Passport questions...

[TheNinja]

I am supposed to travel from california to toronto in less than 3 weeks.

1. Do I need a passport to go to Toronto, Canada?

2. How long does it usually take to get a passport?

3. Any tips to make it quick and painless?

I should have clarified that I will be flying into Toronto from either San Francisco or Oakland.

 

[bigrash]

1. Yes

hope that helps

 

[Atomicus]

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/get_840.html

 

[MadPeriot]

I never been there but:
1. Yes, everytime you travel outside the states you will need to carry your passport.
2. Depending on your process, you can get it in couple of days if you directly visit the passport office. Or applying it will take you few weeks.
3. visit travel.state.gov, you will get your questions answered there.

 

[TheNinja]

cool...thanks guys

 

[alareau]

Last i checked, you don't need to get a passport to go to Canada.
When i go down to the states, i only need to show valid ID.

I know that in the coming year or 2, you will need to get one because of tighter restrictions

Passport stuff

The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows:

*
December 31, 2006 ? Passport required for all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

 

[kranky]

Current requirements for going to Canada.

 

[TheNinja]

WEAK!

Other Weapons

Some other types of weapons are also prohibited in Canada. Prohibited weapons include switchblades, butterfly knives and many martial arts weapons. The complete list includes:

....Nunchaku or similar objects made up of hard, non-flexible sticks linked by a flexible length of chain. This includes objects where the sticks are replaced by, for example, pipes or other rigid pieces, and where the chain is replaced by rope, wire or other flexible material;
Shuriken or similar objects which are made of a hard, non-flexible material in an essentially two-dimensional regular geometric form with one or more sharp edges;
Blow guns;
s.

 

[TheNinja]

And what's the deal with the money? Will they take USD or do I need to exchange it?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: TheNinja
And what's the deal with the money? Will they take USD or do I need to exchange it?

Depends, some will and some won't but they usually kill you with the exchange rate.

BTW, you do not need a passport and currently the tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor is advertising that all you need is a license, not even your birth certificate.

 

[kranky]

Many places will accept US dollars (especially in Toronto) but you won't get the best exchange rate. In other words, you'll pay for convenience.

The best bet is to get a little cash then charge everything you can.

 

[TheNinja]

I should have clarified that I will be flying into Toronto from either San Francisco or Oakland.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I don't think you need a passport to go to Canada. Maybe a birth certificate. (All that's required in Mexico at this time) But I'd go ahead and get one issued. They claim it takes 6 weeks to get one, but it usually takes 2-3 weeks if you can get your picture made, etc... I was able to walk into the post office here and get mine last December. It made it back to me by Jan 10.

 

[TheNinja]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I don't think you need a passport to go to Canada. Maybe a birth certificate. (All that's required in Mexico at this time) But I'd go ahead and get one issued. They claim it takes 6 weeks to get one, but it usually takes 2-3 weeks if you can get your picture made, etc... I was able to walk into the post office here and get mine last December. It made it back to me by Jan 10.

Perhaps they can fast track it for me if I pay a lot more money. I'm going to expense it out to the company anyway since they need me to travel out of country on relatively short notice. This might be a good way to get my passport paid for even if I don't need it on this trip.

 

[mrrman]

You need a passport....period ...or they will haul you into secondary customs...a passport can be done within 4 days rushed