If your trip involves travel across the US/Canada border, you can help ensure a safe and speedy passage by reviewing the following requirements and guidelines. Amtrak services that cross the US/Canada border are subject to inspection by Canadian and American law enforcement officials.
When making a reservation for services crossing the US/Canada border, you must provide certain information, including your date of birth, gender, country of citizenship, and detailed information regarding the form of ID that you will carry with you on your trip. Further conditions apply.
Providing inaccurate or incomplete information will subject you to extensive inspection and questioning at the border. Please make sure that you supply us with complete and accurate information.
The information you provide when you make your reservation will be entered into your reservation record and supplied to Customs and Immigration officers to facilitate your clearance. Neither Amtrak nor VIA Rail Canada will use this information for any other purpose.
The form of identification you carry with you on your trip should be the same piece of ID that you selected and provided details about when you made your reservation.
You must carry the original, valid identification document. Copies, expired or otherwise invalid documents will not be accepted. Each passenger must have his or her own ID.
Be aware that you may experience delays at border crossings. Such delays are usually due to US and/or Canadian customs and immigration procedures, and are beyond Amtrak's control.
Effective June 1, 2009, the only acceptable documents to cross the US/Canada border by land or sea are:
(Under 19 if traveling with an organized group such as a school trip)
Amtrak policy does not allow children 14 and under to travel unaccompanied into Canada, regardless of ID or notarized letter.
Citizens of all other countries who are permanent residents of the United States
Citizens of all other countries who are not permanent residents of the United States:
If a United States or Canadian citizen will at any point cross the border by air, a full passport (not the passport card) or a NEXUS card are the only two allowable documents for the air portion of travel.
Effective June 1, 2009, the following will no longer be accepted from travelers 16 and over:
US-VISIT is an enhanced border inspection program implemented by the US Department of Homeland Security. US-VISIT requirements do not replace visa requirements for entering the United States.
Foreign visitors who are carrying a foreign passport and/or those visitors who are required to complete a form I-94 will be enrolled in the US-VISIT program at Amtrak border crossings. (Most Canadian Citizens and, initially, Mexican Citizens who use their border crossing cards or "laser visas," are excepted from the program.)
For first-time visitors to the US, a Customs and Border Protection Officer uses an inkless, digital fingerscanner to perform a ten-finger fingerscan. Subsequent entries and exits by the same person at air, sea and land border ports will require two-finger scans for verification.
US Customs and Border Protection Officers will take a digital picture of the visitor, review travel documents and ask questions about the visitor's stay in the United States. This process should take less than five minutes per passenger.
Border agents will collect a fee of $6.00 from each visitor. Foreign visitors must come to the border prepared to pay this fee. The fee is payable in US currency, a US postal money order, a personal check drawn on a US bank, a Canadian money order issued in US funds or a US dollar travelers cheque only.
Permission to enter the US or Canada is granted solely at the discretion of Customs and Immigration officers. Accordingly, possession of required documentation and providing Amtrak with required information in no way guarantees entry into the United States or Canada.
Neither Amtrak nor VIA Rail Canada nor any other carrier is in any way liable in the event that you are denied entry or delayed on your trip. Trains or buses will not be delayed at the border on your behalf if you are detained.
For further information, contact the appropriate US or Canadian government offices prior to travel:
