Passport CARD Okay On Maple Leaf?

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lo2e

Lead Service Attendant
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Feb 18, 2012
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Planning a trip in July on the Maple Leaf from ALB to TWO.  I have a US passport card but not a passport book.  Is this good for both directions on the ML or do I need to get the book?  Thanks!
 
I'm pretty sure a passport card is considered a valid WHTI compliant document for any WHTI applicable land or sea crossing but not air. I carry a NY- EDL which serves the same function. For definitive answers you can go the CBP site:  https://www.cbp.gov/travel......Always remember that Canada has final say over who enters Canada there have been cases of people being denied entry over things that we don't take as seriously or consider long past. I don't want to bring that up as if it is widespread, but it can and does occasionally occur.
 
Entry into CanadaCanadian law requires that all persons entering Canada carry both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. A valid U.S. passportpassport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements for U.S. citizens. Children under 16 need only present proof of U.S. citizenship.Jan 9, 2019
 
Although it looks like you should be good to go in this particular case, do keep in mind that 99% of international travel still requires a traditional passport.  An American passport is one of the most versatile travel documents you can possess.  Unless you are absolutely sure you will never travel beyond North America, at any point over the next decade, I advise anyone considering a pseudo-passport card/book to bite the bullet and get the conventional version instead.
 
An EDL or passport card is only good for land or sea.... even if you are travelling in the areas where they are accepted, you can't use them to fly internationally so the book is a much more useful document. Living in a border state, where driving over is common, converting to an EDL and not carrying my book is good for me, if I'm visiting upstate friends and decide to go over, I don't have to plan ahead.
 
Last year, using my passport card, I drove from Montana into Alberta and returned from British Columbia with no problems.   Returning, I also presented my Global Entry card for good measure.  The officer scanned them and told me I was good to go!   (.  The approach gates to the Customs station had also taken pictures of my car, so that is apparently instantly analyzed. ).  Entering Alberta. it was also prompt, but they told me to dispose of my firewood on the scene!  Somehow I doubt you will be carrying firewood on the Maple Leaf!
 
When I apply for renewal of Passport I usually just get both the Card and the Book, though I seldom have any use for the Card. The only thing that I think about is whether to get a standard book or a fatter book. Since I did not run out of pages in a standard book in the current Passport I just asked for a standard book in my renewal application that is sitting with the State Department at present.

A Passport Card definitely works for land crossing to Canada and back. So as long as you are absolutely certain that even in case of an emergency you won;t try to get back by air, you are good to go with a Passport Card.

I have a Passport wallet that has my Passport and other travel credentials that allow me unlimited access to certain other countries that otherwise require ESTA or Visa for US Passport holders. I just pop that in my pocket whenever I am headed out of the country.
 
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I have both the card and the book. I’ve used the passport card on the maple leaf and on international cascades and it’s always been taken no questions asked. 

Naturally Amtrak police in Chicago questioned why I had a passport card during a “random” ID check. Such is life. Ha. 
 
you may need a Canadian visa too for entry.
No.  I've done it several times by land and know people who did it by air.  A US citizen (or permanent resident with a green card and passport) isn't required to have a visa.  They do sometimes check for criminal records and have been known to deny entry if someone has a DUI or conviction for another serious crime.
 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html#eta-exemptions

Visa-exempt

The following travellers need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to board their flight to Canada. However, these travellers do not need an eTA if entering by land or sea – for instance driving from the U.S. or coming by bus, train, or boat, including cruise ship.

  • United States, lawful permanent resident of
 
Although it looks like you should be good to go in this particular case, do keep in mind that 99% of international travel still requires a traditional passport.  An American passport is one of the most versatile travel documents you can possess.  Unless you are absolutely sure you will never travel beyond North America, at any point over the next decade, I advise anyone considering a pseudo-passport card/book to bite the bullet and get the conventional version instead.


I've heard of some people who have a passport card simply as a wallet-sized proof of citizenship.  There are some cases where I could see it being extremely helpful, even if it's not used for international travel.
 
No.  I've done it several times by land and know people who did it by air.  A US citizen (or permanent resident with a green card and passport) isn't required to have a visa.  They do sometimes check for criminal records and have been known to deny entry if someone has a DUI or conviction for another serious crime.
Nearly any criminal conviction that involves potential incarceration could bar you from entering Canada.  Making the effort to acquire a formal visa ahead of time can help resolve border concerns in your favor.  Even if you have a spotless record if you travel often you can end up running afoul of unauthorized employment concerns and waiver maximums.
 
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Nearly any criminal conviction could potentially bar you from entering Canada.  Making the effort to acquire a visa ahead of time is by no means a guarantee but it can help resolve border concerns in your favor.  Even if you have a spotless record if you travel often you can end up running afoul of unauthorized employment concerns and waiver maximums.
Having done that, I do remember being asked a lot of questions.  They seem friendly but professional.  Stuff like "where are you going", "where are you staying", "are you meeting someone you know"?  Once I was asked where we were from and (won't apply to a train) if it was our car.  That time it was a rental from SeaTac that had Oregon plates.

I don't know exactly how that would work on a train though.  At the vehicle crossing they just take people as they arrive and can't really help it if there are lines.  One a train how long would they hold up the train?
 
I don't know exactly how that would work on a train though.  At the vehicle crossing they just take people as they arrive and can't really help it if there are lines.  One a train how long would they hold up the train?
I doubt they'd hold the train very long.  If you've been grilled by immigration for more than five or ten minutes it's probably not going to end well.  There are some exceptions but for the most part it's either fast or fail.
 
I doubt they'd hold the train very long.  If you've been grilled by immigration for more than five or ten minutes it's probably not going to end well.  There are some exceptions but for the most part it's either fast or fail.
I thought about taking the Cascades to Vancouver, BC.  I thought on Maple Leaf they send agents on board, while in Vancouver they have an entry station at the Pacific Central Station.  Also US CBP pre-clearance (I've done that at the Sidney, BC ferry terminal) there too.  Might make a difference compared to holding up a train.

I got asked a lot of questions by Canada Border Services.  They actually seemed pretty reasonable, although US CBP on the way back kind of got crazy asking questions.  We went overnight without any luggage (just my computer bag) and only brought back a couple of food items.  My wife has a Chinese friend living near Seattle asking if we could bring back duck heads, but the only thing I could find were seasoned duck tongues.  Strangely enough CPB didn't even bat an eye when I said we were bringing in duck tongues.
 
Denial of entry by Canada is by their discretion, you may think you are "innocent until proven guilty" , but an open or adjourned case in the US may be cause for denial. There is a process known as "rehabilitation" you can undergo to clear up certain past issues and make you admissible. It is explained on Canada's Border Service website. Remember, their house, their rules. 
 
An EDL or passport card is only good for land or sea.... even if you are travelling in the areas where they are accepted, you can't use them to fly internationally so the book is a much more useful document.
That's very good advice, but I would like to add to it, consider emergences too.     Your plan/intent is to travel by land (car, bus, train, bike) or sea (cruise, fishing, yacht), but something can go wrong or bad (medical, legal, etc) that would normally require you to return home by air.   If that happens, you'll need a passport book.
 
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Of course, varies widely by the type of trip and location. If I cross to look at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, I'm not worrying about flying home, on a cruise in the Carribean, you bet.
 
Nearly any criminal conviction that involves potential incarceration could bar you from entering Canada.  Making the effort to acquire a formal visa ahead of time can help resolve border concerns in your favor.  Even if you have a spotless record if you travel often you can end up running afoul of unauthorized employment concerns and waiver maximums.
I remember AlanB was banned from entering Canada for a while because he was traveling there too often to do volunteer work at the Shania Twain Center.
 
Denial of entry by Canada is by their discretion, you may think you are "innocent until proven guilty" , but an open or adjourned case in the US may be cause for denial. There is a process known as "rehabilitation" you can undergo to clear up certain past issues and make you admissible. It is explained on Canada's Border Service website. Remember, their house, their rules. 
Nobody is "innocent until proven guilty" at any border checkpost. They are always "guilty until proven innocent" and additionally they are in pretty much of a legal limbo should anything go wrong. The situation may be compensated for later, but at that point you are where you are, and border agent holds every card. That is why the best thing to do is cooperate and take necessary action to fix any problems and accept return to the country you came from, should it come to that, since that takes you out of the legal limbo of a border agency detention center. A border checkpost is not a place to get hoity toity about anything. Just IMHO of course.
 
Absolutely. I was referring to the fact that laws and principles that may (or you may believe) apply to you in the US, all bets are off, entry is at the discretion of the border officer. Even returning to the US (which as a citizen I have an absolute right to) I can be detained if I don't have proper documentation while they pursue alternate verifiable ID. 
 
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