wow thanks once again guys!! some really cool stuff there to take in. i am making loads of notes here. when i get time, out comes the map, to see what i can plausibly take in.

one thing is for sure, i will be visiting folk along the way if its possible. seems silly to go all that way and not drop by to say hello

thanks once again

Al

I don't think there would be much trouble on the Canadian border but maybe going back into the states.  I think you might need a visa for the US but probably not for Canada.  Also, if you are driving, do you have an international drivers license?  I'm not sure how it works for the British in the US but for Americans in the UK, they need to take a drivers test.  Canadians in the UK, can just exchange their drivers license for a UK one.

IIRC, if you are on vacation you don't need a visa. As long as you have a valid passport you can come and go as you please between the borders. I certainly can, and I don't see why someone from England would be any different. NAFTA or something like that (which would treat Can and US citizens different from int'l) doesn't have anything to do with tourists.

Sea-to-sky-games wrote:
IIRC, if you are on vacation you don't need a visa. As long as you have a valid passport you can come and go as you please between the borders. I certainly can, and I don't see why someone from England would be any different. NAFTA or something like that (which would treat Can and US citizens different from int'l) doesn't have anything to do with tourists.

Citizens of the UK do not need a Visa to visit Canada.

The US and Canada maintain different (but similar) lists of which nationalities are required to obtain a visa just to visit.  Just because someone can visit the US without a visa doesn't mean they can necessarily visit Canada as well.  Also, the US and Canada have different rules on admitting people with Felony convictions. To further complicate the matter, if you plan to visit the US for more than 90 days you'll probably need to obtain a visitors visa.  Canada has a similar time period as well but I don't know what it is off hand.

Sea-to-sky-games wrote:Yeah, if you are from China or from Iran or some place like that you might need a special visa. But I highly doubt a European would need one to either country.

I had visitors from Finland last summer and they required a visa to enter the US.  On one of the side trips, we decided to take a short cut through the US - a 3 hour drive through and the the US border made them get temporary visa's to enter.  My 73 year old mom got out of the car to stretch her legs while our visitors went in to fill out the paperwork and was not so politely told "please get back into the car, maam" by the officer with the gun keeping an eye on us.

Even between Commonwealth countries a visa might be necessary.  As a Canadian going to visit Australia on holiday I would need a visa.  With the US  now requiring Canadians to have a passport just to enter the country, who knows what they require from other countries.  Also, note that it depends on what type of passport you have from the UK that you may or  may not require a visa.

Hey Al - you should be able to get in to the US under the Visa Waiver programme if you have a fairly recent passport (i.e machine readable).  Failing that you will need a tourist visa.  But I think almost all UK passports issued in the last seven or eight years are OK.

See:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/niv/vwp.html
(and a few further links)

BUT it is always at the discretion of the immigration officer.  The frontline immigration and border staff have authority if they are suspicious to turn people away and decide to demand visas or other documents or further proof of travel intentions etc... (as they do in most countries).  For example, if I was going to travel to the US, I would use my Irish passport and not my UK passport, as the UK one has entry stamps and visas from all over Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East, whereas the Irish one is pretty clean.  Smiles and good manners are as (more) useful as visas when crossing borders I have found.  

ATOM wrote:It also helps if you do not have a moustache or joined eyebrows!

Or a pubic hair beard.

Just thought I'd use this space instead of starting a thread..anyway Al (killjoy) you have not been reading your PMs I take it? or is your inbox to full?

Any way back to the regular scheduled off topic post

ShaneG.

Winterwords wrote:- On a similar note though, does anyone know about bank accounts over there?  :-/

Sorry about your grandmother.  I don't know if it will work for you, but I recently opened an account at http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal
via the web.  I transfer Paypal money into it, and the savings earns about 5%, which is pretty sweet.  They sent me an ATM card, too.  Hope this helps.

Has anyone purchased and/or read Children of Hurin yet?  The standard edition is in the bookstores now, but I'm "patiently" waiting for the deluxe edition which is evidently to be released next month in the US (already out in UK/CA).  Thoughts, reviews?