My son and I are planning to travel from our home here in Atlanta, Georgia to go on a driving tour up north, and ending our trip in Canada. But I’m not sure if we need passports to go over the border, and sure don’t want to be surprised if we DO need them. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Judy
Nope. No passports needed.
You do need proof of US residence and a photo ID.
Not if you’re American citizens. You DO need proof of citizenship. Birth certificates are fine. You’ll want photo ID to go with it, to show that the birth certificate is yours. If you already have a passport, it doesn’t hurt to take it, as it’s the form of ID that’s least open to questioning, but I certainly wouldn’t go to the trouble of getting one just for this.
-A Canadian who’s crossed the border many, many times
Last time I went to Canada (from Atlanta, no less!) I did not need a passport. I’ll see if I can dig up an official government web site to prove this, though.
Ah, here’s the information, straight from the State Department:
http://travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html
It allows entering Canada with either a passport or some alternative proof that you are a United States Citizen and a photo ID. So a passport may not be a bad idea, but other forms of identification are acceptable too.
Driving into Canada, I have rarely been asked for ID (though things may be different in the past couple years). It’s the Americans that will rake you over the coals.
Flying into Canada they did give me a hard time for having only a driver’s license.
Flying from the US to Canada, what do you need?
As well they should - driver’s licenses have sfa to do with citizenship.
But I too have noticed that I get grilled by the American customs officers much more than their Canadian counterparts. I was never sure if it was because I was Canadian, or if the American customs officers are just jerks.
Flying’s same as driving - you need proof of citizenship and photo ID. Assuming you’re a citizen of one or the other of the countries, of course.
Note: you may not be asked for identification. This doesn’t mean it isn’t required. If you forgot the relevant ID and luck out entering Canada by not having it asked for, you could get stuck at the border trying to get back into the States when the guy in the booth won’t let you through with just your driver’s license.
One of my children is going on a group trip to Canada soon. The information packet says this:
"CANADIAN BORDER: Crossing the border from the US into Canada requires an original birth certificate with a raised seal and picture ID or a US passport."
.
I’m not sure the information on the website listed earlier is still valid because it is dated May, 2002. They have really tightened up cross border security since the September 11, 2002 attack. The other thing you have to contend with is getting back in to the USA with proof that you are actually from there.
Umm…Monopoly, buddy? 9/11/01.
Let’s put it this way; a passport is a good idea, quite frankly. If you can get one you should. But if there isn’t time, a birth certificate and photo ID should suffice.
It’s a hassle to get one but a passport’s a good thing to get.
I can’t say I agree. If you have no plans of going anywhere abroad besides Canada, the hassle of getting a passport is pointless. It’s not just that birth certificate + photo ID should suffice, it’s that they do suffice. An American citizen entering Canada from the US will never be asked for more. The only possible advantage is that the passport might be less apt to have its authenticity challenged, but I’ve never heard of the authenticity of ID being challenged at the border. I mean, I’m sure it happens, but in all my crossings, and all the crossings made by people I know, it’s never happened, and the sample size here isn’t insignificant.
I fly to Canada a lot. pre 9/11 you could get on the plane w/o a passport. Post 9/11 the airlines I fly (United and Air Canada) want to see a passport, period. A friend was thinking of meeting me in Canada so I asked if a passport was mandatory, and the answer was yes. I do not know if this was the airlines policy or Customs.
YMMV
Airlines don’t make international ID policies. Governments do.
Probably the latter, as I’m American. There are also several pit threads along these lines by other members in the archives.
Baptismal certificates (according to customs guy last time I went through and my sister had failed to bring proof of citizenship) will work too.
The birth certificate/photo ID works rather well.
(Voting reg used to work, but I don’t think it will anymore)
Huh? “Raised seal”? Mine doesn’t have a raised seal. What makes the govt (or the airlines) think that all birth cirtificates have raised seals? Aren’t birth cirtificates issued by thousands of cities and towns, in a multitude of formats?