What U.S. or Canadian documentation do you need to cross into the other country and back?

jdeerfoot said:

remember you can get into Canada with any valid id, but you will need a passport to get back into the states.

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What!!!! You can't get back into your own country?!?! How are you supposed to get a U.S passport when you are stranded trying to cross the border into International Falls, Minnesota, or Houlton, Maine? I haven't had a passport in 40 years and I've never been to Canada since border restrictions went into place, so I'm completely ignorant on this subject.

Requirements to enter Canada, note that they vary depending on your country of citizenship and mode of entry (air/ground/marine)


I can't find a clean link for re-entering the US but I did find this

I wondered this also. A quick Google search was helpful, but still leaves me with questions. I've had all kinds of misleading information, well meaning of course, but I would definitely get a passport just in case.
There's lot more to read on this.

I'm need to study up on it in case I completely lose my mind, pack my stuff and take off up that way.

I just went ahead & got the passport but my understanding is that Canada will let you in as long as you have the documentation to get back out. A photo ID and your original birth certificate should be sufficient for land travel but a passport is good for 10 years & only costs $175 or so.

I'm going to ask for a stamp next time. I've presented the passport twice now and I still didn't get a big red Maple leaf stamp.

My US passport was stolen while canoeing in Canada in 2016. I had to call home, collect, to have someone try and look up the regulations for how I could get back into the US. It sounded like I'd have to apply for some sort of temporary passport and that I might have to go all the way to Calgary, to find a US embassy, to do it.

I was worried that if I showed up at a border crossing I might be detained and not allowed to enter the US or re-enter Canada. I stopped at a Canadian police station near the border to ask their advice thinking this is probably something they'd had some experience with. I didn't get any first hand knowledge from the officer but she said that as far as she understood it that without a pretty serious reason I couldn't be denied re-entry into my own country as long as I could prove I was a citizen (I still had my driver's license).

Buoyed a little by that idea I decided to just show up at the crossing and see what happened. I told them about my passport being stolen, handed them my driver's license, and they waved me through. I think I've crossed back into the US 4 or 5 times and this was the quickest and easiest it had ever been.

That was 8 years ago now so I don't know if it's any different today or not.

Alan

I carry a passport card, good only for Mexico and Canada by land travel only, not air. Recently I crossed into Canada at Cornwall, Ontario, and something raised a red flag as my car was searched. Probably a solo adult male with friends in Ontario. On the way home I crossed at a remote Maine crossing, showed the card and got a pleasant "Welcone Home". Once I gave the guy at Niagara Falls crossing (coming home) a Visa card by mistake, he told me "we don't take Visa, please pull into that inspection portal"

Gamma1214 said:

I just went ahead & got the passport but my understanding is that Canada will let you in as long as you have the documentation to get back out. A photo ID and your original birth certificate should be sufficient for land travel but a passport is good for 10 years & only costs $175 or so.

I'm going to ask for a stamp next time. I've presented the passport twice now and I still didn't get a big red Maple leaf stamp.

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The current cost for a passport book is $130. A passport card is $30. The passport card is only good for traveling via land or sea between the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, and Carribean countries. If it is your first time applying for a passport, there is a $35 "execution (acceptance)" fee. (Source.)

All information for applying for a U.S. passport can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html

Here are the reëntry requirements for a U.S. citizen: https://www.help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1467

Here are the entry requirements into Canada for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident:

US citizens or permanent residents
If you are a US citizen or permanent resident, you must carry proof of citizenship such as a:

passport
birth certificate
certificate of citizenship or naturalization
certificate of Indian Status along with photo identification
US Permanent Resident Card
If you are a US permanent resident, ensure you carry proof of your status such as a US Permanent Resident Card.

(Source: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/td-dv-eng.html (same as @recped's link above.))

But, to answer @Glenn MacGrady's original question: If you are a U.S. citizen and somehow lose your identification while abroad, you will be able to reënter the U.S., however, it may take some time.

While processing times can change at anytime, they are currentlly processing applications in a month or less, so now is a great time to renew/apply.

The links provided by @recped and @Modified Ottertail state that you can re-enter the U.S. by land or sea with an "enhanced driver's license". I have a driver's license from Connecticut that has a gold star indicating it is a "REAL ID". However, REAL ID driver's licenses are apparently not the same as enhanced driver's licenses from what I read.

The only states that currently issue enhanced driver's licenses (for an extra fee and bureaucracy) are Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Vermont and Washington.

Unfortunately, the Canadian entry requirements posted indicate that neither a REAL ID license nor an enhanced license can get you into Canada. U.S. citizens seem to need a passport, a U.S. birth certificate or, I gather, a passport card. But the birth certificate is not listed as a document that can get you back into the U.S.

What a hassle. Not worth my time, money or interest at this stage of life.

We live very near CA border in upstate NY, cross border frequently. Enhanced DL works both ways. It was very easy to obtain. Show a SS card or W2 with SSN, a bank statement or utility bill, and just $30 extra. Very easy. I'm This from NY DMV web site:

"An Enhanced license (permit, or non-driver ID) is a New York State DMV issued document that you can use instead of a passport to return to the US by land or sea from Canada, Mexico and some countries in the Caribbean. New York's EDL is compliant with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). 1 It is not acceptable for air travel between these countries."

We just got back from a roadtrip thru the US. with a stop over in Killarney PP. Valid passports were all we needed. They are easy to acquire.
We are by no means world savy travellers, but do like to see what's out there beyond our own backyards. So many rewards from so little effort.

Been traveling in Canada for many years and like most things there is a gray area. Only 5 states or so offer Enhanced licenses, mine being one of them in NY. I have only ever used my state issued drivers license. At present only need an enhanced - just used mine going back and forth between the states and Canada multiple times over a 6 week period. Never a hassle.

This all ends soon, and a run on passports will be coming. I'm getting my passport now. Glenn is right, many people think a Real ID is the same as Enhanced which its not. That being said I have sat at customs while people have paper birth certificates.

Different ID's can be used in different combinations at the border. Not really discussed, but so many military ID's and such when used in combination will work, such as a birth certificate with a raised indicia.

Just went in and out of Canada with my passport card no issues. Had my dog with and nobody asked to see any vaccine documentation on him at all.

BWCA66 said:

Just went in and out of Canada with my passport card no issues. Had my dog with and nobody asked to see any vaccine documentation on him at all.

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I have also noticed they no longer want my dogs rabies paperwork. I hand it over they hand it right back.

When I paddled the Yukon River 1000 mile race the first time, every paddler was requied to have a passport to show to the ICE agent at Eagle AK, the first stop in USA after crossing the border from Canada several miles earlier. it was painless and fast, taking only a couple of minutes to get back up to speed on the river again. The next time, we were preregistered and only had to call a phone number to confirm our individual entry from a free phone at the landing at Eagle.

Keeled Over said:

I have also noticed they no longer want my dogs rabies paperwork. I hand it over they hand it right back.

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that's because animal vaccination requirements are the same now in both countries

Keeled Over said:

Been traveling in Canada for many years and like most things there is a gray area. Only 5 states or so offer Enhanced licenses, mine being one of them in NY. I have only ever used my state issued drivers license. At present only need an enhanced - just used mine going back and forth between the states and Canada multiple times over a 6 week period. Never a hassle.

This all ends soon, and a run on passports will be coming. I'm getting my passport now.

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You're saying that the NY enhanced DL is going away or won't be accepted much longer?