Oh Canada!!

Wife and I drove up there with the 3 kids to visit the Falls this past Mothers Day. Had birth certificates for the kids but the wife and I only had PA drivers Licenses. What a hassle, haul everyone out of the van, into the office, sit for 15 min. and being told to continue on. No problems the way back through. I guess I should have been more prepared. Just trying to get the kids up there before I have to dish out $100 each for passports. Visited the aquarium in Niagara Falls, nice place. Great drive from NW PA.

I've often wondered what was needed to cross into Canada. Do you need a passport, or can you get by with a birth certificate?

(quoted from post at 12:26:01 05/11/09) I've often wondered what was needed to cross into Canada. Do you need a passport, or can you get by with a birth certificate?

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After next month I believe you will need a passport. I applied for mine 2 weeks ago and got it within a week.

The biggest problem would be getting back into the US. If they (US border Patrol) decided you needed passports and didn"t have any, you could be stuck in Canada for an extended stay. I know it"s a lot easier for me when I travel to the US because I just show the passport and they"re cool with that. (both US and Canadian authorities)

Passports only as of June 1st.

Hey Mark, who's behind that? Canada, or US? or both? Canada is probably tired of all those "illegal Americans" sneaking into it's country and clogging up their medical care, making the French schools speak English, multilanguage signs, etc.

All this security up north (those Canadians are such trouble), but you can walk/swim thru a river down south and live here without all this paperwork.

I believe they are collaborating on this action together. I just wish passports weren't so danged expensive or at least an alternative for USA-Canada travel.

There is some kind of "passport" card available in NY. I don't know about Pa.
I wish the northern border could be more like the ones in the EU. Even with the current hassles, visiting Canada is well worth it.

I cross the NY/Ontario border regularly.

Since 9/11 getting into Canada is a lot easier than returning back into the US. A few tips based on many hours sitting in line waiting for idiots ahead of me to be "processed" thru customs:

1 – Get your passport. It’s not required yet but sooner or later you're gonna need one anyway. “Enhanced” drivers licenses are supposed to work but there’s a lot of conflicting info right now regarding passports, enhanced licences, etc . You’ll get less hassle and fewer questions going both ways with a passport. This is for everyone in the car – not just the driver.

2 – If you have children on board that do not share your last name (kid’s friends or whatever) a clear explanation exactly why the children are with you is required.

3 – Make sure all your automobile paperwork (registration, state inspection, insurance card, etc) is valid and you’ve got no unpaid tickets. Customs agents will have run your plate BEFORE you reach the inspection booth. If there are any issues they’ll already know about it before you even pull in. You will then invited inside until the problem is fully resolved.

4 – Be polite and answer only inspector’s questions as directly and concisely - offer nothing else. Remove your sunglasses and look the inspector in the eye. NEVER attempt to joke around. When asked where you are going you have been, the small city nearest your destination is usually your best answer. Also if you vehicle has a noisy engine (ie diesel) shut it off while in the booth so the inspector can hear.

5 – If you have a radar detector, leave it at home! Of if it’s onboard, power it down and lock it away someplace out of sight before crossing the border. Radar detectors are strictly forbidden – at least in Ontario. OPP patrols can and will sense an operating detector and arrest you. Fines run in the many hundreds of dollars – payable on the spot – and your detector will be confiscated and destroyed.

Bottom line is have your passport, use common sense and enjoy your visit!

I cross to the US about 10 times per year and I work for a Canadian company and am paid in Canadian funds. I have my current passport, give the border people no grief and it goes well. The guards have their orders and have no sense of humour as said elswhere here. I have had to haul out every piece of paper to justify my work though and they don't like a Canadian working in the US.

the new land travel PP is only 40.00 per person not 100.00

The passport requirement was introduced by the US government after 9/11. I cross into the states several times a year and have had no problem with either border service.

My Passport cost $115.00-$75.00 to the feds,$25.00 to the post office,which included$15.00 for the picture,took 4 weeks to get it,did not recieve my original birth certificate back but a copy.No explanation why for this given when asked?

you better get your BC back as a copy is NOT a legal document for a lot of things. mine cost 47.00 40.00 for PP and 7.00to Walgreen's for photo got it back in 9 days

In the state of Washington, they are advertising "enhanced" driver's licenses for sale by the Department of Licensing. It is supposed to take care of most of the hassle of crossing the Canadian border, and it is also supposed to cost a bunch less than an actual passport.

I haven't bought one, because my wife and I have passports already, and we don't go to Canada all that often, even when it is less than 100 miles away.

I have read that the real hassle is returning to the USA from Canada. When I have entered Canada previously the only thing they were really concerned with was the question of whether we had firearms, which we did not.

But it is a different world today. If we plan to leave the country, we will remember to bring our passports. I hope the extra vigilance makes things safer overall.

Any country that gave us Red Green can't be all bad! Always said that I have never met a Canadian that I didn't like. I suppose tighter security is the result of past events. If I go north I plan on taking my passport, birth certificate and about every other document that I have.

Your Land Travel PP would do me no good as a trip to Kazakastan in August is planned and a valid world recognized Passport with Visa privelages is required and my Birth Certificate is on file in State of Kentucky Birth Registars Office and what I submitted was in actuallity a copy of the original.I just got back a copy of a copy.Don't know the system where you reside but that is how it is here in Az.

My brother works as a border guard on the Canadian side. As it stands now, to get into Canada you need a birth certificate and 1 piece of photo ID. I believe you will need a passport sometime within the next couple of months to enter Canada. Problem is, he has been told he has to turn away any US citizens entering Canada who don't have a passport. The reason being, you now need a passport to enter the US, and even US citizens may not be allowed back into the US without one, meaning they are stuck in Canada for an extended stay.

It's gotten even worse if you're on business. Our guys used to travel freely to installations of our equipment in Canada with passports and work papers. Not anymore. Canada is checking back 20+ years for criminal records. One of our guys had 2 misdemeanors in KY 20 yrs ago for bouncing a check at a grocery store. No convictions, he just paid the store. They turned him back at the border. He had to get reference letters, local, state AND FBI background checks, fingerprinted, letters from the Court in KY stating he was NOT convicted. Then, he has to wait for the paperwork to be processed in Canada (about 2 months). He turned in a stack of paperwork about an inch thick. Ridiculous.