There are no snakes in Canada

[Nugget]

I doubt there's a single person who has stood in line waiting to be cleared by customs to enter another country who hasn't speculated on the impact and result of losing their passport in transit and being stuck in that nebulous and undefined demarc zone between nations.

While it's not exactly the same thing, here's one man's story of flying to Canada from the US without his passport:

There are no snakes in Canada

I managed to leave that insignificant little document in my dresser drawer when I showed up at the United Airlines counter at McCarran preparatory to flying north last year. The gentle lady looked it up for me in some compendium, doubtless compiled while Lucky Lindbergh was searching for Dingle Bay, and told me, "No, you don't need a passport to fly to Canada."

[Cowbert]

I would rather think that the other country [Canada] would let you in, but you'd have a hard time convincing the US that you were legitimate when you needed to come back.

I knew a foreign exchange student here in the US with a student visa. She was from France, so so decided to go to Montreal one weekend to check out those rogue franco-philes. There were no problems entering Canada, but on the return leg, she was stopped, interrogated, and ultimately deported to France for approximately a week.

[passthedutchie]

It really depends on the country and it's relationship with Canada, as well as the number of traveller valume. For example, as a Canadian, I do not need a passport to enter the United States as well as many countries in the Caribbean. Once I have been stopped while trying to enter the States where my car was ripped apart, I was put in a holding tank, and questioned for about 15 minutes. Normally I have no problem crossing with just my driver's licence, but now when I enter I always bring my birth certificate as well. Travelling to Mexico is the same, I can go there with no passport, just my driver's licence and birth certificate.

I have many friends who are from other countries and are not Canadian citizens, but as long as they bring their student visa along and some ID, they don't have a problem, except sometimes they have to fill out a form at customs.

[noahethan]

I think you can find more information at natureconservancy.ca/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7423&news_iv_ctrl=0&abbr =on_ncc_ or thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007502 .

Thanks