Land entry into Canada

May 3, 2007 4:00 PM

Planning to drive to Toronto on Memorial Day weekend. I know the requirement to have a passport to go to Canada by land entry points doesn't come into effect until next year but...

anybody here have actual experience of crossing at one of the Niagara entry points without a passport? This is a fairly late decision to go so no time to get passports but we will ensure we have "real" ID with us like Birth Certificates and expired passports as well as drivers licenses . What is the chance we will get hassled by always-happy immigration agents either going into Canada, or more importantly coming back into the US?

posted by 543DoublePlay to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

FYI: Technically, the requirement won't be that you need a passport to go to Canada... just that you need one to get back into the U.S.

I have recent experience (this February) as a Canadian citizen crossing at the Peace Bridge with just an Ontario driver's license (I'd forgotten my passport at school).

No problem.
posted by ewiar at 4:20 PM on May 3, 2007

I crossed into Canada in Detroit and out at Niagara. I did have a passport, but I saw the person in front of me did not hand over a passport. He had no problem. This was a month ago.
posted by FlamingBore at 4:27 PM on May 3, 2007

from here

ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: Land and sea travelers are also encouraged to have a valid U.S. passport. If they do not have a passport, they should be prepared to provide a government-issued photo ID (e.g. Driver's License) and proof of U.S. citizenship such as a U.S. birth or naturalization certificate.

I doubt anyone would harass you if the law explicitly says you don't have to have one yet.
posted by jourman2 at 4:37 PM on May 3, 2007

I cross at Niagara frequently. No, you do not need a passport. Just valid photo IDs (like a driver's license) and birth certificates.

Some other tips that might be helpful:

-Use the Rainbow Bridge. Queenston-Lewiston (and the Peace Bridge too, although that's in Buffalo/Fort Erie) frequently gets heavy commercial truck traffic and therefore longer waiting times. (You can check border wait times here.)

-Have everyone's ID ready before you get to the booth. Having to dig around is a sure way to irritate an inspector.

-There are stop signs in front of the booths. They say to stop there until the car ahead of you has vacated the booth. (Kind of the same concept as giving people a little privacy space at an ATM.) I don't know why, but the inspectors get very irate when people ignore the signs and pull right up behind the car that's at the booth. (I've seen inspectors come out of the booth and actually yell.) Don't be that guy.

- Plan to wait awhile on the bridge if you're traveling on the weekend itself - I'd say an hour or so.

Hope this helps - my email's in my profile if you have any questions. Have fun in TO!
posted by AV at 4:52 PM on May 3, 2007

I don't know why, but the inspectors get very irate when people ignore the signs and pull right up behind the car that's at the booth.

AFAIK, this is because there's mirrors or cameras or something, depending on the crossing, that they use to look at the car's underbody as you drive up. This is apparently also why lots of crossings have half-speed bumps that lift the side of your car closest to the agent.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:45 PM on May 3, 2007

Yes, what others said above.

Two other things to keep in mind:
They will/may ask you to pop the trunk of your car and they'll go take a look; don't be freaked out, it's routine. Also don't expect to sneak anything in the trunk (not that you would).

If you are bringing minors, be sure you have good paperwork for them. Eg parental permissions.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:13 PM on May 3, 2007

I cross the border on a regular basis. All you need to cross right now is driver's license and birth certificate - passport not required. Many times they don't even ask to look at anything but the photo ID. Make sure you have the birth cert. with you though just in case, the only hassle you'll get ID-wise is if you don't have it on that one time out of ten or twenty that they ask for it, especially on the US side.

If you're crossing on a holiday weekend try to cross at an offbeat time if you don't want to wait too long (NOT Friday evening rush hour, Saturday late morning, etc.). Otherwise, you will wait. A while. Be prepared.
posted by Melinika at 8:36 PM on May 3, 2007