Do I need a passport to get into Canada from the U.S.

[Doogie]

I'm traveling to Canada in about 5 weeks and thought I just needed my birth certificate. Not sure...

[I.D.10-t]

You should be able to get into Canada easily. Most of the passport problems are centered getting back into the US.

[Redwolf]

I don't know when it starts, if it hasn't already, but there is going to be a requirement for U.S. citizens to have passports to travel to and from Canada and Mexico. If you have time to get one, a passport is definitely the preferable way to go...it will save you hassles, if nothing else (and then you'll have it if you want to do any more foreign travel in the future).

You can usually get a rush on a passport and have it within a couple of weeks. I'd say it's worth doing.

Otherwise, come armed with both photo ID (a drivers license or official state ID) and birth certificate, as you will typically be required to prove both identity and citizenship/legal residency.

Redwolf

[MarkB]

At this moment you do not need a passport to get into Canada and back into the United States. Effective January 1st, 2007, all those arriving by air into the United States will need a passport, including U.S. citizens. A passport for those travelling by land won't come into affect until January, 2008 but that is being questioned by border states and Canada, possibly looking to a national identity card.

To come to Canada, all you need is several pieces of identification, including at least one with a picture on it, for U.S. citizens entering Canada, that would be your birth certificate and driver's license.

MarkB

[Walden]

I'm traveling to Canada in about 5 weeks and thought I just needed my birth certificate. Not sure...

You now need a passport to get into Oklahoma from Texas... definitely worth it.

[djm]

As others have noted above, a passport is not required, but its a good thing to have, and will save you time and hassles later. Make sure you completely dry your hair before attempting to cross the border.

djm

[Doug_Tipple]

I'm traveling to Canada in about 5 weeks and thought I just needed my birth certificate. Not sure...

You now need a passport to get into Oklahoma from Texas... definitely worth it.

I need more information here. Which is the foreign country, Texas or Oklahoma? My brother moved to Austin to go to graduate school years ago. He got a job in Austion and has lived in Texas for 30 years. Now, when he calls on the phone, I can hardly understand him. I guess that I answered my own question. It must be Texas. Or is it Oklahoma?

[Father Emmet]

I visited Montreal back in October. No problems whatsoever getting into Canada. I was asked one question, the reason for my visit.
Getting back into the US however was a royal PIA. My drivers licence wasn't good enough, and was told a birth certificate wasn't much better.
They ran my licence and questioned me on my 'priors' (minor infractions from the 80's). And this was at a counter manned by a nice, older Canadian woman ("Next time you visit Canada you have passport, OK?"). The U.S. Customs agents were not as polite. I was grilled for half an hour about prior addresses, my previous employment history, where I went to high school, you name it. I knew they couldn't possibly have this information on their little screen, but still, it can be hard to come up with these answers quickly under pressure (and hung over).
So yes, get a passport.

[Alcona]

Hehe, I think Texas and Oklhoma have issues with each other, especially when it comes to driving I've heard.

[hyldemoer]

I knew about needing a passport to get back into the USA happening in the future
but since when did getting into Canada require a birth certificate in addition to a driver's license (photo ID)?

Last time I crossed the border into Canada (a couple years back) all I needed was my driver's license.
I see now they require proof of citizenship in addition to that photo ID.
If they were requiring that citizenship proof a couple years back I must have glided through by the charms of my Chicago accent.

[Tyler]

At this moment you do not need a passport to get into Canada and back into the United States. Effective January 1st, 2007, all those arriving by air into the United States will need a passport, including U.S. citizens. A passport for those travelling by land won't come into affect until January, 2008 but that is being questioned by border states and Canada, possibly looking to a national identity card.

To come to Canada, all you need is several pieces of identification, including at least one with a picture on it, for U.S. citizens entering Canada, that would be your birth certificate and driver's license.

MarkB

I travel back and forth to Vancouver quite a bit; passports do speed up the process, though, and help out the poor US border guards (at least the ones af the Peace Arch in Washington who have a hard time reading birth cirtificates ). The above future conditions are correct, however, for the time being, you should be able to travel to and from Canada with your birth certificate and Driver's License without problem.

Funny story.
The last time I was in Vancouver (second week of this June) I had no problem getting into Canada with my U.S. documentation and Canadian visa, however coming home was interesting. I handed the border guard the birth cirtificates, D.L.s of our party (my wife, my daughter, and my parents) and my marriage license from Utah (because my wife's passport still has her maiden name on it). The poor border guard spent ten minutes perusing our documentation and stated,
"How many in your party."
A legitimate question I supposed, so I answered, "Five. Myself, my wife and daughter and my parents."
"So, Carol is your daughter?" the guard asked.
"Noo, Carol is my mother. Did you miss Carol's driver's license? My daughter is only fifteen months."
The guard was visibly agitated, and only answered, "...and how long have you and Elena been married?"
"Elena is my daughter, sir."

Long story short, apparantly he made a huge show of looking at our documentation, because he got everyone mixed up and married to everyone else ( I can only guess he wasn't trying to catch us in a lie by his agitated state). I highly suspect he was either lazy or illiterate.
I feel real safe...

[I.D.10-t]

I have also known people that have been harassed because their children (14 and 15 years old) did not have passports for identification. This for a flight from Minnesota to Colorado.

[Martin Milner]

To come to Canada, all you need is several pieces of identification, including at least one with a picture on it, for U.S. citizens entering Canada, that would be your birth certificate and driver's license.

MarkB

Getting back into the US however was a royal PIA. My drivers licence wasn't good enough, and was told a birth certificate wasn't much better.

I knew about needing a passport to get back into the USA happening in the future but since when did getting into Canada require a birth certificate in addition to a driver's license (photo ID)?

US birth certificates include a photo?

[dubhlinn]

Well my sister was born in Los Angeles about forty four years ago and her birth cert has her footprints on it.

Strange, eh?

Slan,
D.

[avanutria]

US birth certificates include a photo?

No, but you can sometimes get <a href="http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/depar ... dl.html">a special kind of driver's licence</a> without being a citizen, so a DL on its own wouldn't be sufficient proof of citizenship. Since a birth cert doesn't have a photo, you can't use it on its own. But a DL *does* have a photo, so the two together work.