Change in Passport Requirement Makes Some Nervous

As of March 1, 2010, all Canadian citizens will need a valid passport to enter Mexico. Canadian citizens without a valid passport will not be allowed entry into Mexico, but in fact, passports are already recommended for travel to Mexico.

Some travel sellers are nervous that their clients may learn when they reach the airport that they cannot depart on their vacations to Mexico. Canadian citizens had been able to visit Mexico with a birth certificate and photo ID, but most airlines departing from Mexico are already refusing to board Canadians on flights to Canada without a valid passport, according to the Government of Canada Web site’s information on travel to Mexico.

Additionally, Canadian citizens arriving in Mexico from a third country without a passport may be denied entry, according to an official notice from Mexican authorities on January 20th. Requirements for Permanent Residents in Canada have also changed: they are required to present a Permanent Resident Card, a Certificate of Identity or a Refugee Travel Document. (No visa is required for Canadian Citizens or Permanent residents to enter Mexico as tourists.)

To avoid delays and misunderstandings, the Canadian government Web site recommends that Canadians travel with a passport valid for six months after their arrival date.

The change “aligns its (Mexico’s) entry requirements to the rest of North America,” said Alphonso Sumano, regional director of the Mexico Tourism Board Canada. He told Travel Market Report that of the roughly 1.2 million Canadian tourists visiting Mexico last year, less than 1% -- about 10,000 -- did not have passports, saying “That’s a very small number.”

“We advised the Canadian Government on January 15 about the change and confirmed this through official communication on Feb 3. It is important to underscore that this change is for both countries,” noted Alberto Lozano, press attaché for the Mexican Embassy in Canada. “We were measuring possible impact, but since less than one percent affected, we don’t expect a problem.”

Many agents agreed.

“Most of our travelers have passports. We do a lot of US travel and that has required passports for some time,” noted Don Renshaw, Renshaw Travel in Vancouver.

However travel agents like Sue Moffat of Glacier Travel in Nelson, BC said they were worried that one of their clients will turn up at the airport unaware. “Many clients specifically go to Mexico because they don’t want to have to get passports,” she said.

“We learned about this change the last week of January and immediately tried to contact all our clients who had tickets to Mexico. We think we got everyone but there is no automated way to be sure,” she said.

Moffat said she’s tracked down a number of clients who didn’t know they needed passports and has had to send itineraries to the passport offices for expedited processing. “Fortunately, they were willing to get passports,” she said, noting that without paying major fees, processing time is a minimum of six weeks. “So far, no one has said, ok we’re not going, but you never know what day that will happen… and the tickets are probably all nonrefundable. We started selling spring break in November, and we are deathly afraid someone will come to the airport and not know they need a passport,” Moffat said.

The change was communicated to tour operators and travel trade publications in mid-January, Sumano said.

He said that so far, he was not aware of promotion to the general public about the change.

Travel agents said tour operators have done a good job of communicating to them. “We have information posted on our various Web sites, our Facebook page, through Twitter, etc and are doing our best to make sure the information gets to everyone travelling with us,” noted a spokesperson for Thomas Cook Canada.

Agents with clients who need to obtain passports should be aware that Passport Canada’s Web site lists normal processing time (not including delivery times), either by mail, or through Service Canada or Canada Post as four weeks. Those who need quicker turnaround will need to pay additional fees of $10 for in-person pick-up in ten business days; $30 for a two to nine-day turnaround; and $70 for 24 hour turnaround. For any turnaround faster than ten business days, clients should bring proof of travel.

For complete details, visit www.passportcanada.gr.ca