I believe I heard a litle while ago (a month or two maybe) that Canada and the US may require even Canadian and US citizens to have a valid passport in order to cross the border.
Unfortunately, I don’t recall my source–probably a local news broadcast or something. Most of the websites I checked out have the standard comment that only proof of US or Canadian resedency is required (birth certificate, valid driver’s license), an actual passport is not. None of them mentioned the possibility that the restrictions might tighten.
Has anyone else heard this? What is the status of the possibility?
Or am I insane and, in fact, my status is actually in question.
I haven’t heard anything along these lines yet, and I follow news in this area very closely, for professional reasons. Please keep in mind, though, that a driver’s license does NOT serve as proof of citizenship, just proof that you are the person in the photo. Proof of U.S. citizenship includes a U.S. birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or, of course, passport. The passport is the only one of these that serves as proof both of citizenship and of identity, so it’s more readily trusted and you’re probably less likely to be hassled by the border inspectors.
If you do find a cite, though, please do post it here.
A quick check of travelcanada.ca confirms that evidence of US citizenship is required, along with a photo ID such as a drivers license. A visa or passport is not required.
I cross the border back and forth quite frequently (by car), and I have NEVER been asked for anything more than my license (and occasionally not even that). I am positive that a passport is not necessary, but I would take a birth certificate just in case. I would make sure that I had two forms of ID – whether a license, state ID, credit card, birth certificate, passport, or student ID, etc. – if I were you.
I cross the border just about every week (at the Lewiston NY-Queenston ON crossing if it’s of any note). The last two times I’ve crossed over into Canada, I’ve been asked for my passport. In the previous six months, I never was. Hmmm.
I was told last time that having a birth certificate and drivers’ license would suffice. The safe bet, of course, is to always take your passport along, because you don’t know when it’s going to be asked for, and as a result you get stuck at the border, which is No Fun. So, in practice, I’d say that a passport (or, failing that, your birth certificate and drivers’ license) is already “required.”
Proof of citizenship is required. A driver’s licence alone is not acceptable — a friend of mine learned this the hard way when his passport was stolen and he was detained for hours and hours at the border. The only ID he had was his licence.
YMMV if you are not a visible minority. (Sorry, but that’s been a sad truth for a long time.)
A driver’s licence can often be obtained without citizenship, so it proves nothing. For example, a Canadian friend of mine attended college in the U.S. and got a state driver’s license because that’s where he was a resident for four years. Clearly, the license did not mean he was a U.S. citizen.
Most of my life, if anyone ever asked, my birth certificate was enough. I didn’t get a driver’s licence until I was 19 and travelled back and forth from the U.S. plenty. I did not own any government issued photo ID.
In the last ten years, I have been asked for a government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship. So I do carry my passport for this purpose because it’s easiest.
The requirements for cross-border travel between the US and Canada are changing as of tomorrow. Some of the changes are summarized in a memo I received from the University of Toronto:
I just crossed a couple of days ago and I wasn’t required to have my passport (For the first time in years I was asked to show valid I.D., though. I’m usually just waved on after saying where I’m from and where I’m going.)
These new requirements are for “permanent residents”. When I last went through Canada, they only wanted some form of ID showing residency when entering Canada. Since we claimed US citizenship on the end of the trip (we were taking the “Canada loop” from New York to Michigan) and had New York plates, they just waved us through when entering the USA. This was last April.