@FinsToTheLeft linked to an article from Budget on the requirements for insurance in Canada and getting a nonresident’s insurance card.
FWIW, my daughter has had to travel by herself internationally (when she was 15 and 16). She’s returned to Taiwan by herself and gone on an exchange program to Europe.
She has dual American and Taiwanese citizenships, and permanent residency in Japan. We made damn sure that it’s really clear what’s the situation.
My WAG is that taking a much younger child is going to be something you want to be much more careful about.
if you have everything, it shouldn’t be a problem, but just have all the documentation.
Even a single parent needs proof to take a minor child across the border.
I once witnessed a father put his wife and child onto a train and then leave. When we got to the border, the customs guy questioned her very closely asking if she had the father’s permission. I was even considering going up to the custom’s officer and describing what I had witnessed, but he finally let them procede.
And this shows the randomness as we’ve never had a problem or been asked about it in the many times only one of us has taken one or more of our kids overseas or back.
I wound up making a reservation with Budget since they had easy to find info on the web and it seems pretty straightforward. Just tell them you will be taking the car to Canada during checkout and they will give you some sort of yellow card to keep in your car that says you are covered insurance-wise.
Now we, or actually my stepdaughter, just needs to get the proof-of-grandparents paperwork all taken care of.
Did your “no issues” include telling the rental agency you were taking it to Canada? Did it include having an accident in Canada?
This thread is about two overlapping problems.
Taking minors who are not your offspring across the border. Which may result in you getting jacked up by the immigration cops at the border going either way. The only defense is bringing sufficient paperwork to satisfy the most suspicious border patrolman.
Taking a rented car across the border. Which will be totally fine unless you get involved in an accident in the other country. Or unless the rental car company has a rule against that and is tracking your car while you’re violating their rules. The defense is telling the rental agency your cross-border plans and complying with whatever else they may ask of you.