My routine when traveling back to Canada, as a Canadian living abroad, is to land at a US airport not far from the border, rent a car and cross into the home country. The advantages of doing it this way are multiple: much cheaper car rental rates, cheaper flights, debit check cards can be used, and generally friendlier border agents. It has been smooth sailing in nine years of doing it this way. However, you ask, aren’t Canadians prohibited from driving US plated vehicles into Canada?

Yes, it is true. The main difference is that the restriction applies only to Canadian residents. As a foreign resident, I have the same status as any tourist, even if my passport is Canadian. However, I must state that fact when asked where I live. I have never been asked for any proof of residency, even though I have such documentation, and I have never been asked about the car. My driver’s license is Canadian, but that would have no effect, a Canada customs information person told me, and I was never asked for that either Just saying you live outside of Canada is deemed good enough.

For Canadian residents, even if you were living abroad and are now just returning to reside in Canada, you would have to go through the arduous process of importing the vehicle and have the paperwork in hand at the border. Definitely not something you want to do in the case of a rental, and it might cost you money if it is your own car. While the rules I read are aimed at drivers of US-plated car, it is a safe bet the same law applies to vehicles with plates from other countries as well.

Although I have never had problems driving into Canada, I did run into a potential disaster returning to the United States with a Michigan plated car. I guess I caught a Homeland Security officer who was having a bad day, because as soon as I told him I was a Canadian citizen, but living in Argentina (at the time), he got rude and accused me of being an illegal immigrant in the USA. After some tirades about supposed hordes of Canadians overstaying their welcome, he asked me to produce my return flight reservation, and I stupidly could not find it in the jumble inside my suitcase. Then I remembered I had not printed-out my reservation! The border agent was now victoriously telling me he was going to bar me from entering the country. That is an automatic five-year long denial of entry, not to mention not being able to return the vehicle to the Detroit rental car agency, losing my return air fare, and having to spend a bundle to travel direct to Canada or via other countries than the US. I plead with the man, and after what seemed like an eternity, he finally he tells me: “show me the car’s rental contract”. He glances over it, and says, “Have a nice day”, and I am on my way. Personally, I think my baby blue shirt ticked him off! However the lesson learned is when returning to the United States with your US plated rented car, immediately proffer the rental contract with your passport, and have a printout of your return reservation handy in case they ask for it. I have been doing this ever since that ugly incident and I have never had any further border issues.

So, if you are worried about problems driving across the border, worry not unless you are living in Canada.

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