Hey everyone. I have a question about getting some kind of a temporary passport and i figured this would be as good of a place as any to ask. Me and my friend wanted to do something for spring break but we're both a little low on cash. We decided on going to canda, but appearantly you need a passport now to get in? Is there any way we can get some kind of a ten day passport or something? I was really looking forward to going to canada, and don't think sneaking in would be the best idea lol.
Reply to this Hello Sam 😊
Why dont you just get a regular passport? You might need to use it again within the next 10 years so why keep getting temporary ones. Mostly the consulates issue the temporary ones in emergency situations, such as if you are in another country and your passport is stolen. They probably wont issue a temporary one when there is no emergency.
Mel
Reply to this Hi Sam, I concur with Mel here - the only time a temporary passport is usually issued is when you have lost one (through theft, flood, fire or otherwise) overseas. This will suffice for the rest of your journey, and then you will get a permanent replacement one once back in your home country.
Passports last for 10 years, and they will hopefully see many stamps in them before they expire!
Reply to this Temporary emergency ones (at least the NZ one I had) look like normal ones pretty much, and are valid for a year. They attract more questions at immigrations.
I agree with the others - as far as I'm aware you won't be given one unless it is to replace another in an emergency situation.
Your cheapest option would be to get a normal one, and allow for the longest processing time.
Reply to this Hi Sam -
What country are you a citizen of? American citizens don't need a passport to visit Canada until June 1, 2009, unless they are planning on flying there.
So, if you are am American citizen, you can still drive across the border with a birth certificate and driver's license (or other state issued I.D) until then. Afterward, yeah, you'll need a passport not only to be out, but also to get back into the U.S.
Also, again assuming you're an American citizen (because otherwise I'm not sure how Canada would be a cheap spring break destination with a trans-oceanic flight), your state might have an enhanced drivers license option - so if you renew your drivers license it's $15 to get passport-type ID embedded which can be used to cross into Mexico and Canada. Washington state offers that option, and some of the other border states do too.
Reply to this Huh...I thought you needed a passport for going to/returning to ANY country as a US citizen, other than Puerto Rico since it's a commonwealth protectorate (or whatever correct term for Puerto Rico). That said, I just looked up the US Dept. of State's travel page and Steph and Andras are correct, learned something new!
That said, I'd agree with the others - just get a regular passport. They're good for a long time and the cost difference can't be that much between a regular and a temp one - assuming you can get one. A US passport is about $100, and how much less could a temp one be?
Reply to this In my case, the emergency one was actually a lot more expensive - but included the replacement cost of an ordinary one at non express processing.
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