at the bridge and tunnel that join Windsor and Detroit as well as at the Peace Bridge joining Buffalo and Ft. Erie Ont.....

Such is the world we live in today and of course it's probably just as meaningless as the screening programs going on at airports but you know it has to look like we're doing something about terrorism.

xyz123,

<quite frankly the Americans don't trust the Canadians to do what they consider a proper job of making sure terrorists don't land in Canada and try to cross the US-Canadian border>

Please do not speak for all of us and make statements like the one above. Did you ask all of us? Speak for yourself and your view may be valued, otherwise it is not. I and many of my friends DO NOT feel this way. So, stop speaking for us. Shry asked a simple question that was already answered but I had to add your 2 cents

Sorry z...

I should have said the US government feels that way but then again, based on what I have read, the American government wants the Canadian government to march along with them on everything and remember GWB's famous statement, "If you ain't with us, you're against us."

BTW I do remember a 60 minutes show talking to some former Canadian immigration officials who told of the frustration they have faced with very liberal Canadian laws regarding landed immigrant status.

But for many years, it was bragged that the US Canadian border was the longest undefended border in the world...now thanks to the Schengen agreement, national borders are falling throughout Western Europe and soon with some of the former People's republics who will soon be part of the EU and the schengen agreement while here in North America we are putting up new restrictions on travel....

But the fact remains it will be a nightmare once this silly rule comes into full effect especially in those places where the border is simply not all that much different than a state or provincial line.

The passport is about two weeks in the making and was much easier to do than I anticipated. Sorry if I caused some friction between a couple of you. I wasn't offended.

Anyhow, thanks again to all for the input. Looking forward to June!!!

One of the things that I was confused about is my name on my birth cert is my maiden name and my soc sec card also in my maiden name but my drivers lic was my married name . I was not allowed to fly untill I got a passport or name change on dr.lic or letter from soc sec. . What i did was have an ID $5.00 made with my maiden name on it that same day at the local mdot. every thing else was great. i was asked at the canada airport what my reason for the visit was and my bags were searched but it was all done nicely. I suspected it was because my ID have the date of travel on it.