I am a USA citizen planning on attending a non-profit industry wide organization meeting in Canada later this year. I have a valid US passport will I need a Visa or some sort of permit from the Canadian government to attend without lying to customs that Im crossing the border for a fishing trip?
No. I don’t believe so. Will you be performing any work? Getting paid to perform any work? If not, attending a conference should not be an issue at all.
Even if he is performing work, it might count as “business” and those generally don’t require a work permit or visa if a tourist trip wouldn’t. When you’re dealing with Customs and with Visa officers, it is very important to track the difference between “work”, “job” and “business”.
I worked for many years in the US (as an Australian citizen with a green card). During that time, I and many US-citizen colleagues attended work-related conferences in Canada. Neither they nor nor I needed Canadian visas to attend those conferences.
I went the opposite direction many times, but I am pretty sure the rules for Canucks visiting the US are similar to those for Yanks visiting Canada. I’m Canadian by birth and have been to numerous conferences in the states (as well as playing tourist many times). No visa. I vaguely recall being asked to elaborate once or twice when I said I was down “on business”, but no heavy questioning.
It’s called “business travel.” You do not need a visa for business travel. When asked what you’re doing there, you say “business.” When asked what kind of business, you say “attending a conference.” Then they give you your complimentary poutine and you go on your merry way.
People do this all over the world every day.
ETA: I should clarify that this applies to visa-waiver countries, which constitutes most of the civilized world that one would attend a conference in.
No, you will not need a visa because you are an American citizen visiting Canada to attend a conference for business. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/business-who.asp
The ID requirements for Americans to get back into the USA are tighter than for Americans to get into Canada, but since we don’t want to start stockpiling Americans, we tend to turn away Americans who don’t have the requisite ID to get back into the USA. In short, remember to bring your passport. American entry into Canada by land - Wikipedia.
A bit of advice when speaking with the Canada Border Security Agency officer:
[ul]
[li]Pass the person your passport when they ask for ID, be sure you look at least something like your photo in your passport, and be able to clearly answer questions on who you are, where you live, why you are entering Canada, where you are going, where you will be staying, who you will be seeing, when you will be leaving, how much cash you are bringing in, what your car’s licence plate number is, etc. (and be able to produce paperwork to reasonably prove the above, e.g. credit card, bank card or cheque book, conference reservation, hotel reservation, vehicle ownership, return flight confirmation, letter from your mom).[/li][li]Be absolutely honest and straight forward. If in doubt, be absolutely honest and straight forward.[/li][li]Don’t even think about bringing child porn, guns or drugs into Canada (the exceptions being long guns with the proper entry paperwork and medications with their prescriptions – but not medically prescribed pot)[/li][li]Don’t bring fresh food across unless you have already checked to see if it is permitted. Sven and Ole’s pizza is permitted, but you might be asked to share it.[/li][li]If you have ever been convicted of anything, check with a Canadian criminal lawyer to learn if the most similar Canadian offence could be an indictable offence or a hybrid offence, and if so, then apply months in advance for a dispensation of holy vorpal rehabilitation (the offences that block quite a few otherwise good people are misdemeanor DUI and misdemeanor assault). You can ask for deemed rehabilitation at the border, but don’t count on it being granted – deal with this well in advance. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5312ETOC.asp[/li][/ul]