Travel to Canada (Border Crossing)

[tyfromm]

I want to go into Canada for a few days but don't want to get all the papers I should ideally have.

I don't have my birth certificate.

I have an old passport (expired 10 years ago, has an old address)

Have curent Drivers License.

Should I have no problems with the expired passport and Drivers License?

[B1GF1SHY]

I've gone across the border from Canada to the U.S. a ton of times with just my drivers license. They ask me each time for proof of citizenship like my birth certificate or passport but I just say I forgot. I'm a white kid, I don't think they care too much.

[Ray Zee]

if the car you drive is registered to you the drivers license is all that they will ask for or care about probably. as you pull up it is put into their computer and all that is on file is in front of them. just dont lie to them.

[westmt01]

If you're crossing the border at one of the Detroit/Windsor crossings and don't have a birth certificate or current passport, here's what will likely happen:

Canadian side: nothing (especially if you say you are going to the casino or a strip joint).

American side: you will be hasseled BIG TIME, probably taken into the Customs Office and questioned, and generally inconvenienced as much as is humanly possible. I have a friend who went into Windsor without her birth certificate, and upon returning to Detroit she was detained and questioned for 30 minutes, and her car was searched to the point of practically being disassembled.

Personally I would get a copy of your birth certificate before going to Canada.

[toots]

In July, 2003, I drove back into Maine (Houlton), having departed from VT. It was 6:00 in the morning, they had nothing better to do. I had passport and driver's license, as did my traveling companion. We got taken into the customs office, they nearly disassembled the car, hassled the living crap out of me for combining two prescriptions into one bottle (yes, they went through our stuff that thoroughly), and generally held us up for two hours.

Last fall, I came back from a canadian cruise, and they barely looked at my passport.

It's a crapshoot, and depends a lot on how busy the customs people are.

Still, for all the times I have and haven't been hassled coming back from Canada, I'd say a current US passport sure helps.

[TripleH68]

You really should have a passport or birth certificate. You do not need one, but you may wind up hearing the speech about how any person can get a fake driver's license. The worst that will happen is you will be taken into the offices and questioned, your car is searched and you are detained for a couple hours. This is incredibly annoying and not worth the hassle.