# Passport needed to travel to USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524 "2003-10-20T16:00:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rookie523](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@rookie523](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rookie523)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/1 "2003-10-20T16:00:57Z")
Do Canadians (with a Canadian birth certificate) need to have a passport to travel to the USA or specifically New York? What about Canadian citizens born outside Canada but now have citizenship with Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/2 "2003-10-20T16:15:03Z")
[U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Citizenship Services](http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/shared/lawenfor/bmgmt/inspect/docrequirements.htm): > [@](#): > > **Entry of Citizens of Canada** > Citizens of Canada are exempt from the visa and passport requirement of Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(7). To enter the United States, a Canadian citizen must be able to establish both identity and citizenship. Documents that may establish citizenship are: birth certificate, citizenship certificate, and passport. Although the Immigration Inspector may accept an oral declaration of citizenship, it is recommended that a Canadian citizen carry a document that establishes citizenship. Under current procedures, all travelers may be required to present photo-identification. NOTE: A Canadian citizen arriving from outside the Western Hemisphere is required to present a passport. Canadian citizens classified as Treaty Trader, Treaty Investor, or Fiancé(e) require a visa. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/3 "2003-10-20T16:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > **The requirements of U.S. authorities for identification upon entering the United States have recently become much stricter. The most important formality on entering the United States is providing proof of your Canadian citizenship.** In order to avoid possible problems, all Canadians should carry a Canadian passport for all visits to the United States. Your Canadian passport is the best document to prove your Canadian citizenship and your right to return to Canada. > > All carriers (noticeably airlines, but also rail and bus services) have become much stricter about requiring proof of admissibility to Canada as a result of the heavy fines they face for carrying inadmissible passengers. **Since birth and baptismal certificates, for example, do not have photographs, they are no longer accepted without accompanying valid photo identification.** Even carriers taking Canadians from Canada to the United States on roundtrip tickets have refused to return them to Canada without valid photo identification and proof of Canadian citizenship. > > – snip – > > **While U.S. authorities currently do not have a legal requirement that Canadians carry a passport, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade strongly urges all Canadians travelling to the United States to obtain and carry a Canadian passport before leaving Canada.** It is the only document that conclusively proves that you are a citizen of Canada with the right to return to Canada. Remember that a Canadian passport is still the best internationally accepted evidence of your Canadian citizenship and the best possible photo identification. (Emphasis mine.) Source: [http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/usa\_bound-en.asp](http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/usa_bound-en.asp) FWIW, the US Embassy web site for Canada sucks. I could not find any helpful information. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/4 "2003-10-20T16:39:10Z")
I crossed twice recently and only showed my Driver’s Licence. Of course, I’m white and have no accent when I speak, and I’m a born Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![5cents](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/46a35a/32.png) [@5cents](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5cents)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/5 "2003-10-20T18:40:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rookie523 \* > \*\*Do Canadians (with a Canadian birth certificate) need to have a passport to travel to the USA or specifically New York? > > What about Canadian citizens born outside Canada but now have citizenship with Canada? \*\* As others have already posted, you don’t have to have a passport, but its a damned good idea. Second best is proof of citizenship (birth certificate or citizenship certificate) plus a government issued photo ID (driver’s license). Anything less and you might be in for a nasty surprise. If you cross in a car, ID checking is often fairly lax, but if you are the “lucky winner”, it will be more thorough. If you cross on a bus/train/plane, checking is a little more strict. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by NoGoodNamesLeft_ > **I crossed twice recently and only showed my Driver’s Licence. Of course, I’m white and have no accent when I speak, and I’m a born Canadian.** I’m Canadian born, white, english, no accent, clean record. Lived in Canada for my first 25 years, then moved the US. I have crossed the border at least 100 times, and I have been pulled aside 3 times. If I only had a driver’s license, it would have made a bad situation worse. The times I was pulled aside were all before 9/11 - I have good reason to believe that border security would be even less humourless now. If you don’t look “Canadian” (i.e. non-white or non-native english or french speaker), your chances of an extended meeting with customs appears to be much higher. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passport-needed-to-travel-to-usa/208524/6 "2003-10-20T23:31:43Z")
FWIW neither United or Air Canada will board you in the states bound for Canada unless you have a passport in hand. This goes along with what **Duckster** posted