Rumors abound in the war against Can.... er, terrorism. Fatherland security... do I have that name right?... may or may not require official identity bracelets for those of us who might want to paddle in that garden of eden otherwise known as British Columbia, Canada. One would think, what with the Internet and all, that information on moving back and forth across the northern border of the USA might be easily obtained. One would be wrong. Oh, there are plenty of web sites with information but the problem is that a lot of them are out of date and still sitting there providing (the wrong) information. While Europe has managed to open its borders to the point where you can drive from Scandinavia to the Med without so much as a "how do you do" crossing borders, the USA has - at least according to rumor - moved in the opposite direction. Requirements for Passports, birth certificates, retina scans and relinquishing of first-born sons (tempting, actually) float around like Victoria sewage in the Juan de Fuca Strait. Does anyone know what is required now and what might be required in the future to: a) Drive across the border into Canada and then return; and, b) Boat across the border into Canada and then return? Reasonable people - of which I might be one - would like to know. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig, You need a passport to come back. It is highly useful to have one for the Canadian authorities as well. There are WA state super dooper drivers licenses which will be honored at the border, but a passport is bombproof. Cheers, Rob G -----Original Message----- From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com> To: PaddleWise <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net> Sent: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 7:17 pm Subject: [Paddlewise] Canadian Entry and Exit... or... if we go, can we come back? Rumors abound in the war against Can.... er, terrorism. Fatherland security... do I have that name right?... may or may not require official identity bracelets for those of us who might want to paddle in that garden of eden otherwise known as British Columbia, Canada. One would think, what with the Internet and all, that information on moving back and forth across the northern border of the USA might be easily obtained. One would be wrong. Oh, there are plenty of web sites with information but the problem is that a lot of them are out of date and still sitting there providing (the wrong) information. While Europe has managed to open its borders to the point where you can drive from Scandinavia to the Med without so much as a "how do you do" crossing borders, the USA has - at least according to rumor - moved in the opposite direction. Requirements for Passports, birth certificates, retina scans and relinquishing of first-born sons (tempting, actually) float around like Victoria sewage in the Juan de Fuca Strait. Does anyone know what is required now and what might be required in the future to: a) Drive across the border into Canada and then return; and, b) Boat across the border into Canada and then return? Reasonable people - of which I might be one - would like to know. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
rcgibbert_at_aol.com wrote: > Craig, > > You need a passport to come back. It is highly useful to have one for > the Canadian authorities as well. There are WA state super dooper > drivers licenses which will be honored at the border, but a passport is > bombproof. Where does this information come from? I transited each way in early-June of 2008 (yes, just three weeks ago) on a drivers license (Oregon) and a birth certificate, via the Black Ball ferry out of Port Angeles/Victoria. No official on either side questioned my ID. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> rcgibbert_at_aol.com wrote: > > Craig, > > > > You need a passport to come back. It is highly useful to have one > for > > the Canadian authorities as well. There are WA state super > dooper > > drivers licenses which will be honored at the border, but a > passport is > > bombproof. > > Where does this information come from? I transited each way in > early-June > of 2008 (yes, just three weeks ago) on a drivers license (Oregon) > and a > birth certificate, via the Black Ball ferry out of Port > Angeles/Victoria. > No official on either side questioned my ID. > > -- > Dave Kruger > Astoria, OR It is my understanding that "technically", only a valid driver's license is required to cross the border in either direction. However, "practically", you may be asked for a passport and refused entry without one. This happens regularly to an older gentleman in southern BC who crosses to buy his gas in the USA. No passport; no entry. The guy is 84, but obviously age is no factor in the screening process. And don't even bother if you have anything but a plain vanilla Canadian or USA citizen involved. My sister-in-law with dual Canadian and USA citizenship was given a hard time by Canadian officials when she recently came back to Canada for a family reunion, and then given a hard time by USA officials for having crossed into Canada using her Canadian documents and then trying to return using her USA documents. (Apparently they find this terribly confusing, and they don't like being confused.) My own recent (post 9-11) experiences using a Canadian passport at the border -- in Eastern Canada -- with kayaks aboard have been smooth and fast in both directions. -- Darryl *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I believe the passport technically isn't required to reenter the USA this year, but will be next year. Nonetheless, if my wife (a former British national) and I had decided to go to Pukaskwa instead of the Apostle Islands for vacation this year, we would have taken our passports. The new requirements are a real hassle for residents of the Northwest Angle, that bit of Minnesota that sticks up north of the 49th parallel. They have no land route to the lower part of the state that does not require passing through Canada! Chuck Holst who has a beard and frequently wears sunglasses *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Please remove all old content that is not pertinent to your reply including old headers and footers. It's list policy.... this post was modified to meet policy] From: Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> Where does this information come from? I transited each way in early-June of 2008 (yes, just three weeks ago) on a drivers license (Oregon) and a birth certificate, via the Black Ball ferry out of Port Angeles/Victoria. No official on either side questioned my ID.? ? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dave, The information comes from the Dept Homeland Security website: http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders They originally were going to have all land and sea visitors subject to the passport requirement but that has been put on hold. Now it is only air passengers that are required to have a passport. That will change. Cheers, Rob G *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Last year my wife and I went to Canada (from Seattle) for the day. She is a Japanese national, and although she had a passport and driver's license, she didn't have her green card with her. (Canada let us in without a problem). They must have been afraid she was a 5'2" terrorist and wouldn't let us through. Until we paid a $268 "waiver" (here is a big difference in calling it a waiver instead of a fine). They gave us a choice actually. I could go home and get the green card and come back while she waited on the bench, or pay the waiver. We chose for me to go home. That seemed to confuse them. They had a pow wow in a back room and came back and rescinded the offer. We paid and when I tried to contest the "waiver" - not a "fine", I could not find anyone to talk to about it. No matter what anyone says, bring proper paper work. Paul Montgomery paul_at_paddleandoar.com http://paddleandoar.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Based on many crossings of the US-Canadian border, my observation is: a) Luck b) Patience c) Time d) Not too many explosives in car e) No game animal parts f) Leave the guns at home g) Never tell a border agent to piss off h) Above all, never attempt a crossing with a beard and sunglasses. Never again will I bring a deer antler across the border. It's just not worth the hassle. BRC > Does anyone know what is required now and what might be required in the > future to: > > a) Drive across the border into Canada and then return; and, > b) Boat across the border into Canada and then return? > > Reasonable people - of which I might be one - would like to know. > > > Craig Jungers > Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Craig: Up until this year I have used only my driver's license in driving to and from Georgian Bay, crossing at Sault St. Marie. No hassles. I have not yet made the trip this year but I intend to use the license again, although I will probably pack my passport just in case. For many years I have been carrying a kayak on the roof of my car back and forth and I have never had a question about it, except from one friendly Canadian who wanted to know where I paddled. I used to keep ownership information and registration papers for the kayaks with me, but I was never asked. These days, the only boat I bring back and forth in my skin-on-frame and I am waiting to get a question on registration or use tax for that one . . . . Tom Thomas F. Joyce | Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP 70 W. Madison St., Ste. 3100 | Chicago, IL 60602-4207 t. 312-807-4323 | f. 312-827-8109 tjoyce_at_bellboyd.com | www.bellboyd.com -------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I just got back from a trip to Haines Alaska (by ferry not kayak) and the word at the ferry terminal is if you are going to go into Canada you had better have a pass port. Remember that the customs officials have the ultimate power to say no so having the best documentation gives you a better chance. Also if you are traveling by your self with a child then you need a notarized letter from the child's other parent giving permission for the child to cross the border with you other wise they will likely turn you away. Unfortunately they have had parents involved in custody battles steal kids across the border. If you are kayaking from the US into Canada make sure you have a pass port also. I have not heard of them stopping kayaks but they have stopped commercial fishing boats. Canada and the US are having a squabble over who owns the salmon and halibut. Bob *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
As I indicated when I started this thread, there are a lot of apparent variables in the stories. The best I can get is the following: A passport or approved identification document (see below) for anyone returning from a foreign port by air. This does not include US possessions. For those of us who are traveling by land or sea (boat or car, essentially): As of January 31, 2008 your oral representation of citizenship is no longer sufficient. US and Canadian citizens have some options: U.S. and Canadian Citizens Single Document Option One of the following documents should be presented to prove both identity and citizenship. *Acceptable Documents as of January 31:* - U.S. or Canadian Passport - U.S. Passport Card (Available spring 2008)* - Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)* - State or Provincial Issued Enhanced Driver's License (when available this secure driver's license will denote identity and citizenship.)* - Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)* - U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders - U.S. Merchant Mariner Document - Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card - Form I-872 American Indian Card - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) Card ** Frequent Land Border Crossers to expedite processing into the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends using one of the above asterisked documents.* U.S. and Canadian Citizens Two Document Option* * All U.S. and Canadian citizens who do not have one of the documents from the list above must present* BOTH* an identification and citizenship document from each of the columns below. *Identification Documents** - Driver's license or identification card issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory, or municipal authority - U.S. or Canadian military identification card ** All identification documents must have a photo, name and date of birth.* *Citizenship Documents* - U.S. or Canadian birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory or municipal authority - U.S. Consular report of birth abroad - U.S. Certificate of Naturalization - U.S. Certificate of Citizenship - U.S. Citizen Identification Card - Canadian Citizenship Card - Canadian certificate of citizenship without photo So, right now, since we're past January 31, 2008, you can use a birth certificate (and it really isn't clear whether the certificate has to be certified or not, but probably that couldn't hurt) and a driver's license if you don't have a Passport. Washington State is issuing "Enhanced Drivers Licenses" that will satisfy the one-document requirement. You need a certified birth certificate to get one. Other state are expected to begin to issue EDLs soon. But, as always with a bureaucracy, the individuals you will be dealing with have some discretion (although not legally). A passport is the single document they'll be most familiar with. YMMV Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Well, took a look at the US State dept.'s site for what's required for a Canada border crossing at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html and currently you should be able to get away with a Photo-ID driver's license Plus a copy of your birth certificate if crossing by land or sea. Air travel requires a passport. . That will change next June when a passport or passport card will be required for all travel. Kayaks. gear, etc. are Customs problems and I didn't check those out... Joe P. -----Original Message----- >From: "Joyce, Thomas F." <TJoyce_at_bellboyd.com> >Up until this year I have used only my driver's license in driving to >and from Georgian Bay, crossing at Sault St. Marie. No hassles. > >I have not yet made the trip this year but I intend to use the license >again, although I will probably pack my passport just in case. > >For many years I have been carrying a kayak on the roof of my car back >and forth and I have never had a question about it, except from one >friendly Canadian who wanted to know where I paddled. I used to keep >ownership information and registration papers for the kayaks with me, >but I was never asked. These days, the only boat I bring back and forth >in my skin-on-frame and I am waiting to get a question on registration >or use tax for that one . . . . > >Tom *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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