WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Canadians who visit Florida and stay for long periods of time will soon have to deal with new immigration requirements.

Approximately one million Canadian snowbirds flock to the U.S. annually. The Sunshine State is their favorite destination. The rules for them are about to be tightened.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is reportedly about to release the exact details, and in the meantime, an online portal is already up on the web.

Fingerprinting will soon be required if the snowbirds are staying for 30 days or longer.

That might not be sitting well with Canada, because the norm has been that Canadian citizens are able to come and go to the U.S. without a visa.

They might have to answer a few questions from inside their car at a border, but they’ve never needed formal documents.

Now they’ll need to have what is called an i-94 form- proof that they are an approved legal visitor. they’ll also have to report their arrival date and the length of their stay.

Once the process has launched, federal authorities could criminally charge anyone who does not have the proper forms with them at the border.

Darlene and Joe Dawson call Halifax, Nova Scotia home.

This year, they’ve come to Florida to stay in a condo in Palm Springs for three and a half weeks. This is their first time doing that.

The thing is, they tell the I-Team, next year, they’d like to come back for longer.

If their stay goes for 30 days or more—they’ll need to get those forms and have their fingerprints in the system. They say they’ll happily do it.

"If it means safety for people, I think it’s good," Joe Dawson said.

"We really appreciate following the laws of the country where we are," Darlene Dawson added.

Right now travel to the U.S. from Canada is down. That’s due to the weak Loonie, their currency. Also some tension over the trade war and President Trump’s tariffs. Nevertheless, in Florida, Canadians are all over our area. A lot of them do stay for more than 30 days at a time, so this is something they’ll need to comply with.

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