Crossing into Canada by Land with Newborn (No Passport or Birth Certificate Yet)

[thementor]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are Canadian Permanent Residents who recently moved back to Canada from the U.S. We’re currently in the U.S. in non-immigrant visas, and our baby is due very soon. We've decided to give birth here in the U.S., but we plan to return to Canada by land after hospital discharge after the birth.

Here’s the situation:

• The baby will be a U.S. citizen by birth. We are not U.S. green card or U.S. citizens.
• It can take 4 to 8 weeks to receive the official U.S. birth certificate, and we can’t apply for the U.S. passport until we have that.
• We would like to travel to Canada by land with the newborn before the birth certificate and passport are issued.
• We do plan to bring all hospital-issued documents such as:
  • Certificate of live birth from the hospital
  • Discharge summary
  • Possibly a letter from the attending physician or hospital
• We’ll also carry our PR cards, our passports with U.S. visas, our marriage certificate and proof of residence in Canada (utility bills and apartment lease).

Has anyone here successfully returned to Canada under similar circumstances? Will CBSA accept hospital records in lieu of a passport or birth certificate for a U.S.-born newborn crossing by land with PR parents? Any advice, tips, or firsthand experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Raphael L Sanchez]

Seems like a tricky situation hope the border officers are understanding. Keep us posted on how it goes, this info could help a lot of new parents! You can refer here: Modhello.net

 

[thementor]

Thanks. Sure, I will keep posted. I am reading mixed experiences online, especially Canadian and U.S. citizens with U.S. newborn do not appear to have problem with only hospital records, but most people say it really depends on the CBSA agent.

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are Canadian Permanent Residents who recently moved back to Canada from the U.S. We’re currently in the U.S. in non-immigrant visas, and our baby is due very soon. We've decided to give birth here in the U.S., but we plan to return to Canada by land after hospital discharge after the birth.

Here’s the situation:

• The baby will be a U.S. citizen by birth. We are not U.S. green card or U.S. citizens.
• It can take 4 to 8 weeks to receive the official U.S. birth certificate, and we can’t apply for the U.S. passport until we have that.
• We would like to travel to Canada by land with the newborn before the birth certificate and passport are issued.
• We do plan to bring all hospital-issued documents such as:
  • Certificate of live birth from the hospital
  • Discharge summary
  • Possibly a letter from the attending physician or hospital
• We’ll also carry our PR cards, our passports with U.S. visas, our marriage certificate and proof of residence in Canada (utility bills and apartment lease).

Has anyone here successfully returned to Canada under similar circumstances? Will CBSA accept hospital records in lieu of a passport or birth certificate for a U.S.-born newborn crossing by land with PR parents? Any advice, tips, or firsthand experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

The fact that you

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are Canadian Permanent Residents who recently moved back to Canada from the U.S. We’re currently in the U.S. in non-immigrant visas, and our baby is due very soon. We've decided to give birth here in the U.S., but we plan to return to Canada by land after hospital discharge after the birth.

Here’s the situation:

• The baby will be a U.S. citizen by birth. We are not U.S. green card or U.S. citizens.
• It can take 4 to 8 weeks to receive the official U.S. birth certificate, and we can’t apply for the U.S. passport until we have that.
• We would like to travel to Canada by land with the newborn before the birth certificate and passport are issued.
• We do plan to bring all hospital-issued documents such as:
  • Certificate of live birth from the hospital
  • Discharge summary
  • Possibly a letter from the attending physician or hospital
• We’ll also carry our PR cards, our passports with U.S. visas, our marriage certificate and proof of residence in Canada (utility bills and apartment lease).

Has anyone here successfully returned to Canada under similar circumstances? Will CBSA accept hospital records in lieu of a passport or birth certificate for a U.S.-born newborn crossing by land with PR parents? Any advice, tips, or firsthand experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

A risky plan given your non-immigrant status these days. Also potentially an extremely expensive plan.