travel to Canada with just a birth certificate?

[The_Squid]

As far as I know it's a unique arrangement in the world.

Traveling through EU countries was easier than crossing the Canada/USA border and I'm not an EU passport holder. I was checked for a passport twice, once was when we first arrived, and we traveled through 5 countries once we got there.

There are no longer any frontier controls at the borders between 22 EU countries. This is thanks to the Schengen rules which are part of EU law. These rules remove all internal border controls but put in place effective controls at the external borders of the EU and introduce a common visa policy.

http://europa.eu/travel/doc/index_en.htm

[jbg]

I'll give you a "for instance." Back in 1977 my friend and I left New York City and planned on a day hike up Mr. Marcy. That was aborted by rainy weather and the fact that it would have necessitated an overnight stay on the mountainside in the rain (unfortunately that's exactly what happened in 1981 as well). We opted for a much shorter hike up nearby Mt. Algonquin.

After that we had spare time prior to our evening performance tickets at the Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center (SPAC). So we decided, on a goof, to take a short trip to Montreal. That would not have been possible nowadays, since in 1977 I didn't have a passport (got that in 1984) and in any case we woudln't have thought to bring it since Montreal wasn't part of the plans.

In short, the requirement kills any spontaneous travel if you happen to be near the border.

Another example might be if you're college visiting at University of Vermont or skiing in northern Vermont. A quick trip on a whim is now out.

Up until very recently, we could just go back and forth across the border on a whim. You didn't have to plan weeks in advance, and you didn't have to have a reason. People literally used to decide on the spur of moment to head down to the states, and you'd just go, no worrying about who did or didn't have their passport with them (or if they even had one at all).

Seems like we think alike.

[Smallc]

It's needing to have it, and the time and effort required to get it that is the nuisance. People who really know you often can't be guarantors on the application, but "official" people who don't know you from Adam usually can.

It doesn't work like that anymore. Your guarantor is simply someone you know with a passport.

You also have to plan in advance, pay the fee, stand in line, wait for it in the mail, etc.

Or you can fill it out online and send it in the mail. The most annoying part is getting the photo. Renewing, as long as you don't need your passport for a month, is simple as can be.