Passport for a Minor question

ILoveMGM

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 3, 2004
Are minors supposed to sign their passports? My children are 3 and 1. Do you guys know what protocol is on this?

Thanks!
 
My daughter is 4 and has had to use her passport several times. I have never signed it. Then this last time at one of our last stops they told me that I had to sign it for her! We have been out of the country at least 4 times before this and no one said anything. So I am assuming that you are supposed to sign it for them since they are minors but no one asked us to do this until our way back in the summer.
 
From the US State Dept. website's FAQ:

Q:My child is too young to sign his/her own passport. How do I sign my child's passport?
a:In the space provided for the signature, the mother or father must print the child's name and sign their own name. Then, in parenthesis by the parent's name, write the word (mother) or (father) so we know who signed for the child.
 


And are they 100% required for land and sea travel?

Been reading different info on it.

Thanks

Not required for closed loop cruises at the moment, but that is subject to change at any time. If you miss the ship, you are going to have a time getting out of a foreign country.

We have ours, as I would hate for a few hundred $$ to delay getting necessary medical attention should we ever need to. DH and I see it as more insurance.
 
Not required for closed loop cruises at the moment, but that is subject to change at any time. If you miss the ship, you are going to have a time getting out of a foreign country.

We have ours, as I would hate for a few hundred $$ to delay getting necessary medical attention should we ever need to. DH and I see it as more insurance.

Thanks, the problem is a few hundred x5! lol

I know it is a little less then that, but not much.
 


Thanks, the problem is a few hundred x5! lol

I know it is a little less then that, but not much.

We are also a family of five - we all have passports and used them on our disney cruise. I guess I see it as yes it is costly but so is a disney cruise for 5 (even in the cheapest cabin).

In our eyes if we could afford to spend thousands on a disney cruise we could fork over the $$ for passports. Better same than sorry.
 
From personal experience:
Yes, they do need passports. Age is not an issue; the officials need to know where a person is from, and birth certificates, even official ones, don't meet the proper identification requirements anymore. I think they changed the law in 2007, because our 2006 cruise accepted birth certificates.

We live in California. Our 2009 cruise left from Los Angeles and went to Oregon and Canada, and everyone in our group with 16 people, including the 1-year-old, 5-year-old, etc., had a passport of some kind (book or card). In fact, the cruise line, Carnival, warned us several times about the new law that requires passports for cruises (and how important it is to order them several weeks ahead of time) so that everyone had a passport before the cruise sailed.

You need a card if you are traveling by boat to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean. And a book if you are traveling either by plane or to a not-listed country. Cards are a bit cheaper than the books, so if money is an issue and a card is accepted where you're going, I would go with the card.

From the DCL site:
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/planning-library/passport-information/
Guests are responsible for obtaining proper documentation to board the ship. U.S. Government passport requirements continue to change; therefore, we strongly encourage Guests of all ages to have a valid U.S. passport for all cruises. Having a passport allows you to always be prepared to travel wherever you wish, and offers an added measure of security when you're traveling.

For air travel, however, the deadline was January 23, 2007. This means that all travelers, including U.S. Citizens and all foreign nationals, traveling to the United States by air, such as Guests flying to Orlando, Florida from Canada, are required to carry a valid passport after the effective date.

U.S. Department of State Travel.State.Gov
Passport Fees are:
Adult (16+) Passport Book: $110+$25
Adult (16+) Passport Card: $30+$25
Minor (15 & under) Passport Book: $80+$25
Minor (15 & under) Passport Card: $15+$25

The U.S. Passport Card can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry and is more convenient and less expensive than a passport book. The passport card cannot be used for international travel by air.

My advice: order passports for everyone in your group, and do it at least three months before the cruise sails to ensure they arrive in the mail in time for the cruise.
 
Yes, but the card doesn't solve the emergency flight problem.

Living in Michigan we got the enhanced driver license to go through Canada and the South of the border.

No flights though.
 
Go ahead and get the passport -- it is like travel insurance, you don't want to need it but you like having it there. I was just looking at our children's and realized that their passports expire in November 2012. UGH --- I will need to start the renewal process in May 2012 because it is not advisable to travel with a passport that close to expiration. 4 passports at the same time. Lovely.

But, my husband will have to have more pages added to his passport AGAIN after his next two international trips. His passport cracks me up. At least I don't have to take care of that,
 
Go ahead and get the passport -- it is like travel insurance, you don't want to need it but you like having it there. I was just looking at our children's and realized that their passports expire in November 2012. UGH --- I will need to start the renewal process in May 2012 because it is not advisable to travel with a passport that close to expiration. 4 passports at the same time. Lovely.

While some European countries will not allow you entry with a passport with less than 6 months remaining until expiration, a passport is valid for re-entry into the United States until the expiration date. A recently expired passport CAN be used to purchase a new passport. However, there is no down side to renewing prior to expiration. Moving from a child's passport to an adult passport is considered a new issue, not a renewal (in terms of fees, etc.) Sorry, I don't know about renewing a child's passport (whether it counts as a renewal or a new issue).

If you choose to travel on a "closed loop" cruise without a passport, there are emergency repatriation laws in effect should you for any reason not complete the cruise--medical emergency, missed the ship, or whatever. Basically, you go to the Consulate and are issued an "emergency passport," which is valid for one entry to the US only and must be exchanged for a real passport when you get home. The fee you would pay at the Consulate is the same as the standard passport fee. However, this would present another hoop for you to jump through at an already stressful time.
 
While some European countries will not allow you entry with a passport with less than 6 months remaining until expiration, a passport is valid for re-entry into the United States until the expiration date. A recently expired passport CAN be used to purchase a new passport. However, there is no down side to renewing prior to expiration. Moving from a child's passport to an adult passport is considered a new issue, not a renewal (in terms of fees, etc.) Sorry, I don't know about renewing a child's passport (whether it counts as a renewal or a new issue).

If you choose to travel on a "closed loop" cruise without a passport, there are emergency repatriation laws in effect should you for any reason not complete the cruise--medical emergency, missed the ship, or whatever. Basically, you go to the Consulate and are issued an "emergency passport," which is valid for one entry to the US only and must be exchanged for a real passport when you get home. The fee you would pay at the Consulate is the same as the standard passport fee. However, this would present another hoop for you to jump through at an already stressful time.

That is the issue -- we are going to Africa and Europe for 4 to 6 weeks the summer of 2012, hence the need to renew the passports prior to the trip (I actually need to check mine, my husband's travel office takes care of his -- and all of his extra pages, visas etc. -- so I don't worry about his). Our son will be 17 at the time, I need to see if he gets the 5 year minor passport or the full 10 year adult passport.
 

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