Crossing the Canadian Border

The Green Eyed Monster

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...

Xaquin

I was told I had to have a passport just to fly over Canada when I went to Alaska.

That was 4 years ago too.

Hevach

Now, you pretty much need a passport for any kind of border crossing between the US and Canada. There was a question from somebody doing the opposite, coming from Canada, and at least one person said they "knew a guy" who was able to do it without a passport, but that's basically playing the lottery as to whether you get an agent who'll just say "Oh fuck it, go ahead," vs one that will say things like cavity search.

Gilbert0

You MAY get accross with your old one and feign ignorance with it being expired. They're not supposed to but it may work.

wogi

From what I remember, my father has been able to go back and fourth to canada with an expired passport. That was quite a while ago though.

SmallLady

If you lived in WA I would suggest getting an Enhanced Drivers License. However with out a current passport, you will not be granted entry to Canada.

sorry

The Green Eyed Monster

SmallLady wrote: »

If you lived in WA I would suggest getting an Enhanced Drivers License. However with out a current passport, you will not be granted entry to Canada.

sorry

Yeah, I saw something about that, but (thankfully) I'm an Oregonian (ha!).

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...

Cauld

You can renew your passport in as little as a day, so long as you go to the service center. I'll try to find the list of places online and edit it in. I got mine in about 4 hours once.

Edit: Call the right one of these: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

The Green Eyed Monster

Cauld wrote: »

You can renew your passport in as little as a day, so long as you go to the service center. I'll try to find the list of places online and edit it in. I got mine in about 4 hours once.

Edit: Call the right one of these: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

Hmmm ... but I need to physically be at one of those locations in order to process the application, right? And I'm assuming there are extra fees involved with that, or is it just like an express lane for people who go to the location?

Cauld

The Green Eyed Monster wrote: »

Cauld wrote: »

You can renew your passport in as little as a day, so long as you go to the service center. I'll try to find the list of places online and edit it in. I got mine in about 4 hours once.

Edit: Call the right one of these: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

Hmmm ... but I need to physically be at one of those locations in order to process the application, right? And I'm assuming there are extra fees involved with that, or is it just like an express lane for people who go to the location?

You do need to go there and it does cost more. You also need an appointment. Just throwing it out there as an option.

Rikushix

I think your only option is renewing it quickly with the resources Cauld suggested. There's no way to visit Canada anymore without a Passport or a Passport Card, barring certain state exceptions like Washington's enhanced drivers license.

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.

Satsumomo

2-3 weeks? Wow that's insanely long.

As posted before, I got a new one (Not a renewal!) in less than 6 hours.

Rikushix

Satsumomo wrote: »

2-3 weeks? Wow that's insanely long.

As posted before, I got a new one (Not a renewal!) in less than 6 hours.

You....what?

When was this?

mcdermott

The Green Eyed Monster wrote: »

Cauld wrote: »

You can renew your passport in as little as a day, so long as you go to the service center. I'll try to find the list of places online and edit it in. I got mine in about 4 hours once.

Edit: Call the right one of these: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html

Hmmm ... but I need to physically be at one of those locations in order to process the application, right? And I'm assuming there are extra fees involved with that, or is it just like an express lane for people who go to the location?

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.

mcdermott

Rikushix wrote: »

Satsumomo wrote: »

2-3 weeks? Wow that's insanely long.

As posted before, I got a new one (Not a renewal!) in less than 6 hours.

You....what?

When was this?

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.

mcdermott

My God, the blocks of text. One more post, short version:

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.

Corvus

Potentially, you might be able to get in to Canada (see: Requirements to Enter Canada as an American tourist, for less than 6 months) , but you almost certainly won't be able to get back to the US without a passport.

Were you coming up for a Timbers/Whitecaps game?

mcdermott

Corvus wrote: »

Potentially, you might be able to get in to Canada (see: Requirements to Enter Canada as an American tourist, for less than 6 months) , but you almost certainly won't be able to get back to the US without a passport.

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.

The Green Eyed Monster

Corvus wrote: »

Potentially, you might be able to get in to Canada (see: Requirements to Enter Canada as an American tourist, for less than 6 months) , but you almost certainly won't be able to get back to the US without a passport.

Were you coming up for a Timbers/Whitecaps game?

Yeah, I was hoping to catch the Timbers v. Whitecaps game, but unfortunately I don't have my passport in order at the moment.

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!!

Rikushix

The Green Eyed Monster wrote: »

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!

mcdermott

Rock on, man. I wasn't sure if this was more of a one-chance deal, where it was really important that you go, or something you could just do again. Wanted to make sure you knew that it was at least possible.

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.

Gafoto

My ex-girlfriend lost her passport about a week before a trip to Germany. She flew to some regional office in Denver and got her passport on the spot. Might want to look into that. I believe it was a bit pricey though.

clearsimpleplain

Short Version: You need a passport. The wait time is not very long; if you're planning a trip the cost of the passport and the time taken to get it will probably be a pretty small part of the expense.

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.

Gilbert0

clearsimpleplain wrote: »

Short Version: You need a passport. The wait time is not very long; if you're planning a trip the cost of the passport and the time taken to get it will probably be a pretty small part of the expense.

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.