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Anybody been to Canada lately?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2011 07:01 AM

I know that you now need a passport (or a passport card) to cross the US-Canadian border. Has anyone done this since these new rules have gone into effect? I'm wondering if they simply look at your passport, or if they actually stamp it like they would if, say, you were going through customs after landing in Europe. Anyone know?

sharpie Dec 22 2011 07:27 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

They just look at it.

Ceetar Dec 22 2011 07:28 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

Probably depends on the border crossing and the laziness of the agent right? (They didn't stamp my passport going into France from England in 1999) I'm trying to remember the last time I was in Canada. I intend to go this summer as part of a Bisons/Niagara Falls/Friends Baby trifecta though, so I can do some research into this.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2011 08:00 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

Thanks. The reason I ask is because I'm thinking of doing the Niagara Falls/Buffalo (and maybe Toronto) thing like Ceetar mentioned, and I'm running a bit low on passport pages. Our August trip to Africa is going to require a lot of blank pages (South Africa requires two blank pages on each entry, and Zambia and Botswana have similar requirements) and I'm concerned about getting stamps on any of the pages that are currently blank.

sharpie Dec 22 2011 08:03 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

Passport pages don't need to be clean to get stamps. They are divided in quarters and the customs guy can stamp wherever they find room. Also, you can apply for new pages.

Ceetar Dec 22 2011 08:08 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

sharpie wrote: Passport pages don't need to be clean to get stamps. They are divided in quarters and the customs guy can stamp wherever they find room. Also, you can apply for new pages. yeah, one of my friends (maid of honor actually) had one of those little insert/extra pages things from her constant Asia-hopping. That (Rainbow I believe) bridge into Canada from/to Niagara Falls is well traveled and trafficky, seems like they could easy skimp on stamps there.

seawolf17 Dec 22 2011 08:16 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

Ceetar wrote: I'm trying to remember the last time I was in Canada. I intend to go this summer as part of a Bisons/Niagara Falls/Friends Baby trifecta though, so I can do some research into this. I've been to Friends Baby. Totally not worth the trip.

HahnSolo Dec 22 2011 08:46 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

I did not get stamped when I went north o' the border in July. they do examine the passport, though.

themetfairy Dec 22 2011 08:48 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 22 2011 08:54 AM

We did Niagara Falls and Toronto in 2009, and had to produce passports. In fact, coming back into the States, we had a really difficult Customs & Immigrations agent who really cross-examined the kids about who they were, who we were, etc. Keep in mind the kids were 19, 16 and almost 13 at the time - hardly babies. If anyone looked like a family coming back from Niagara Falls, it was us. OE - I re-read your question and found the boys' old passports. They were only stamped once, in Switzerland, even though they were also used on visits to Canada and Bermuda.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2011 08:51 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

sharpie wrote: Passport pages don't need to be clean to get stamps. They are divided in quarters and the customs guy can stamp wherever they find room. Also, you can apply for new pages. These African nations specifically say that the pages have to be empty. This is unlike how they do it in Europe and Japan. I'm waffling between renewing our passports a little bit early (they expire in 2014) or going with what we have. Adding pages costs $82, renewing costs $110, so with the 2014 expiration date the adding of pages doesn't make sense. I'd rather pay the extra $28 and get ten more years out of it.

Edgy DC Dec 22 2011 09:23 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

It seems like this thread title is setting up some sort of punchline.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 22 2011 09:30 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

[youtube:2werpmfc]tjSuGpCqbaw[/youtube:2werpmfc]

Ceetar Dec 22 2011 10:15 AM Re: Anybody been to Canada lately?

themetfairy wrote: We did Niagara Falls and Toronto in 2009, and had to produce passports. In fact, coming back into the States, we had a really difficult Customs & Immigrations agent who really cross-examined the kids about who they were, who we were, etc. Keep in mind the kids were 19, 16 and almost 13 at the time - hardly babies. If anyone looked like a family coming back from Niagara Falls, it was us. Things haves changed so much in 10 years. My first trip to Canada was 1999 visiting college. My mother and aunt came, as did one of my friends. We were both 17 and crossed the border on a whim (16 miles to Niagara Falls? I didn't realize it was that close. Let's go) No one cared, asked us what we did on our way back in, but that's about it. I believe it's actually illegal to take a random minor across the border though that's not your son. seawolf17 wrote: Ceetar wrote: I'm trying to remember the last time I was in Canada. I intend to go this summer as part of a Bisons/Niagara Falls/Friends Baby trifecta though, so I can do some research into this. I've been to Friends Baby. Totally not worth the trip. That's why it was third on the list (and technically, I'd put Duff's/Anchor Bar third)