So I'm a US Citizen, but my passport is expired. I want to visit Vancouver, BC by car, and all the info I'm seeing is that beginning somewhere in 2009, that crossing has become passport required.
Unforunately, I'm trying to get up there to see a soccer game scheduled 10/2, and all gov't website info says that expedited passport apps still take 2-3 weeks, so it doesn't seem like a great idea to lay down extra money to expedite a process which probably won't get me my passport in time for me to use it either way.
My question is this -- does anyone know if there are any other options for a tourist to enter Canada without a complete passport application? Like, can I somehow show proof that the passport is in the mail, or is it possible to do something like enter with state ID + birth certificate or something?
I'm expecting the answer to be "shit out of luck," but I was hoping perhaps some of the Seattle kids here might know more about that whole system than the US gov't websites will tell me...
Posts
That was 4 years ago too.
-Current W.I.P.
sorry
Thanks for all the replies, more or less what I was expecting to hear. Guess in the future I should plan a little further out than two weeks at a time...
Edit: Call the right one of these: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html
If you can't get that in time, then you're out of luck, mate It's too bad when plans are made extremely short notice, but that's how passports work. You gotta plan them well in advance.
As posted before, I got a new one (Not a renewal!) in less than 6 hours.
You....what?
When was this?
You do need to physically go there. And you do need an appointment. However, the only "additional" cost is the expedite fee that you were already prepared to pay; there is no additional cost for the whole "in-person, super-quick service" aspect. You just have to get there. Which, well, Seattle isn't that far...is it?
If you can take a day off, and get there early in the morning, you can leave with a Passport in the afternoon.
Also, the Passport Card is an option, that's still good for land/sea crossing...it'll save you a few bucks (forget how much), it's basically the equivalent of an Enhanced Driver's License for those that don't have that option. Which, on that note, it was actually quicker for us to get our Passports living in the Seattle area than it was to get an EDL...just an FYI. Going to the Passport Agency was a fuckload easier than messing with the DMV, and delivery was quicker. Though depending on your local DMV, that may vary (and obviously this doesn't affect you, GEM).
Short version: if you can get the day off, make an appointment and go up to Seattle to get a Passport or Passport Card. It costs no more than an expedited one through the mail. I know the latter can be done same-day. I've heard rumors that they are even open weekends, though I'm not sure on that one.
EDIT: Ah. Apparently only the Card is issued on-site in Seattle. But that'll work for you, so it's an option. They can also do rush delivery (I believe 48 hours or less) for the full book, if you feel the need. They prioritize based on date of travel when you go in there. Prioritize for shipping of the book, that is; when you go in for your appointment you just get in line and that's that. Yes, there is a line even with an appointment, the appointment just gets you into that "block" of people in line...my wife and I were in and out in less than an hour, though. We had passports shipped, no idea how long it takes them to print the Card.
If you live near a Passport Agency that has the ability to print Passports on-site (not all can), this is actually pretty easy.
Otherwise you can still get them within like 48 hours or so if you pay for overnight shipping.
Yes you can still get what you need. Yes you need to physically go to Seattle. No it will not cost more than an expedited Passport would already cost. Yes they can print a Passport Card on-site, and give it to you the same day, otherwise yes they can expedite your Passport and deliver it to you within like 48 hours. Yes the Passport Card is all you need to cross by land or sea.
And yes, I have actually done this, and it was ridiculously easy. Harder for you, coming from Oregon, but as long as you have the proper documents and can get to downtown Seattle, you're golden.
Were you coming up for a Timbers/Whitecaps game?
Well, you'd have to be able to get back into the country eventually. Like, you don't just lose your citizenship or anything. But I imagine the process would be...unpleasant.
and @ mcdermott -- thanks a million for the info. It's all really doable, except for the part where I need to take time off from work to make it to the Seattle office and get it all squared away. The time off is probably the hill too far, especially considering I can just get the passport in order via regular means, and there will be more Timbers v. Whitecaps games in the future for me to attend (potentially in this postseason, too!). I just noticed this one on the schedule, and it coincided with plans I have to attend the US Open Cup in Seattle on 10/5, so I was hoping to make a nice swing through a few soccer stadiums in a couple days. Never been to Vancouver, either, so it was going to be a nice little trip, but it looks like my first trip to Canada will have to wait a little bit.
Thanks a million for all the replies, it's insanely more useful than the government websites!!
They're convoluted, aren't they?
Hope to see you up here soon!
For us, we had already booked a non-refundable cruise when we ran into this issue...so we were a little more stressed about it! The cruise website totally said you just needed a birth certificate, which was (according to the TSA website) a vicious lie. The former had apparently just not updated their shit.
But, as you can tell, we got it quite sorted out.
And yes, government websites are hateful.
Long Version: Me and my wife (Canada vs California) were starting to date around the time of the rules change. First you just needed a valid Driver's License and Birth Certificate to cross the border. Then you had to have a passport to cross into the U.S. from the air; this was supposed to take place shortly after 2001 for obvious reasons but for other obvious reasons (the government!) it took a really long time to institute. Eventually it came into effect, but if you were travelling by car you could still do the License/Birth Certificate route for a couple years. Around 2008 they changed it so you need a passport to cross into the U.S. by land or air or sea. Canada followed suite shortly after. When I got my Canadian passport it was right before the rule change hit, and when my parents did it to come visit me a few months later, it took them 3 months to get everything processed after paying to have it expedited. I've heard of it taking as long as 6 months if you don't pay the fee. So yeah, a couple weeks isn't that big of a deal.
That wait was because even though they gave YEARS of warning, no one actually got their passport. When the rule finally changed and you needed it, no one had one.
The wait though is only a couple weeks or, if you pay extra, a day.