# How do I travel to Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422 "2013-08-05T19:17:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/21 "2013-08-06T12:41:33Z")
I traveled through Canadia with my son, as part of an Alaskan cruise, when he was 8ish. I had a signed letter, notarized, from his mom. I told him not to joke around with the authorities. He was questioned several times, separate from me. After the final interview in Vancouver, he said to me (loudly enough for the nice lady to hear), “I didn’t tell her about the bad touches”. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/22 "2013-08-06T12:48:16Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Adults need a passport (book or card) or a type of drivers license most states don’t offer. The kids need a birth certificate. Wait, I just assumed you’re driving. If you’re going to fly, **everybody** (age 0 to infinity) needs a passport (not a passport card or enhanced drivers license). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/23 "2013-08-06T12:49:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Looking at the Canadian immigration site linked to from the State Department site, the restrictions kick in if you were convicted, not just arrested. Surely there must be a statute of limitations on this. If you were convicted 20 years ago, for example, I can’t imagine that’s going to be a problem, but I don’t know for sure. I had a conviction in 1987, and I have never had a problem entering the US. And I hope I never do. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/24 "2013-08-06T12:52:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I had a conviction in 1987, and I have never had a problem entering the US. And I hope I never do. AFAIK, the US doesn’t care. We care about serious crimes like petty shoplifting. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/25 "2013-08-06T13:30:07Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > AFAIK, the US doesn’t care. We care about serious crimes like petty shoplifting. No, I have heard of one person who was turned back at the US boarder for a previous DWI. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/26 "2013-08-06T13:38:53Z")
Thanks, everyone. I like to get firsthand experiences from people who have actually done it. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/27 "2013-08-06T13:46:57Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > _ **Yes, I know - just head north.** _ > > Some family is heading our way, and we’re kicking around the idea of visiting America’s hat. I’ve heard a lot of confusingly variable information about what documentation we need in order to get in, and, ideally, back out of Canada into the US. The adults are mostly passported already, and the few who aren’t have time to get one if needed. There would also be a handful of children under the age of 5. I’ve heard that kids all need passports as well, and I’ve also heard that passports aren’t needed for anyone under 12, and I’ve heard that birth certificates are needed. > > I turn to you. Thanks! (bolding mine) Since nobody _else_ is gonna ‘go there’… South, if you’re coming from the North Pole. 😃 D&R ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/28 "2013-08-06T13:56:47Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > (bolding mine) > South, if you’re coming from the North Pole. 😃 > > D&R Or Alaska. Or Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/29 "2013-08-06T14:16:57Z")
I thought all you needed to gain entry to Canada was a [Tim card](http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/timcard/). Surely no Canadian would leave home without it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/30 "2013-08-06T15:20:31Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Back in the day, all you needed was a driver’s license each way- but to get into Canada you had to have X amount of money to cover a stay of Y days. > I don’t know if they still ask, or maybe you won’t look as poor as I did at the time. But be prepared in case they do. When we went to Toronto last year, nothing like that was ever asked (though we flew in, rather than driving in). We had passports (no kids in the party), that was all that was needed. BTW, make sure you contact your credit card issuer before you go, and tell them that you’ll be using your card out of the country. Otherwise, the first time you go to charge something, there’s a high likelihood that it’ll raise a flag in their system as a stolen card. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/31 "2013-08-06T15:23:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > When we went to Toronto last year, nothing like that was ever asked (though we flew in, rather than driving in). It might have been a rule from the olden days before credit cards and ATMs when you would be expected to have the money you were going to use on vacation on you when you crossed the border in cash. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/32 "2013-08-06T15:32:57Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > And, just to reiterate, a kid needs proof of citizenship (usually a birth certificate) **AND** a photo ID. No, just the birth certificate or a passport, per the link above. Which makes sense: how many pre-driver’s-license age kids have a photo ID? ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/33 "2013-08-06T16:01:58Z")
If you have the time and the money, even if a birth certificate will do I’d encourage you to get a passport for the kids anyway. It certainly doesn’t hurt and next time they might be looking to fly to Canada on short notice for some reason. On the DUI thing, some may recall the minor question during the 2000 presidential campaign of [whether George W. Bush would be able to go to Canada](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2000/11/is_george_w_bush_barred_from_canada.html). ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/34 "2013-08-06T16:37:36Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > No, just the birth certificate or a passport, per the link above. Which makes sense: how many pre-driver’s-license age kids have a photo ID? Maybe it’s different for different ages of kids, but last time we went in they wanted something like a school ID. Although maybe that was part of the whole mess of not having both birth parents at the border, so maybe that’s why they wanted it. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/35 "2013-08-09T13:38:43Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > From your link … My links are politically biased! ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422/36 "2013-08-09T14:33:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, I have heard of one person who was turned back at the US boarder for a previous DWI. I have heard lately of people being turned back by Canada for a DUI conviction. Note that in Canada this is a (federal) criminal code conviction, while in the USA it may simply be a state traffic act violation(?) and not show up on the crimnal conviction database. So odds are if your conviction is not in the crossborder system (CODIS?) the only way they would know is if you told them. Yeah, I have heard of people getting denied entry to the USA from Canada for convictions from decades ago. One fellow was going to Disneyland with his family in his 30’s, when they turned him back at the border based on a drug possession when he was 15. (He said his mother called the cops when she found the drugs to “teach him a lesson”) A comment on the thread said that they will grant exceptions if the possion is less than 1 ounce of pot; but good luck finding any indication on a 20 year old arrest record what the actual weight of the find was. Often it would say “less than X ounces.” I thnk they’ve gotten a lot more strict in the last few years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-travel-to-canada/665422.md?page=1)