BRH Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Now that the Stojan/Simon debate seems to have simmered down, does anyone have any advice about what to say to the customs officer if you're going to the ballet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblehead Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Flying into Montreal = need a passport Driving to Quebec City via the crossing near Plattsburg = no passport needed, but you will be stopped and asked to get out of the car, walk in the building and sign a form. Driving to Toronto via Peace Bridge = no passport, stay in car, need a drivers license. Driving to Montreal via Thousand Islands = no passport, stay in car, drivers lic. needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spun Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Flying into Montreal = need a passport Driving to Quebec City via the crossing near Plattsburg = no passport needed, but you will be stopped and asked to get out of the car, walk in the building and sign a form. Driving to Toronto via Peace Bridge = no passport, stay in car, need a drivers license. Driving to Montreal via Thousand Islands = no passport, stay in car, drivers lic. needed. 155111[/snapback] Furthermore, the airlines have been accepting expired passports as long as you also have picture id (license) and either a birth certificate or health certificate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I'm guessing we have wildly divergent views on what exactly constitutes a barrel of laughs.And yes, I am absolutely hysterical......... 154860[/snapback] Stojan also said to me- You must be TONS of fun at a party! - -- blink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet baboo Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I used to cross the border all the time as an undergrad (graduated in 2002) without even having to show my driver's license... Customs: "Where are you going?" Me: "Casino/Toronto" on occasion, a friend would get bold enough and say "Downers" Customs: "Go ahead" in Feb 2004, I tried to cross the border (Peace Bridge) just to go to Peller Estates to buy some wine that my fiance really likes...I even brough my passport just in case since i wasn't sure what the border was going to be like...boy was it stevestojantty! they either had too much time on their hands (it was around 10am on a weekday so there was virtually no traffic) or the terror alert went up...anyhow, they pulled me over, took my new car into the garage and interogated me for a good hour...one question they kept bugging me about was how I could afford my car (2004 Subaru WRX Wagon)...they didn't believe me when I told them that NIH pays me pretty well to go to school...anyhow, since they had nothing on me and i guess they got tired of me, they let me go...went, bought my wine and left via the Lewiston bridge...shitstorm happened again...there was practically a blizzard at the time and were probably only 4 cars trying to get through and they pulled all of us over...again, my car got pulled into a garage and they did the same line of questioning..they went through my bag full of research, went through my files on my laptop (all school related research) and asked endless questions including "how'd you manage to afford this car?" over and over again...i was almost afraid they'd strip search me when they took my jacket and walked off with it...after an hour and a half maybe, they let me go...i spent more than 2 hours in customs that day i haven't been back across the border since...i can only imagine how much worse my day could've been had I not brought my passport it's not even like these were mean customs officials...they were all very friendly, but you have this very sick feeling in your stomach they you're going to get screwed anyway since they can do whatever they want to you as you have no rights in the no man's land Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 "how'd you manage to afford this car?" That's when you say. "Have you ever heard about Amway...let me tell you about it..." they'll let you go asap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spun Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 As a frame of reference at least it isn't as bad as the police extortion that is so widespread in Mexico... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Now that the Stojan/Simon debate seems to have simmered down, does anyone have any advice about what to say to the customs officer if you're going to the ballet? 155107[/snapback] I always tell 'em I'm going to the Falls to "see the sights." That's somewhat appropriate for the ballet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradobillsfan Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 i got hassled once (on the canada side) when i only brought my drivers license with me. when i told him i thought i only needed a drivers license he yelled 'that doesn't prove where you were born'. no interrogation or nothin' but a rather unpleasant experience nonetheless. now i make sure to bring my birth certificate with me every time. a high school buddy of mine ended up working at the peace bridge; his uncle was the port director. he had so many stories it was unbelievable. he told me that they have a quota of cars to be pulled over in a given time period. usually they pick a car here and there but sometimes they need to catch up so they pull over several at a time. my guess is that some of the folks who posted earlier on this thread got to the border at this unlucky time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Last time I was up in Buffalo, you didn't need a passport to get into Canada (and back), just a driver's licenes. That was several years ago....is this still the case? thanks! 154763[/snapback] The official line is two forms of ID are required, a passport suffices as one. Ran into this last year when working in Detroit and driving to Buffalo for the weekend. The Canadians aren't half as paranoid as the Border Patrol was in Lewiston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Now that the Stojan/Simon debate seems to have simmered down, What, you think that's funny? Hey pal, I'll tell you what's funny............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancasterSteve Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 and if by some chance you are the only parent going up, you need a notarized note from their mother allowing you to take them. Honestly. 154857[/snapback] Dan's not kidding !! Happened to our niece who is divorced and her four kids. She didn't have any proof of divorce but just happened to have family pics of her and the kids. They still gave her a hassel though. Living in WNY and having quite a few friends in Fort Erie and Niagara Falls we travel back and forth to Canada quite frequently, don't whatever you do, make wise cracks of any kind. That will get you a long delay. Customs on both sides can dismantle a car if they want to. No warrent,no nothing! What's the best approach? Honesty. If your a group of 20 something year old guys and are going to the Sundowner...tell them; if you say oh, we're going sightseeing; that's red flag time and a pull over for sure. Things You could be asked: Where do You live? or most often now-Citizenship!! Where are You going? How long do You plan to stay? or if returning from Canada................................How long were you in Canada? Another thing if your renting a car (they punch in the plate number on both sides) it will show up as a rental. So don't say Buffalo when asked where You live, if your driving a rental..red flag time again. Plus these customs officials know a Buffalo accent The Canadian customs employees have been in a foul mood and labor slowdown for some time over wages so many of them are a little edgy, so no wise-cracks, they're in no mood for them. If You buy something, tell them. I've never ever been pulled over for shopping, even all weekend in Toronto If buying a case of brew, I leave it on the back seat, same with booze if you have been in Canada for 48 hours. The worst mistake is saying you don't have anything to declare and then having an inspector find it ! Then life gets a little more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Last time I was in Buffalo, we were driving into Niagara Falls completely shitfaced (except the driver, of course) and when asked why were going to Canadia, simply answered "to see some titties". Unfortunately, the 400lb, pissed off woman wasn't amused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Car full of guys on a Friday or Saturday evening. They know where you are headed, be honest. You're spending money to help their economy. Never any hassles telling the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 The borders are interesting because in general as you enter you are not considered a citizen by either side until you prove it. Thus, you do not have the rights that you have as a citizen untuil the border official grants it. Generally this means that though they are under orders to treat everyone courteously, they are under an even stronger order to protect their country, thus your rights truly begin and end where the customs/immigration agent says they do. We ;ive in Buffalo and my wife's Dad has a cottage in Canada where he spends the entire summer and thus we go up there with some frequency. Dad (and his son who takes his kid up there frequently) have the NEXUS pass which gives them pre-approval and thus they have a shorter faster lane to whip through on their daily sojourns across the borderand by just showin that each individual in the car has a NEXUS pass they don't even have to talk with anyone. We also go over with semi-frequency to go to the best Chinese restaurant east of the Bay Area, Ming Teh. Canadian custims checks all license plates by computer as you drive up and we usually get friendly perfunctory questions from the guardwhich we casually answer and off we go. In 15 years of crossing both ways as many as 24 times a summer I have only been told to go to US customs once and then because we were sailing across Lake Ontario and when my wife got seasick on top of a cold we rented a car in Trenton Ontario for me to drive her back and two US citizens driving a car with Canadian plates needed some explaining. Things have tightened up since 9/11, but the key things seems to be for the driver and passengers to be calm and you can whisk through with few hassles, sometimes even without need of even a driver's license on the Canadian side, though having a passport with you any time you leave the country is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 The problem w/ telling them you are going to the Ballet is that they know you're going to be drinking. And that sets you up for problems coming back into the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilsAlum Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 I crossed the border last night all we needed was photo id Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtGodel77 Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 That's when you say. "Have you ever heard about Amway...let me tell you about it..." they'll let you go asap! 155638[/snapback] Lol!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke14227 Posted December 11, 2004 Share Posted December 11, 2004 Last time I was up in Buffalo, you didn't need a passport to get into Canada (and back), just a driver's licenes. That was several years ago....is this still the case? thanks! 154763[/snapback] I routinely cross the border 2 or 3 times a week and never needed a passport. Canada customs usually doesn't ask for ID if you look normal. US customs on the other hand does, so be sure you have photo ID (drivers license) on your return trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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