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I'm from the U.S. and I've been a visitor in Canada for almost six months. I was planning on going up to Hyder, AK and from there traveling around Alaska for a couple weeks before returning home (to the lower 48). I have no wish to overstay in Canada. However, as there is no U.S. border presence at Hyder, would I experience a problem with Canada thinking I had never left?

yolo
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I'd be more concerned with the US not knowing you'd entered. Even at the border near Vancouver, there's no actual Canadian exit, you just pass the Canadian border and enter through US immigration - they want to know you've entered.

In This is Me by Danny Wilks, who I know from Vancouver, he kayaked from Vancouver to Alaska. He had a problem where he arrived in Alaska, tired, and went to register with the border at the next town the next day. I forget the exact details, but basically it was a case of "you've been here illegally for a day???" and he was deported.

Naturally this is not something you want to happen, and as a US citizen you're probably not going to get deported, but you may get in trouble for not registering your return to the States. I'd recommend stopping at the Canadian Customs office that pnuts suggested, and that way you can do two things - firstly, make sure there's nothing extra they need from you, and secondly, to check with them if they need to notify the US. Put the onus on them and that way if it is your deed to achieve, they're likely to help you out with a phone call or whatever may be required.

Please do come back and let us know how it goes, sounds like a good trip in an amazing part of the world!

Mark Mayo
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    I don't think you can be deported from a country in which you have citizenship: one of the rights conferred by citizenship is the right to be there. If you're a feelthy steekin' foreigner and you do something wrong (say, entering the country illegally), they can kick you out; if you're a citizen, they have to do all that tedious stuff with the arresting and the lawyers and the jail cell. – David Richerby Nov 07 '14 at 09:05
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    @David: Historically, some countries have banished their own citizens as punishment for certain (usually political) crimes. I believe this is generally frowned upon in contemporary international society, but there's nothing really stopping a State that decides to do it. (However, I don't think any western democracies do that, nor that anyone would do it for something as trivial as border irregularities in peacetime). – hmakholm left over Monica Nov 07 '14 at 11:06
  • @HenningMakholm Yeah, I should have said something more like "deported from a generally reasonable country such as the USA, western Europe, etc." – David Richerby Nov 07 '14 at 11:26
  • @DavidRicherby yeah I did say he's not likely to get deported - perhaps I should have been clearer on that :) To be fair, the US does occasionally revoke its own citizens' passports – Mark Mayo Nov 07 '14 at 12:17
  • @MarkMayo Bobby Fischer, too. But revocation of passports is a separate matter and, in both Fischer and Snowden's case, the passport was revoked in an attempt to force them to come back to the USA, not to keep them out. – David Richerby Nov 07 '14 at 12:36
  • Yeah, it was more a passing comment to separate him from Danny Wilks, is all. – Mark Mayo Nov 07 '14 at 13:20
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    @DavidRicherby: Even if the US won't deport their own citizens, it is probably still illegal for US citizens to enter the US anywhere except designated border crossings. If I understand it correctly, the only way to get from Hyder to somewhere else in the US is the twice a week plane to Ketchikan and according to Wikipedia, the flights are treated as international flights and you have to go through customs and immigration in Ketchikan when arriving from Hyder. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Nov 07 '14 at 15:45
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo: Can you cite any law that says that? – user102008 Nov 12 '14 at 09:12
  • @user102008: I can't find the relevant law, but ignoring exceptions like the internal Schengen borders and in some circumstances rural areas, it is common in most countries, that land border may only be crossed at designated ports of entry. According to the Wikipedia article on "Port of entry", this is since 9/11 also the case for US citizens entering the USA. Before 9/11 US citizens were allowed to enter the US anywhere, as long as they immediately reported to the nearest customs and immigration office. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Nov 12 '14 at 12:43
  • @HenningMakholm Not quite deportation but the news today says that the British government is considering a law that would prevent British citizens who travel abroad to join jihadist movements from returning to the UK. On the other hand, the opposition parties are questioning the legality of such a move. – David Richerby Nov 14 '14 at 10:43
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo: You shouldn't say something is illegal if you cannot find a law that says so. – user102008 Nov 16 '14 at 03:00
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Canada does not record the departure of US citizens, but assumes that you left in a timely fashion (same as the US does for Canadians). The only time an overstay would be recorded would be if you got caught in the country for whatever reason by police.

But how do you propose to visit the rest of Alaska from Hyder? The Alaska Marine Highway ended ferry service to Hyder back in 2001, the only way in & out of Hyder is via Canada.

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    There is a twice a week seaplane leaving Hyder. But you certainly aren't bringing a car onto one of those! – Michael Hampton Nov 07 '14 at 02:35
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    Europeans & Australians who have joined us for bicycle tours in Alaska & Yukon, have had to stop by Canadian customs leaving Canada. Whereas Americans can simply bike (or drive) by without stopping. I assume that would apply to all land border crossings. I believe departures by air are recorded through the airline system (but not 100% sure). –  Nov 07 '14 at 09:55
  • Good to know! I wasn't sure if they paid attention to departures or not. I was planning on taking the seaplane, sans car. – yolo Nov 08 '14 at 03:01
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    This is an old thread, but if you take a seaplane to another Alaskan city from Hyder, you clear US Customs and Immigration there, solving the problem. – Jim MacKenzie Apr 24 '18 at 22:06