I'm traveling to Canada soon and my passport has expired. Can I get through with an expired passport?

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GPapenburg

The first three answerers did not know about the fact that you are travelling by land and therefore they wanted you to have a valid passport, assuming that you take a plane.
I can't understand why the other answerers still insist on a valid document for land travel.

Let's take a look what the website of Homeland Security tells:

Beginning January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens 19 years and older who enter the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry from within the Western Hemisphere will need to present government-issued photo ID, such as a driverâ€™s license as proof of identity, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate, or a passport. Children age 18 and under will be able to enter with proof of citizenship. Verbal claims of citizenship and identity alone will not be sufficient to establish identity and citizenship for entry into the United States.

Does it state anything about valid? No!

So what you need is either a valid passport to proof both identity and citizenship OR a proof of identity along with a proof of citizenship.

Is a government issued passport, regardless of valid or not, a proof of identity?
Yes it is since it shows your name and your picture.
Is it still a prrof of citizenship?
No it is not, since it has become invalid.
Therefore you must hold your birth certificate and your passport or any other government issued document proving your identity to meet the present land travel documentation requirements.

Source(s):
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/land_travel/

Charlie

An expired passport is useless...cannot be used for anything. If you could still use it, what would be the point of an expiration date? If you are FLYING to Canada, you must have a valid, current passport or you will not be allowed on the plane. Passports are NOT required for land travel to and from Canada until june1, 2009.

NWIP

You do not need a passport to go to Canada or back to the US if going by LAND or SEA. You need a Valid Government Issued ID (Ie driver's license) and a birth certificate. Expired passport is no longer a Valid Government Issued ID I believe so it will not be possible to use.

tailsnnails

Travelling with an expired passport is illegal. You do not need a VALID passport to travel into Canada by land until June 2009. A Birth Certificate and photo ID like a drivers license is all that is needed right now.

paducahbill

No, you need to go to the post office and order your new one.

Jeff H

No, you cannot use an expired passport for identification purposes, it must be valid. Since you are travelling by land from Washington State, assuming you are a US citizen, you do not require a passport however you must bring valid government issued photo ID such as a current driver's license and an official birth certificate, copies are not acceptable. As of June 1, 09 you will require a passport for all forms of travel so if you have not already done so you should apply to renew your passport.

Note however that this regulation was brought down for travel into the US and is being enforced by Canada simply because Customs wants to insure that visitors can return home without any problems.

Alim N

you will need valid government photo i.d. and a proof of canadian citizenship if you are traveling by land, but if you are traveling by air, you will need a valid passport. sorry, an expired passport won't get you anywhere in the world.

Master Chen

Well an expired passport is worthless, but you fail to say where youa re flying from. From the United States, it may be no issue at all, since they delayed the smart i.d. and passport law for another year. Id say get it re-issued and validated.

It doesnt take as long and although it is about the same price ($74 U.S.) its not that bad. Here are some links.

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