Border crossing (Seattle to Vancouver) question

[familytravelx5]

What can we expect for a border crossing that will be somewhere around midnight on a Thursday? It's been 12 long years since we drove vs. flying across a border and I'm not really sure what to expect. Do you get out of your car to an office or is it more like a drive-through and we present our passports and answer verbal questions? Do you have to fill out forms? With any luck our kids will be fast asleep while we drive and I'm just trying to get a feel for the current procedure.

 

Thanks! We leave one week from today WOOHOO!!

[redtop101]

At midnight you should be able to cross into Canada very quickly. You just stay in your vehicle and drive up to the booth in designated lanes, stay in your vehicle, have your ID available to hand to the officer and answer any questions he/she might ask. They are more concerned with bringing cigarettes, alcohol (apart from drugs) into Canada etc than anything else.

[Urban trekker]

The one thing to remember is that Canada has strict controls on the carrying and transport of firearms into the country so don't try to bring in any.

 

You won't normally have to fill out any forms - are all the kids yours or do they have a friend along - if the latter you will need a notarized form from both parents.

 

While the Canadian government has tighten entry requirements in response to the war on terror it is still easier to enter Canada than the US.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[familytravelx5]

It shouldn't be any worse than this:

 

passport/ID

vehicle inspection

questioning outside vehicle

vehicle search

strip search

contraband in various orifice search

interrogation

accelerated interrogation including water-boarding (but not torture)

medical exam

alien abduction

accelerated medical scan and probe exam

various inter-species sexual practices

mind-control device emplacement

 

Other than that it should be relatively quick.

So I wouldn't worry

 

Oh, is that all? No problem! well the mind-control device may be an issue since I will be out of my mind by this time :D oh, and the inter-species sexual....

 

Nope all kids are mine (ours) even though they might not admit to it....

 

Thanks for the help!

[zephyr17]

Just a note for general consumption (not implying anything about any prior posters). Canada will not admit anyone who has a DUI conviction, regardless of how long ago it was, unless you go through a waiver procedure. And they have connected their systems to US databases, and they usually run you as part of their routine entry procedure -- you don't have to look/act suspicious or anything.

 

Just be aware -- a lot of folks have been turned back. If anyone does have an old DUI (and nothing else), it would probably be worth it to go through the waiver procedure. Just bear in mind you have to apply for it and it takes months, and it can't be done at the border. Arguments that it was 15 years ago will fall on deaf ears.

 

I'm clean, and I'm sure you folks are. Just so everybody knows...

[inar]

There won't be a wait. You will simply drive through and speak to an officer in a booth and present your passports. You will not need to fill out declaration cards.

[Putterdude]

With a midnight crossing I wouldn't think that you will be more than a few minutes in line.:)

[kenish]

More about parental permission- BOTH parents must be with the minors; if either one is not, then there must be a notarized letter from the parent that is not there. Even if a parent and legal step-parent are with the kids, there must be a letter from any other people with legal custody (natural parent, grandparent, etc). It's a good international safeguard to help prevent one parent from expatrating their kids to a foreign country that is out of legal reach of the other parent or guardian.

 

Sounds like this is N/A for the OP but it wasn't clearly explained in the replies.

[Sauvignon]

This is a useful link that will enable you to monitor delays ahead of time, take a look and you will see that at the time you are proposing there is unlikely to be a delay

 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/border/

 

That said when we left Vancouver both the Peace Arch and truck crossing were showing 90 minute delays, by the time we got to the truck crossing the wait was about 5 minutes, and that was really what I had been expecting having monitored the site over a period of time.

 

On another note and not really a 'scientific' study but the Canadian official on our on our north bound crossing was more than miserable while the US official was more that happy to welcome us into his country

[cryce]

I live in Vancouver and cross the border quite often. I agree - midnight on a Thursday (provided it is not a long weekend in either country) should be easy with very little wait. The border patrol might ask you to wake your children and might even ask them questions directly (depending on their age). And I've seen it crossing both ways so it's not just a Canadian thing. I understand why they need to, but it can also be annoying to wake a sleeping child - just a heads up!

 

Also, as of June 1/09 rules about identification required when crossing Canada/US borders (even by land) is changing -- I believe adults must have valid passports both ways and children under 16 must have passports, originals of their birth certificate and/or other proof of citizenship. Worth looking into.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!