johnnyr@ihu1n.UUCP (John R. Rosenberg) (02/12/86)
The recent discussion about going from the US into Canada and the resulting confusion over what documentation is needed spurred me to put fingers to keyboard to drop in my 2 cents. First, a US citizen travelling to Canada must carry proof of US citizenship in order to enter Canada. This should be either a birth certificate, voter's registration, or passport. A driver's license is not sufficient since you do not need to be a US citizen to get one. Second, a visa is a document issued by the country you wish to visit giving you permission to enter that country. A passport is issued by your home country which pretty much says that the person who holds the passport (and who matches the description and photograph inside) is a citizen of whatever country and that that country will let him or her back in. In other words, I may need a visa to go to Canada, which says that Canada will let me in to visit, but I also need a passport from the US which tells the folks at the Canadian border that they won't be stuck with me since the US admits I belong in the US. Also, the passport tells the folks at the US border to let me back in. John Rosenberg @ AT&T-NS ihnp4!ihu1n!johnnyr
schwrtze@acf8.UUCP (E. Schwartz group) (02/18/86)
These may be the rules; however they are not always enforced. I have successfully entered Canada and returnded to the States with no I.D. other than a student card and a photo-less driver license. The reaction at Mirabel was "next time bring better I.D.", and at Kennedy, "what the hell, you look like an American." I have seen others get through on the train or the bus without showing any papers at all. Alan Shaw alan@nyu-alaya.arpa cmcl2!alaya!alan
sam@bu-cs.UUCP (Shelli Meyers) (02/26/86)
In article <327@ihu1n.UUCP> johnnyr@ihu1n.UUCP (John R. Rosenberg) writes: >First, a US citizen travelling to Canada must carry >proof of US citizenship in order to enter Canada. This should be >either a birth certificate, voter's registration, or passport. >A driver's license is not sufficient since you do not need >to be a US citizen to get one. Well, I've been back and forth between the US and Canada umpteen times, and it's just NO big deal. I have never been asked for any documentation on my way in or out, ever. And I didn't even have too much trouble when I was pulled over for reckless driving.. in a stolen car... (I swear, I didn't know it was stolen.) Trivia for the day: The US/Canadian border is the largest unguarded in the world. -- "When in Rome, do as the Romanians do!" ******************************************* Shelli Meyers UUCP: ...!harvard!bu-cs!sam ARPA: sam%bu-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa REAL LIFE: I dunno. Somewhere in Boston. *******************************************