Passport Questions

[brighteyes]

OK, I am planning a trip for Aug 17th, and am in the process of applying for passports for my son and I online. I am planning to take them in person to the office.

A few questions I have;
1. What is the difference between a 24 or 48 page passport? which one do I need?

2. It gives info on travelling with a child. I have sole custody of my son, and have an original court order to prove it, but I am sure that the Order states nothing in there about access, since his father never bothered to show up in court to ask for it. He has only seen him a few times, and we do not have contact with him. Will I have a problem?

3. I also have a birth certificate for both of us, but do I need the long paper kind or the card/wallet type?

Also, on my son's b.c. I did not list his father b/c I was not planning on taking him to court and thought it would make it more expensive for him to have to prove paternity b/c I reallly did not want him involved in our lives. Will this be a problem?? I really hope not. If someone has info on this, please advise, I am planning to go to the office in town on Wednesday.

Steph

 

[laura001]

You only need your regular birth certificate. BUT.....you cannot apply online if your son is under the age of 16 I believe.

 

[Kazzy1548]

the only difference between the 24 pages passeport and the 48 pages passeport is only the number of pages (and the price). It's for people who do a lot of traveling and are affraid of running out of pages after 5 years. From what I understand, you should be fine with the 24 pages one.

Kazzy

 

[brighteyes]

Great guys, thanks.

I guess if you have to ask what a 48 page passport is, it stands to reason you wouldn't need one.

So if there are any single moms out there with no access, maybe you could help me on this one. Because I have no way to access the Dad. Even the gov cant find him for his child support that he has never paid for the last 10 years. I hope to god this is not a problem. I can't imagine why they would have no info on the passport site, as I am sure this is common.

Steph

 

[Kurby]

So if there are any single moms out there with no access, maybe you could help me on this one. Because I have no way to access the Dad. Even the gov cant find him for his child support that he has never paid for the last 10 years. I hope to god this is not a problem. I can't imagine why they would have no info on the passport site, as I am sure this is common.

Steph

Hummm that's a very good question - is the father's name on the BC?

do you have any paperwork stating that you have been looking for him? anything from the government stating that they can't find him for child support?

my guess would be - call one of those lawyer referral numbers where you get 30 minutes for free over the phone and ask them.

it may be as simple as an affidavit stating you have tried to locate him for xx number of years and have been unable to do so and you have sole custody (paperwork back up if you have it).

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

I have sole custody of my son, and have an original court order to prove it, but I am sure that the Order states nothing in there about access, since his father never bothered to show up in court to ask for it. He has only seen him a few times, and we do not have contact with him. Will I have a problem?

I've been practicing family law for years and this is a very common issue. As long as you have a copy of the court order indicating you have sole custody you're fine.

 

[brighteyes]

I've been practicing family law for years and this is a very common issue. As long as you have a copy of the court order indicating you have sole custody you're fine.

Whew, thanks...that's a big relief...that would not have been good if I had to get some sort of letter.

Thanks for the info, that's a big load off. A little bit of that child support owed would come in handy, now THAT would be a miracle.

Steph

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Whew, thanks...that's a big relief...that would not have been good if I had to get some sort of letter.

nah...you only need a letter if there's joint custody or no order at all

happy to help...enjoy your trip!

 

[deb123453]

i had the same situation and i did get the long form for her birth certificate, mainly because it did not list him on it so it was better save then sorry,plus i figured it never hurts to have that copy just in case. i applied on-line for it and it took less then a week to arrive. i had no problem getting her passport at all they didn't ask any questions and you don't need the court order.

 

[brighteyes]

i had the same situation and i did get the long form for her birth certificate, mainly because it did not list him on it so it was better save then sorry,plus i figured it never hurts to have that copy just in case. i applied on-line for it and it took less then a week to arrive. i had no problem getting her passport at all they didn't ask any questions and you don't need the court order.

Great idea, I think I will do that too, since I did not name him on the BC. I will take a copy of the order too, just in case.

Thanks,

Steph

 

[brighteyes]

Well I have now been to the passport office no less than twice and probably more!! I am leaving the 17th of August. The first time I went I got my passport office, mine went through no problem, and received it in a week. My son's was another issue, I had my Order with me, and because of the wording, "there shall be a final Order of Custody.." the girl stated that this was not the final Order, I said, Yes, it is, it's just fancy legal wording. Off I go to the second guy who says yes you're right, just worded weird. So then I had my son sign in the wrong spot. So back I go in 2 weeks (my next day off) and I get the same thing...I tell her that is the final order, I know because I served it personally myself. Oh, but in that order it references another order ( which was just about the service of notice of a new court date, since he never showed up to court.) After talking to 3 supervisors, I am told they need ALL orders, and all documents relating to court???? Are you freaking kidding me!!!
My son is standing there telling her he has only seen his dad twice and dont know where he is. So off I go to the Court House across the street, and get my file which by the way is about 4 feet high because of all support collection activity. Spend hours looking through it all to find the order for service, spend all my parking money copying it at .50 page. So now I have at least 15 pages. Then the lady at the court asks me if I need them certified?? I don't know So I go ask the Crown Counsel, and he says well they might not let u get his passport because there is nothing in the order stating the father has no access, even though I have custody.

Well isn't that the lawyer's fault?? I didn't know if I have full custody that I had to have it state that he has no access, because he never asked for it anyways?? So he says if you need the copies certified, it's 3.50 a page!! Then he says, after giving me 10.00 in change, next time I will do your copies for free!! I said, well thanks for telling me after I just spent ALL my change!!
So from there I proceed to break down and cry in front of my son like an idiot, and the Crown Counsel. Oh and I also have to fill out a form, stating why I cannot find the father and what I have done to locate him, and get that commissioned.

I was also asked if I have the long form birth certificate, which I do not have yet and have to waste another 45.00 to get this piece of paper which does not even name him.

Guys, I am soo stressed about this. Right now I have all the orders, no long form bc yet, and this letter to say I have no idea where the father is. What if I don't get my son's passport? Is it really this difficult? Should I chance going down there again and see if I can get it?? Or wait till I get the long bc? And my friend who I am travelling iwth says, what if they give you a hard time like that at the border?? Am I really going to have to travel with all these court documents??

Can someone please give their opinions and personal experience on this before I really have a breakdown. Our flight are already booked

I just can't believe I am having this much trouble and am scared now that even with that letter it won't be enough and do I have to get all these papers certified at 3.50 page?? My god, we could move to Tibet and his father wouldn't even know.

Stephanie

 

[yosh12]

Where are you located Stephanie.....where are you flying out of?

 

[brighteyes]

I am located in Kitchener, Ontario, and we are flying out of kitchener (breslau) airport.

Stephanie

 

[yosh12]

Well if I were you and you continued having these problems. I would see if I could get a refund on my ticket and try and fly out to the states.

1) You don't need a passport to get over the border by land...any ID you have would work such as license, B/C and health card (picture ID if you son doesn't have a license.

2) You can fly out to the states without a passport...b/c and photo ID work fine there. I guess detroit would be you best option (there is buffalo). I guess this only works if you can get the money back from your already booked flight. Flights out of the US are alot cheaper to.

Hope this helps if you need more info just PM me.

 

[brighteyes]

Well I think I will just wait till I get the long form bc hopefully by the end of June and head down to the passport office with ALL my orders, and that letter that is commissioned saying I don't know where the father is, along with ALL the judge's notes from each court date to show t hat he did not show up in court, and hope to god that will be enough.

The day I went to the passport office our flights were booked, and are not refundable. I didn't think I would have a problem, since when I was there before the only problem I had was that my son signed in the wrong spot and I didn't notice.

So maybe if I get a different person, I won't have such a problem next time. I asked the lady at the passport office, how long for the passport, and she said 10 days max if I am taking it to the office. I received mine in 6 business days by courier, so she said I even have till beg Aug to bring it down, which I am not chancing, that's too close for me.

I may take my chances today and see if I can go today and get lucky without the long form bc.

Stephanie

 

[lordnamis]

Hang in there! I'm a single FATHER with full custody and no mother to be found, you thought you had it tough,try getting a passport as a single father and the child HAD a different last name on the hospital forms(even though he has my last name on his birth certificate) I had to go through hell just to prove he was my son(mother left before he was one). If I read correctly you said the father is not on the long birth certificate, and if that is so, you will have no problems. Hope it all works out, I'm sure it will and have a great trip.

 

[brighteyes]

Thank You. Wow!! Did you get everything straightened out?

My gosh, I just applied for the long form bc so hopefully it will come within 2 weeks and I can get this over with. I decided Iwill just wait until I get that to go again to the passport office. All this to go on a trip.

Just hope this mess gets cleared up soon so I can go to disney with my son. I am still worried about this lack of stating "no access" though, even though the order states I have full custody.

 

[purplepeg]

My sister had no problem getting a passport for her daughter because the father is not listed on the birth certificate. She has travelled by land and air across the border many times and any time they ask about custody she hands them the birth certificate and no father is listed and they look at it and say ok. I'm sure that will work for you. Good Luck!

 

[brighteyes]

Finally my DS passport is on the way!!!

After spending 35.00 they said I didn't need to for the long form bc and getting every piece of paper that said order on it regardless if it had to do with custody or not, I finally got his passport application through. It should be mailed out within two weeks but i received mine in less than 5 business days from the date I applied at the office to the day it arrived at my door.

I am so relieved.

Thank you for all your advice.

Stephanie

 

[purplepeg]

Good news for you! You must be so relieved. Enjoy your vacation