Crossing into Canada (rent, travel, work)

[NEgal]

I was just wondering what the procedure is when passing from the U.S. to Canada. Has anyone done this recently? We have current passports, but I was wondering if they just look at your passport and send you on your way or if they use your passport to check you out (background, etc.) We are heading up to Alaska soon. Any info. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[warptman]

If you have no DUI's or anything alcohol related arrests, you should be fine. Passports are the way to go. Depending on the mood and where you cross, you can be there for as little as five minutes or up to a hour if they want to search your vehicle. No worries.

[Tressa]

usally with your passport it will minimize your stay in most cases. They will ask you questions such as why are you going to Alaska, are you carrying any alchol with you, are you carrying anything for anybody else. Just stuff like that, don't be a smart a-- and all should go smooth

[ASpilot2be]

I have gone through the Canadian border in as little as 30 seconds. They looked at our IDs, asked us the usual questions, and sent us on our way.

[rotorhead]

Having a current valid passport is the biggest issue, if yours is good that goes a long way towards a smooth crossing both into and out of the US. There's a pretty extensive list of no-nos for crossing the border INTO Canada. In no particular order:

Past DUI or felony convictions
Carrying a handgun or "prohibited" long gun (most semi-autos) or pepper spray(who knows why on that last)
Drugs or past drug convictions (duh)
Carrying beef or some other wild game meats, including most dog food ( a big PITA)
Children without both parents present with no power of attourney
No car insurance or too little insurance (check with your agent)
No car registration(temps or dealer tags are often a problem too)
Dogs or cats with no rabies certificate or recent health certification from a vet, or exotic animals
Smarting off to the tight@ss humorless customs officers

There are of course lots of other issues that could hang you up at the border, check their website and the US DHS website as well and make sure your insurance company prints you a recent CANADIAN proof of insurance card, it's not like the usual ones here and they seem to really want to see it. If you're planning on carrying a firearm give up now on pistols, it just won't happen. If you're trying to bring up the whole gun collection, find another way that doesn't include going through Canada. If you want to bring one or two bolt action rifles or pump shotguns, it's a paperwork hassle and they're gonna gouge you for it but it's still possible. Pets are another hassle, but doable if it's not livestock or exotics. The beef issue is purely political, and there are some other agricultural products like bedding plants and such that you don't want to take along. Alcohol has limits, not sure how much but a sixpack of beer or a couple bottles of wine back in the trailer isn't a problem.

Do NOT show up at the crossing with the smell of alcohol or weed on your breath, unless you like the idea of having your car turned inside out and spending the night in jail. If you're naturally the nervous type when it comes to authority, have your partner drive instead so they can give them the third degree instead, and you just smile and nod and say yes and no when appropriate.

[rotorhead]

Also remember that when you drive from the lower 48 to Alaska, you're actually crossing the border at least twice. Once into Canada, and once back into the US (into Alaska). They can hassle you at the US side too, expecially when you're trying to travel without a passport these days. It can help to have reciepts for firearms and other big-ticket items that are still in the original box like TVs and such, so they can't claim at the US crossing that you're "importing" the stuff into the US.

[arctichomesteader]

Have a list of everything you have with you going through Canada and where its is in your vehicle and let them see the list. They may or may not want to see some or all items. Things like firearms (unrestricted long guns) have to be declared and paperwork filled out, fees paid, etc. Some other things need to be declared but that's it, no fee or paperwork. Don't bring any handguns or restricted firearms, those require special approval in advance and it's not worth the hassle anyways, it's easier to send those items to yourself (from your old address to wherever you're going in AK). How much trouble you have depends on the person you deal with. Some will be easy going/relaxed, others may be pure jerks who'll look for the tiniest breaking of a rule (and there are lots of little things frequently looked over because they don't seem too obvious, such as limits on amounts of things that can be brought in like alcohol, that most won't worry much about) to mess you up. Most aren't like that though, but occasionally a horror story emerges. I doubt you'll have trouble but just be careful.