Scanned version of passport, license sufficient

While other travellers should not expect the same treatment, a Canadian man was allowed into the United States without his passport after showing customs officers a scanned copy of the document and his driver's license stored on an iPad. Normally, any facsimile of a genuine travel document is not accepted. Martin Reisch was briefly detained while the veracity of his scans and background were checked, but he was otherwise allowed through without restrictions.

The incident is largely seen as an isolated example of flexibility at the US-Canadian border, which has recently had new restrictions put in place by the US government. Reisch was entering the US from Quebec and realized he had forgotten his passport about a half-hour before arriving at the Vermont border. Rather than drive two hours back to retrieve it, he remembered the scanned copy on the iPad and decided to risk using it for entry.

He explained the situation to the customs officer and the officer took the iPad into the border office for a short period before returning it and waving him through. Until mid-2009, Canadians could enter the United States without a passport, but still had to have legal identification on them such as a driver's license.

Being allowed into or out of Canada without the proper paperwork is not unheard of, given factors such as a clean and verifiable record on the part of the traveller and experienced Customs agents on either side of the border, but has gotten increasingly rare in the decade since the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US and the recent new restrictions from the Obama administration.

Unlike their US counterparts, Canadian officials will accept other forms of legal ID for Canadian citizens to return to Canada. Reisch offered to show Canadian officials his iPad on his return to the country the next day but it was deemed unnecessary. Alternatives such as a citizenship card or birth certificate are also accepted by Canadian officials.

Reisch said he hopes that eventually digital documentation -- similar to boarding passes which can be shown and scanned on smartphones -- will be in widespread use for cross-border travel. US Customs officials did not respond to requests for comment about the incident. [via The Globe and Mail]

By Electronista Staff