You look at their website and it tells you that entry for Canadians is easy. You don’t need a passport. Just a couple of pieces of government ID.
Stop there. That’s only half the information. It’s confusing. Yes you can go to Jamaica and you don’t need a passport. But were you planning on coming back home again?
Here are the facts!. You can go without a passport…but you can’t come back home without one Mon.
Recently Passport Canada sent an important email to all travel agencies. And the message was clear.
Although you can travel to Jamaica with ID and proof of citizenship, it takes more than that to get back across our borders. You must have a passport to re-enter Canada. That lack of knowledge has left many stranded in the country until they were able to get their passport delivered to them, or had to go through the longer process of having one issued.
Canadians attempting to board any flight back to Canada from Jamaica WILL be denied boarding if they do not present a valid Canadian passport.
Passport Canada reports many travellers each year are in fact turned away at the check-in gate and then are forced to go through considerable extra expense and effort.
It has always been my recommendation that anyone who travels, regardless of destination or entry requirements, should always carry the most valuable and important document they will ever own, a Canadian passport.
Relatively speaking, it is still not an expensive investment for the right to present your highly respected credentials to officials wherever they may be required.
In this case reading only half the information on Jamaican entry requirements could be decidedly problematic, so act now, before you are even thinking of going to that exceptional tourist destination.
If you have travel questions email me at [email protected] I will not only answer your question, but like this one, I will publish it right here on tripatlas as well.
See other travel tips at www.journeystravelgear.com