Driving Across the Border from U.S. to Canada: Options & Experiences
Jan 4, 2023, 11:59 am
#526
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,639
As a US citizen, can you drive across the border with just a drivers license and a birth certificate? Or has that program ended? The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative page on the government website says it’s still possible, but the Canada entry page contradicts it. Anyone know if you can cross the border as a US citizen without a passport or passport card by land?
Jan 4, 2023, 12:15 pm
#527
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 8,564
I believe there's no actual requirement for proof of citizenship (which technically a DL and birth certificate don't give) but those documents are handy. Also Canada is saying that so you'll have less trouble getting back into US. As a US citizen, the US would have to admit you even without the right documentation, but you'd have to work to prove it. Same for Canadians entering Canada really, you'd have to prove your eligibility somehow.
Note that both ON and QC have dropped the EDL programs, not sure about other provinces (I suggested it to someone as an alternative to getting a passport just for driving over the border, then I discovered ON had dropped too).
Note that both ON and QC have dropped the EDL programs, not sure about other provinces (I suggested it to someone as an alternative to getting a passport just for driving over the border, then I discovered ON had dropped too).
Jan 5, 2023, 7:08 am
#528
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 25
I believe there's no actual requirement for proof of citizenship (which technically a DL and birth certificate don't give) but those documents are handy. Also Canada is saying that so you'll have less trouble getting back into US. As a US citizen, the US would have to admit you even without the right documentation, but you'd have to work to prove it. Same for Canadians entering Canada really, you'd have to prove your eligibility somehow.
Note that both ON and QC have dropped the EDL programs, not sure about other provinces (I suggested it to someone as an alternative to getting a passport just for driving over the border, then I discovered ON had dropped too).
Note that both ON and QC have dropped the EDL programs, not sure about other provinces (I suggested it to someone as an alternative to getting a passport just for driving over the border, then I discovered ON had dropped too).