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Passports for Canada?

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  teflon_jones 
#1 ·
For those who go to Canada to fish how will the new passport requirerments change your fishing? For me I would like to be able to take my boat into Canada as it is only a short distance away. But I think it will be hard now as customs have said to be prepared to wait up to 24 hours at anchor to get checked back into the United States.

Seeing that not all that many people have passports, don't know the percent but it can't be high. Will people just nix plans to fish Canada or will they go through the effort to stand in line to get a passport? It's not all that hard in big cities but for those in rural ereas it might be just too much effort and not worth it for those who have no intentions to go abroad other than a fishing trip to Canada.
 
#2 ·
Getting a passport is no big deal. You can apply for them at most any post office. In anticipation of problems at the border, I got a new passport last year. It took about three weeks from when I applied to when I received it in the mail. I can't remember for sure, but I think it cost $85.
 
#3 ·
I'll speak based on my experiences last year when I went to visit Frenchcreek.

I'd already had a passport from the previous year when my wife and I went to China for a few weeks. I brought the passport with me to the airport here in CT, and found that it was a useful tool here, in any connecting cities, and in Calgary where I landed. The same was true for my return trip home. It seemed to me that travelers into and out of Canada who had passports were handled more quickly and securely, as if we had a gold standard seal of approval. Those who only had a few forms of ID and/or birth certificates took longer to process and underwent more scrutiny.

I can't speak about anchoring up and waiting to be processed via boat, but I will say that a passport is very much worth the effort to have. They're good for ten years and can provide customs with an almost instantaneous record of who you are and where you've been.
 
#5 ·
I travel to Canada on business about once a year. Without a passport the customs may take a hour siting in a lounge waiting for background clearance. With the passport you will normally pass through directly, more convient and predictable.

The passport process is easy unless you wait for the last two weeks proir to traveling.

Regards,
Fred Krow
 
#6 ·
I have always felt like it was a real hassle getting into Canada, lately its been an issue coming back in to the USA. I went through the hoops of getting a passport issued it was really not a hassle at all just went to the local court house and applied followed the simple steps re pictures and funds and mail and in a few weeks my Passport showed up.
I have been across the border twice both ways since I got my passport and it was quicker but time will tell if this is a trend or just luck. (the guy asked me if I had any citrus and I said there was a wedge of lemon left in the refer and he had to check it out and we lost our wedge of lemon. Good thing it wasn't a lime for Gin and Tonics!!!)
 
#9 ·
In about three years, if ever. We'll follow the U.S. requirements so when the U.S. requires passports for Canadian citizens, we'll do the same for U.S. Citizens. Right now, your administration seems to be doing some backtracking on the passport issue so it may never happen. I imagine the border states are none too happy about it.

You will have no trouble crossing the border with the usual ID info you've always used, birth certificate, drivers licence, etc. Still, it's always better to have a passport.
 
#11 ·
sinktip said:
That will teach me to read quick, I read that as a wedge of lemon left in the reefer. :D I thought leave it to Moonlight to import some BC bud but come clean on the citrus. :razz:
That's what I thought it said too. :smokin: Especially since I have no idea what a "refer" is... :confused:

As for the passport, they're really easy to get so I'd recommend anybody that will potentially travel get one. They end up costing only about $8/year to have one, and the cost only goes up over time, so you might as well get one now!
 
#14 ·
josko said:
It seems to me it'll be tougher to cross that border from now on. Remember, most of the 911 guys came here via Canada, and they got that LA bomber by pure luck. It's a weakness in the system that needs to be plugged up.
Sorry chum, but not to start a political argument here, but zero 9/11 terrorists came from Canada -- that was a media fiction to explain why two of them were in Maine. All of the entered the US directly and legally. The "Canada entry" story was retracted later but it was too late as the myth had already entered into the public consciousness. Our border situation has far more to do with politics and paranoia than it does real security.
 
#15 ·
Millenium Bomber....

Hey Peter, a fellow by the name of Ressam entered the USA from Canada at the Victoria to Port Angeles crossing via Black Ball Lines International Auto and Passenger Ferry. He was on his way to blow up the terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport in celebration of the new Milenium.
It created quite a stir here in our small town of 16,000 souls (Port Angeles). These terrorist have the ability to come across any and all borders and a healthy dose of paranoia is probably acceptable. (just because your paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone following you!)
As to the veracity of the reports that the 911 gang came from Canada I will trust your report. I do know they were definetly for the most part Saudis who came via Hamburg.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Yup and the Ressam guy was apprended because of a smart INS guard plus info supplied by the RCMP. The guard had access to info supplied by the RCMP to US authorities so after detaining him, US authorities knew that they had a live one. The RCMP had been keeping tabs of Ressam's cell for quite some time. Ressam went to ground and the Mounties lost him but they had a good idea he was heading for the US so they gave the FBI etc. the heads-up. That's how real cross border security works, not by harassing millions of innocent travellers.

Here's the story on the myth from the Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38816-2005Apr8.html

The trouble is, even many of your law makers still believe it -- tough to have inteligent security policies when they're driven by myths.
 
#17 ·
Just an update on the passport issue for coming back into the USA from Canada.

It is wise to have one and things go a lot easier for sure as mentioned by many.

If you are coming back into the USA by boat I recomend getting an I-68 at the closest US customs office. The I-68 is a back ground check done at a customs office and only takes minutes to do. It allows you on the most part avoid having to go to a US port of call to clear customs on your way back into the country. You need three passport photos, picture id, passport best, your boat registration and proof of insurance. They ask little or no questions but you will be fingerprinted.

How it works is that on your way back from Canadian waters you call a toll free number and someone on the other end asks for a code number that you get from customs. After you get the number you are free to head home without checking in which in this day and age can be a timely endevour. The customs officer who did our check said that most everyone who calls is able to go on without checking into port. But every once in a great while they will ask you to come in for a check. Remember that everyone on your vessel must have a code in order for your boat to bypass customs. The I-68 lasts for one year only and for our family of 3 cost about 25 dollars. There is another way of doing it and it takes a lengthy visit to the border for an interview but you are good to go for 5 years instead of one but from what I hear this will soon be out the window and no longer a service.
Happy boating to all.
 
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