How to fly to canada without a passport?
I have both flown to Canada (Vancouver) with a driver’s license and birth certificate, post 9/11, and gotten an expedited passport in the passport office in San Francisco (it took less than 48 hours, and I didn’t pay for any third party service). My recommendation… get a passport, either through the normal, expedited mail process (which the state department claims takes two weeks), or by waiting until you’ve got less than 14 days before traveling, making an appointment and appearing at your local passport office, with your birth certificate, valid driver’s license (it doesn’t say anything about 6 month old), checkbook, and some reading material (you’ll be in line for a while). When I flew through Vancouver without a passport, I tripped the immigration inspector’s radar, and was detained while my luggage was searched and my birth certificate was validated by getting someone in Wasington, DC (where I was bo
I was at the American counter last weekend and the person in front of me was going to Toronto from Austin and had just the birth certificate and driver’s license and had no problem. I was on my way to Frankfurt with a passport and it was a little faster since all the airport person had to do was swipe my passport # on her terminal and I was good to go. When in Vancouver a few years ago, the person in line in front of me at passport control had only had the driver license/birth certificate and was detained for further scrutiny like toxic. You won’t need a passport for your next trip to TO, but it is worth the time and effort to get one since you’ll eventually need one for Canada and Mexico and it will come in handy when you want to travel elsewhere and see the rest of the world. Like stupidcomputernickname, I used CIBT to expedite my passport through my company when I got mine a few years ago — I had to pay on my own, but my company had a corporate pricing agreement so it was about 2/3
While my passport was being renewed last spring, I traveled to Canada with just a birth certificate and drivers license. Nobody batted an eye. I gather the rules are changing, so you might want to double check by phoning the passport office. You can get an expedited passport yourself by going to the office (first thing in the morning) with the necessary forms, proof of travel, photos and a birth certificate. My guess is that your local office will be in San Francisco. It’s a pain in the ass, but if you can demonstrate need, the passport can be prepared the same day.
