I plan to take the family to visit some friends in Canada this Easter and was wondering if there are any special documentation I'm going to need when:
From US to Canada:
- Leaving the US
- Entering Canada
From Canada to US on the way back:
- Leaving Canada
- Entering the US
I should mention that the family consists of myself, wife, and an 8, 6, and 2 year old kids. I have an expired US passport, wife no passport, the 8 year old has a current passport, 6 yr old has expired passport and the 2 year old no passport.
I hear conflicting answers ranging from "you don't need anything" to "you need current passports for all". I could get passports expedited but that's going to be costly.
If you live in the US and travel to Canada with Kids I'd like to hear your experiences. I will be calling the Canadian/US consolates but still would like to hear from real experiences.
I saw that thread but it didn't reference kids and was more generic in nature. I heard that when it comes to kids Canada is very protective and could give us a hard time leaving Canada. I might just buckle and get some passports expedited. I saw another thread as well that had more info in it but again no info on Kids specifically.
You are hearing rumours. Canada’s isn’t more strict on kids than on adults.
The only thing is make sure you have proof they are your kids. And since you will be travelling with your wife, not a problem.
If you were to take them over without your wife, you would need a letter of permission signed by your wife. Or court papers that showed you had sole-legal custody of them.
So you will be fine. Bring their birth certificates and you have nothing to worry about.
We're definitely traveling together as a family. It makes sense about the parent permission thing it just was never explained to me that way before.
Casey
Actually this is kind of ironic. I travelled with my daughter to Boston and my wife signed a letter for me that the border guard did not request but I offered and it seem to smooth things through. The irony being that I was going from Canada (Maritimes) to Boston (Needham) while you're doing it the other way around.
Well I went to Canada and back over the Easter holiday with my family. We had no problems entering Canada. We were asked why we were visiting and they asked for ID's (we showed them our driver's licenses). On the way back it was a bit more involved. We were asked for ID's, then more ID's (we presented our Military ID's), we had to show proof that our kids were ours (we presented birth certificates, thanks CaptainForest), then the officer asked my kids what their names were and what each of their siblings names were. I was then asked to show proof that I was a US citizen (since obviously my Military officer ID wasn't good enough) which I'm so glad I had brought my expired US passport with me. It just so happened that it was in a sealed envelope ready to be mailed for renewal and hadn't had time to go to the postoffice to get it mailed yet. I was surprised based on everyone's input but luckily we had practically every imaginable piece of paper with us to prove citizenship. Next time I'll stick with Passports.
Overall, the trip was uneventful. Saw downtown Montreal very quickly but mostly we stayed with friends. Lots of things were different (roads, signs, etc) and everyone spoke French...or at least we thought it was french. My wife speaks fluent French and she couldn't understand a word spoken. It didn't really matter because people knew we were foreign and spoke in some cases indistinguishable English to me from American english (impressive).
About the most exciting thing that happened to us was getting the finger by motorists who passed us by on the highway towards downtown Montreal. I wasn't expecting it so it took me by surprise. I would have been upset had I been in the US because in the US the finger would likely be directed at me as an individual.
Other than that, we liked it there and based on this trip I think we'll have to go back there again when it is warmer. I hear it is very nice in the summer.
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