Do you need a visa to enter Canada or just the US passport is enough??
I might be going to TO only for a weekend.. what kind of documents are needed?? Any idea?
Re: Trip to Canada..
us passport is enough, and bring in ur ids, like driving license and stuff.
so i assume u r coming to Ontario via niagara falls?
oh thanks.. I ended up searaching as well after posting here but since I was hearing mixed views from my family(requirement of passport or visa since january 2008 and such) so I thought hearing about a first hand experience might help!!!
Yes I will be visiting TO for the weekend entering via niagara falls!!
and oh by the way,t his is what I found.. seems like US passport and driver’s license should be enough!!
Passport Requirements at the Canada Border - Do Americans Need a Passport to Visit Canada?
Re: Trip to Canada..
so basically wat they are saying is that u can enter canada easily by showing any id that shows that u r a US citizen, but to come back u have to answer all the BS questions like "when was the last time u visited ur home country, or did u stay at relatives house or at a motel, wat did u do in canada" and u will have to show ur passport aswell.
Re: Trip to Canada..
that is if you travel by Air..I went to Canada in 2002 by bus and I had a green card.. since I was a teenager and the only girl in the bus, i had it easy and simple meaning I didn;t even have to take off my luggage.. later I drove to Canada in 2006 just to drop off my cousin at the Niagara falls so it was in and out kinda thing.. again just the green card, they didnt even look at my passport and I spent less than 2 minutes at the border to come back to the US!!!
I guess things have changed lately.. lets see how it goes!!
Re: Trip to Canada..
Road trip, gtg?! Are you smuggling someone in? ;-)
If you are driving yourself, make sure you understand the mile markers vs. km those markers that say exit in 2 or 1 km threw me off, my mile tuned brain wasn't ready for them to come so quickly.
Re: Trip to Canada..
aj.. LOL heck no.. sounds like a good idea though ;-)
by the way you have a good point for mile-km... I would have been easily consfused or confuse canadians on road if I wasnt going to follow GPS.. I blindly follow GPS so hopefully it will do the trick for me :D
ps: I still need a day off from work before I plan the trip though.. I may not end up going :(
Re: Trip to Canada..
if u wana come, make it soon cuz its already getting colddddd here :S
some parts already had alot of snow, but toronto and niagara falls stil have above 0 temperatures
Hey EcoShan, I'am coming to Canada permenantly after May/June to stay. I'am a Canadian Citizen.
can you answer these questions:
Q1, Does carrying a pakistani driving liscense mean anything in canada?
Q2, Where is the best place to find information about buying a house in Toronto or anywhere. I mean, can you tell me any area that in your opinion may be easier for finding available residence in?
I have more questions but they are more of a private matter to discuss about and I can't PM anyone without getting more post counts.
Re: Trip to Canada..
bro u can’t drive using a pakistani driving license in canada, but if ur pakistani driving license is real, and has more than 2 years experience on it then u can go for G2 driving license right away (without 2 year experience on pakistani passport u have to wait 1 year to get a G2 license)
well if u wana buy a house in toronto then u gota go to www.mls.ca pick the house u like call a broker to help u and he is gona help u for free show u the house and tell u all the good and bad things about the house, if u look the house in suburbs they are gona be more expensive, if u r looking at the old places it might be cheaper, but to buy a house u have to have a good credit history in canada and i assume u dont have it. (or if u r buying it for all cash)
or if u wana rent, there are trillions of apartment buildings in toronto and surrounding areas that offer less expensive and quality living.
and if u cant pm me then u can add me at [email protected]
Re: Trip to Canada..
take some additional id's and information of your job/business. expect to be asked some extra questions because you are pakistani, keep some of your family pics with you. as soon as you cross the border you will find Canadian immigration people much more nicer than their US counterpart. and canadians are much more nicer than us people in general that is what not only i am saying this is everyone say including US people
just watch out from some of our own desis lol.
Re: Trip to Canada..
Yeah GTG I would recommend carrying your passport plus work ID/school ID in addition to your Driver's License. Last time I went to Canada via Buffalo was in '05. There was no problem going there but on the way back US immigration was very rude and difficult. When I drove up to the window the guy asked for identification. I had given my passport, not thinking much & he started asking all sorts of stupid questions like mentioned above. (Where did you go, "How was your trip funded", Who did you stay with, How long did you stay? Why?) I had stamps of trips to Paki and stuff, so they had us step to the side for further interrogation. After waiting few hours...(mind you they had nothing on us, just being jerk)my mom went up to counter again to inquire what the heck is taking so long, she mentioned where she works, etc....and finally they let us mov eon....these 2 officers interrogated me & searched my car...to find NOTHING! pissed me off.
Re: Trip to Canada..
passport and ID…
it’s not so much getting into canada that you have to worry about…it’s getting back into the USA.
Just some extra info: If you have children with you…you must have their birth certificates and they must ride in the car with their parents.
P.S and let me know if you see that really cute guy on the USA side named Marvin 
[quote="AnGeL_EyEs"]
passport and ID...
it's not so much getting into canada that you have to worry about...it's getting back into the USA.
its true...n make ur ur not carrying any quranic writings with u coz when u go back to US they really check for these things...n investigates for nothing....
Re: Trip to Canada..
Thanks everyone for your input.. I will make sure I have enough identification and hope that everything goes well for our trip.. my friend is attending a conference there and I am her driving partner as well as I will be seeing my cousin in Hamilton!!
now here is another question.. whats the best way to go from Toronto to Hamilton??? I think its like an hour drive but we have one car and two destinations for the same day so I am looking for another alternative.. train, bus, car rental for under 25?? What's convenient??
Re: Trip to Canada..
i would suggest car would be better...coz it will take hrs if u go by bus n rental is expensive....in Toronto everything is easily Accessible so u can drop ur frnd in toronto n u travel in car....
Thanks everyone for your input.. I will make sure I have enough identification and hope that everything goes well for our trip.. my friend is attending a conference there and I am her driving partner as well as I will be seeing my cousin in Hamilton!!
now here is another question.. whats the best way to go from Toronto to Hamilton??? I think its like an hour drive but we have one car and two destinations for the same day so I am looking for another alternative.. train, bus, car rental for under 25?? What's convenient??
car, cuz its just 45 mins drive and train or bus would take u more than an hour
Re: Trip to Canada..
2006 my parents and uncle and i went by car, very quick procedure, coming back wasn’t a hassle either (unlses you count our drivers really bad sense of direction :halo: ), then we went again six months later for the wedding, this time the whole tabbar went and that was a nightmare.. b/c my cousins were sitting in the car iwht me but their dad had their passports and well since it was like 20-something desis they just had to pull us over and do background checks on husbands family and all 
2007 we were comnig to NY from Toronto via amtrack and oh my god still teh worst expereince ever… never ever ever ever recommend them. we both had US/Canadian passports, everything was legit but still the customs officer was being a prick abt all of it, and they started asking us all sorts of stupid Qs like how we’ll manage, how we met, our situation etc. 
she even told me that i can never come back to canada… err okay.
I went to canada again (by air) for Eid last year and faced no problems… husband flew to US, hes a canadian citizen, everything is legit and when he was in the airport checking in the officer told him to go on but then af ew minutes later said “come back”, and lo and behold they kept him for questioning for a few hours. samajh hi nahi ati kya masla hai inn logon ko…
oh wait what was the Question? :halo:
car, cuz its just 45 mins drive and train or bus would take u more than an hour
errr... train taking longer than car? on 401 / 403 / QEW ? but yeah, if you want to take 407 (Toll Route), then that's alright.
Otherwise, I'd suggest taking the train for sure... the only downside are the timings. I think trains only run during a certain time period during the day... buses on the other hand, run late into the night.