US Passport requires for traveling to (and from) Canada

By Hurmoth
in General Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Matthew S.

Posted
Posted

By air, yes. By land, no, you just need a valid recent drivers license.

If I wanted to go to the states via Niagara Falls I would need one of those new Ontario drivers license (the one with the new security features) or a passport, both of which I don't have >.< ...

Mentor

Klownicle

Posted
Posted

You need a drivers license and a orignal birth certificate, if you can't get the orignal you need a norterized copy.

I wasn't able to get to the candian side of the falls couple weeks ago. Passports will work also.

However, I think the American Side was way cooler. The Candians really can't touch it like the americans can. Yeah they can see it better, but remember there are helicoptor rides, and maid of the mist so you can still see them headon without going on the candian side.

That is 100% confirmed, but not sure about getting back in.

Grand Master

markwolfe Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted
You need a drivers license and a orignal birth certificate

(Y)

In the past, I know a driver's license would get you through (and it wasn't always looked at, except at times of worker strike/slow-downs when they would require all documentation and check everyone). I used to just get through after answering the usual verbal questions - no documentation required.

Times, alas, have changed. A driver's license doesn't show citizenship, whereas a birth certificate does. So ensure you have your birth certificate in addition to photo ID (like your license). Of course, a passport also does the trick.

Grand Master

Fred Derf Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted
Thanks for the responses (Y)

Don't forget that the requirements for Canadians to get into and out of the U.S. is not necessarily the same as the requirements for Americans to get in and out of Canada.

This seems to provide an answer:

http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatravelo...tizenborder.htm

Grand Master

Dane

Posted
Posted

I dont know, I was to got up to Toronto in January, and I called the state department who deals with passports and they told me for me drive to Canada and back I needed a passport. After January 1st 2008 you need a passport, a drivers license wont do. So people on here said DL will do. I dont know who to believe now.

Veteran

gnuman

Posted
Posted
I dont know, I was to got up to Toronto in January, and I called the state department who deals with passports and they told me for me drive to Canada and back I needed a passport. After January 1st 2008 you need a passport, a drivers license wont do. So people on here said DL will do. I dont know who to believe now.

A drivers license and birth certificate is what you need when going to the US from Canada and it should be the same only by CAR by air you need a passport.

I still didn't apply for my passport yet... I don't feel like taking a pic for the passport then take another pic for license...

Mentor

iZoom

Posted
Posted
If you're going to Canada, air or land, you don't need a passport. Coming back to US, you do need a passport.

Incorrect.

As others have already stated, a passport is required to travel to and from Canada via AIR. There isn't much fuss leaving the country with a passport, but CBP (Canada Border Patrol) does ask for it at the entry point, so its best you have one. Most, if not all, major airports that fly back to the U.S. from Canada have U.S. Preclearence which is basically U.S. Customs checkpoint in the Canadian airport.

Passports for Land & Sea are going to become required as well, baring any further delays. I travel to Canada to see my fiance and I had to learn this stuff.

Grand Master

Hurmoth

Posted
  • Author
Posted
You could just get a passport and not have to worry about it. ;)

Not in two weeks unfortunately. I just decided late last week that I was going to Montreal.

But I have my birth certificate and a driver's license, so that should be ok.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview

      By David Uzondu · Posted

      Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview by David Uzondu Microsoft has announced that WSL containers, a feature that allows developers to run Linux containers natively inside Windows without the need for Docker Desktop, is now available in public preview several weeks after Microsoft previewed it at Build 2026. To use the new container feature, you first have to install the latest pre-release version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux by running a quick update command in your terminal: wsl --update --pre-release After installing, you'd get access to the new Linux container CLI (wslc.exe) and the programmable API. Microsoft said that the CLI has a "familiar format" that matches the toolsets developers already use every day. If you know standard Docker commands, your muscle memory will translate directly to wslc.exe, which even features a built-in alias called container.exe. You can quickly run a full Ubuntu KDE desktop container by exposing ports, or pass your graphics card straight into a machine learning environment to run PyTorch workloads. Passing the --gpus all flag inside the run command instantly links your hardware. Image via Microsoft As for the API, developers can now embed Linux container operations directly inside native Windows applications without exposing the command line to users. The team integrated the API directly into MSBuild and CMake, so developers can define container steps directly in project files. Apart from bringing the CLI and API into public preview, Microsoft also said that it's working on a new default file system called virtiofs to speed up file transfer rates between Windows and Linux. Microsoft also introduced an experimental networking mode named consomme, which resolves compatibility issues with corporate VPNs by routing Linux network traffic straight through Windows. One thing to note about WSL containers is that they don't run in your standard WSL distributions; instead, every application and CLI session spawns its own lightweight Hyper-V utility VM in the background. This basically reduces the chances of one app snooping on the container of another app.
    • Google reportedly limited Meta's Gemini access over limited AI compute

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Google reportedly limited Meta's Gemini access over limited AI compute by Karthik Mudaliar Google is reportedly limiting Meta's use of its Gemini AI models after Meta tried buying more computing capacity than even Google could supply. According to the Financial Times, Google told Meta in March that it could not provide the full Gemini capacity that Meta had requested. This shortfall even disrupted and delayed some of Meta's internal projects. Due to this, Meta even told its employees internally to use AI tokens more efficiently. Meta wasn't the only one to get hit by this sudden refusal by Google; even other customers were affected. But Meta was hit harder because of its unusually high demand for Google's models. The move from Google makes it evident that companies all over are in limited supply of both infrastructure and compute. Alphabet said in April that Google Cloud revenue grew 63% year-over-year to $20 billion in the first quarter, helped by enterprise AI infrastructure and AI solutions. In pursuit of more compute, Meta had earlier signed a multi-billion-dollar AWS agreement as well as a large AMD GPU deal for AI data centers. But the crunch would be short-lived as both Meta and Google have also ramped up infrastructure investments heavily. Meta said in November that it was committing more than $600 billion in the U.S. by 2028 for AI technology, infrastructure, and workforce expansion. In the first quarter of this year, Meta also raised its expected capital expenditure for 2026 to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion, citing higher component pricing and additional data center costs for future capacity. However, this doesn't make the company immune to the current dependence on outside suppliers. Meta has also spent many years promoting Llama as an open-weight alternative to closed models from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. But if the reported reliance on Google's Gemini models is severe enough for internal work to get impacted, then it looks like even frontier labs and Big Tech aren't fully self-sufficient. Source: Financial Times
    • Samsung, Amazon extend 990 PRO 2TB NVMe SSD deal beyond Prime Day 2026

      By seeprime · Posted

      I like to reminisce about the good old days, way back in autumn 2025 when building a gaming machine was fun and the drives were about $150 when you caught a deal. Yes duh, back in the day we had it gone. Then baby Skynet came along, hiding in AI datacenters demanding more processing power until it reached singularity. End of a not totally fictional story.
    • Bypassed Windows 11 shows surprising stability on ancient, completely unsupported hardware

      By +Spark99 · Posted

      My experience in the past with older Windows 11 builds was not great on unsupported machines but I recently used Rufus to put the latest build on a older 5th Gen Core Thinkpad T that we upgraded with a SATA SSD and 8GB of RAM four years ago when hardware was reasonable and it seemed pretty fast and solid. Customer is very happy with the performance and will probably get four more years out of that venerable laptop that he loves so much. Another customer just retired his Dell Studio laptop from 2009 running Windows 10. It got an SSD over 10 years ago and did everything he needed it to for 17 years but he also retired last year and is happy doing everything on his iPad now.
    • Apple's newest AirTag 2 gets first big discount

      By TarasBuria · Posted

      Apple's newest AirTag 2 gets first big discount by Taras Buria In late January 2026, Apple introduced its second-generation AirTag trackers, bringing a refresh to the old model that has been on the market for half a decade. Now, you can get these new trackers at an all-time low price, thanks to the first big discount that brought the price down by 17% on Amazon. While the second-generation AirTag looks identical to its predecessor, it packs meaningful upgrades inside. The second-gen ultrawideband chip works 50% farther than the original AirTag, allowing you to detect lost items in a wider range. In addition, the second-generation AirTag features an upgraded Bluetooth chip for extended range and a significantly louder speaker (up to 50%) so that you can hear it better when locating a lost item. Note that the second-gen AirTag only works with iPhones and iPads that run iOS/iPadOS 26 and newer, so you need a compatible device to use the tracker. Like the original AirTag, the AirTag 2 is available in two packs: one and four pieces. Both are now available at a notable discount on Amazon, and you can purchase them using the links below. Apple AirTag 2 tracker - $24 | 17% off on Amazon Apple AirTag 2 tracker (four-pack) - $89 | 10% off on Amazon Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S.- specific and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      538
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      66
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!