My boyfriend would like to travel to Canada, from the US, to visit me for an extended period of time. I know the US has a limit on the number of days one can stay in country while visiting using a passport (with no special visas etc); I assume Canada has a similar restriction. I’ve searched all over the Canada Border Services Agency website, but I can’t find the information anywhere.
If he’s coming in with no intent to seek employment, just here on a sort of vacation, how long would he be able to stay? Would the time be different if he’s driving up instead of flying?
I’m hoping someone can help me out with the info, or at least point me in the right direction to find it on one of the US or Canadian government websites, because I would love to have him here with me for as long as our governments will let us!
Good luck. I’m an American who fell for a Canadian, myself, and the three years or so we spent in a long-distance relationship before I moved up here were absolutely maddening.
You are only allowed to stay in Canada for 6 monthes on what they call a temporairy visa/permit. You may or may not have had your passport stamped when you came through, but 6 monthes is the limit. If you need more time you are supposed to apply for an extension of this visa before it expires. Or, I suppose you go back to the states and start again. Don’t know what the rule is concerning th U.S. side of it. These are Canada’s rules. I know cause I’m going through the process of becomming a permanent visitor.
6 months per written rule. Although I wonder how they enforce it? Years ago (pre 9/11) I used to regularly travel into Canada via Windsor. I and my passengers wre never directly asked for IDs. Only time one was ever shown was when a passenger happened to be an African national in the US as a student, and I suggested he bring it and show it at the border. Apparently this is a common enough scenario that Canadian customs just waved us on pass. (I’ll gather smuggling African students into Canada wasn’t a security priority for the Canadians. Then again this was the Detroit/Windsor border, and cross border travel ain’t exacly rare there.)
Looks like as of Dec. 31, 2007 I’ll never be able to enter Canada again, as I don’t have a US passport. Of coure in theory I should have no problem getting a US passport if I jump through all the hoops to do so, but that is a minor PITA. Unless Fedgov makes getting a US passport near impossible to get due to paranoia, etc. MY hope is that idea won’t fly politically. Surely there must be enough Americans who occasionally leave the US that the idea would piss off a lot of voters. Maybe in Idaho hardly any who lives there ever leave the country. This surely can’t be the case in MI.
Of coure in theory I should have no problem getting a US passport if I jump through all the hoops to do so, but that is a minor PITA. Unless Fedgov makes getting a US passport near impossible to get due to paranoia, etc. MY hope is that idea won’t fly politically. Surely there must be enough Americans who occasionally leave the US that the idea would piss off a lot of voters. Maybe in Idaho hardly any who lives there ever leave the country. This surely can’t be the case in MI.