How to fly to canada without a passport?
You don’t need a passport to get into Canada. I’m married to a Canadian, and live in Buffalo. I cross the border at least once a month and I have never owned a passport in my life and have never been asked for one. At the border they ask for photo id only. I’ve never been asked for a birth certificate either….
I recently got a new passport. You’ll be able to get passports at largish local post offices, courthouses, etc. This should answer your basic how-to questions, and this should help you find the right location. Basically, express passports are obtained like normal passports, though you have to pay extra to get them. I’ve never needed a passport to get into Canada, but I’ve always traveled there by car – airport customs facilities may be stricter. I also haven’t been there particularly recently.
Felix, was that flying or by land? Flying. Regarding expedited passports. There is a real difference between “Passport Offices” and courthouses, post offices, etc. The latter have general forms on file and can accept new applications with a good lead time (a couple months, I think). The former are in major metropolitan areas and specialize in rush or difficult applications. To use them, you need to make a prior appointment. Be aware that if, if you use the general application process, you need to be very aggressive about following up on your application. The people who work in the passport division are courteous and helpful, but it’s a government bureaucracy. Problems in your application may not be caught until after your specified travel date. If you have the money and don’t want to lose a day (or more) waiting in a line, I’d recommend finding a expediting service. A quick google search turned up this, which should give
I found out unexpectedly that I had to renew my passport early (I went to India, and they require that a passport be valid for 6 months after they grant you a visa). I used CIBT, and got it renewed in less than a week. It cost an arm and a leg (something like 120.00 over and above the passport fees), but it was fast.
