I’m planning a road trip next year. One possible route has me driving from Flint to Buffalo, partly across Ontario. How much of a hassle is it to cross the border? For sake of clarity, I would cross at Point Edward and Fort Erie/Buffalo.
Sorry - wrong forum. Can this be moved to General Questions? Thanks!
Are you a US citizen? Do you have a passport? If the answer to both questions is yes, then you won’t have a problem.
Going into Canada at Port Huron / Sarnia is much easier than at Detroit / Windsor, because the border crossing is much quieter. At the other end, at Fort Erie / Buffalo, the crossing is much busier, but you shouldn’t have a problem. (Unlike me about 15 years ago, but I was an Australian, in adjustment of status from an employment visa to a green card, and with an advance parole allowing me to leave the U.S. while in adjustment of status – I was held up for about an hour, apparently because that was all too complex for the evening shift at Buffalo.)
Moving from Great Debates to General Questions.
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To clarify: yes, I am a US citizen with a valid passport.
There should be no problem unless you’re in some kind of legal trouble. There’s the obvious issues, like outstanding warrants or owing child support. Then there’s certain past criminal offenses, even if the time has been served. Here’s alink for more details.
Won’t be an issue then. It’s a pretty simple process. Last time I drove into Canada I didn’t even have to get out of my car, just show proper ID going in and coming out.
If you have Netflix, it has a reality show called Border Security: Canada’s Front Line. It gives some insight into what might get you scrutinized or even refused entry.
Just crossed border near niagra falls, gave border agent my passport.
Border agent: reason for visit?
Me: Going to a wedding
Border agent: Whose wedding?
Me: my daughter best friend
Border agent: How long will you be here?
Me: 3 days
Border agent: Have a nice time
Me: thank you
Going off on a tangent…
We came back from Hawaii via Seattle, and thence to Vancouver, BC. We got off the plane in Vancouver and started trundling off to find where we’d parked the car. The Canadian Customs guy asked where we were going, and I said, we’re just going home. He asked when our flight was. Since this was after midnight, I was a bit tired. I was like, ‘Flight? No, we’re just going to home. To Washington.’ ‘But when is your flight?’ Somehow we made him understand that Vancouver is where we stopped flying, and we would drive our car back to our house.
Ive done such a drive, it’s easy if you have the right papers, however it is possible that there could be a wait as others filter through.
How long did it take? Are we talking about five minutes, fifteen minutes, or longer?
I’m not worried about being able to do it so much as how convenient it will be. Do I get my passport stamped, or is it just “on your way, yank”?
Thanks for the info - much appreciated.
1 minute, just gave passports back
Of course, I have an innocent look :rolleyes:
We did a road trip up into Canada from Washington state some months back: 2 adults on US passports, 2 kids on US passports, 1 adult on a UK passport (visa waiver), and 1 adult on a South African passport (with visas required for Canada and the US). Even with a detailed explanation of where everyone was from and where everyone was eventually going (my parents were visiting us from abroad, we live in the Seattle area) it only took a couple of minutes.
The hassle isn’t likely to be at the actual border crossing booth. If there is a hassle it’ll be due to waiting in your car in the queue for an excruciating amount of time.
On five of my six border crossing (counting both ways) I’ve had pretty much no wait, and the time between slowing down from highway speeds on one end and speeding up again on the other was something like 10 minutes. The sixth was trying to get back into the US and getting stuck in a 80 minute traffic jam. I think it was a lot of Canadians trying to see the solar eclipse in Oregon.
I think historic wait time data is something you can search for online. Current times are typically available too. You might be able to get a feel for how bad it typically is.
Google Maps doesn’t have an “avoid border crossings” options, so I’m not sure how your route compares to others. I suspect that for a four hour drive the border crossings will be lost in the noise.
Most of the time, it’s fairly quick and painless. The Canada Border Services Agency aims for a service standard where 95% of travelers wait no more than 10 minutes on weekdays (defined as Mon–Thu) and no more than 20 minutes on weekends & holidays. I drive across southern Ontario every now & then (I have relatives in Guelph, ON and in Ann Arbor), and in my experience those standards sound about right. CBSA reports that they met this standard 97.6% of the time in FY 2016–2017.
When returning to the US, you might want to consider using the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge rather than the Peace Bridge; for most points in the Buffalo area it’s about the same in terms of driving time, so if there’s a significant clog at one of the crossings, going to the other can save you time. The Niagara River Bridge Commission maintains a web page with current wait times in both directions, and also has an 800 number you can call for the latest conditions. I usually call the 800 number about 10 minutes before I hit the appropriate junction and decide at that point.
Got any DWI on your record? Because that actually can get you refused, FYI !
OK. I have a question. How would this dialog go down:
Border Agent: Reason for visit?
Me: Just driving through. Cutting across on my way to Seattle.
I mean, is that a weird thing to do?As in, sounds suspiciously weird, and therefore dis-allowable or maybe worth their time to delay and check me further?
I just figure I might want to take the straightest route from one coast to another, part of which is through Ontario. I wanna just see Ontario too. Is that what I have to say – “Also, sightseeing in Ontario”?
And yes, I know that’s hardly the straightest route from NYC to Seattle, unless I also take a ferry across Lake Michigan. Which is also part of this kooky plan of mine.
Don’t sweat it, LOTS of people do the exact same. They’ll have heard such before.
Be open, honest, and pleasant. That’s all it takes. You’re over thinking it.
Feeling on edge about it, is a signal they WILL detect, it’s a sure tell for ne’er do wells, so just chill!
Many years back, when the US had the 55 mph speed limit, my wife and I were going to northern Maine. We crossed into Canada around Detroit. Reason for visiting Canada, “I don’t like to drive 55”. Have a nice trip.
GaryM
It used tom be common driving from NY to Detroit, to cut through Canada. In those bygone days, when an American crossed into Canada, they would ask you to give them your driver’s license and return it on exit. If you said you were exiting from a different place, they would not insist on holding your liccense. Didn’t make much sense, but not much about border crossing does. If they find a DUI on scanning your passport, they will refuse you.