Passport Requirement Question...

[ducklite]

A friend of mine lives in Edmonton. She called earlier today, and is planning a trip to come to WDW in December, 2007 with her SO and his four year old son from a previous marriage. She has a valid passport, the SO has an expired passport, the child has no passport.

They will be flying from Edmonton to Orlando.

I told her I thought they would all need passports, she said that she tought that the expired passport would work, and that anyone under 12 doesn't need a passport to fly from Canada to the US.

What's the scoop?

 

[tley]

They will all need valid passports, expired won't cut the mustard.

In Halifax, NS, I only waited 2-weeks for my passport and I *believe* the guarantor rules change tomorrow so that they only need someone with a valid passport (who's known them for 2+ years) to sign for it - but they should confirm that one!

 

[highland3]

An expired passport is just that... expired. It will not be accepted and must be replaced.

Children do require their own passport. Direct her to the passport Canada website. Their FAQ's are pretty good. They'd better get their acts in gear quick in order to get photos and everything in order for December.

 

[myasmum]

Everyone flying DOES need a vaild passport about the children IF they were driving across border its NOT mandatory for kids to have 1, in 2008 adults will need them to go via land crossing but they are holding off in children making it mandatory for them to have to have 1 cross via land borders

 

[OntFamily]

Under the older US regulations, expired Canadian passports were valid proof of citizenship. This regulation expired, with the advent of the new USA passport regulation (requiring current, valid, passports for everyone entering the USA via air or sea).

 

[drag n' fly]

A friend of mine lives in Edmonton. She called earlier today, and is planning a trip to come to WDW in December, 2007 with her SO and his four year old son from a previous marriage. She has a valid passport, the SO has an expired passport, the child has no passport.

They will be flying from Edmonton to Orlando.

I told her I thought they would all need passports, she said that she tought that the expired passport would work, and that anyone under 12 doesn't need a passport to fly from Canada to the US.

What's the scoop?

Your friend SO will also need all custody papers and divorce decree douments when applying for the passport for the child. He will need to get the Mothers signature only if it is a joint custody. All passports must be current and not within a 6 month expiry.

 

[101DalmFan]

A friend of mine lives in Edmonton. She called earlier today, and is planning a trip to come to WDW in December, 2007 with her SO and his four year old son from a previous marriage. She has a valid passport, the SO has an expired passport, the child has no passport.

They will be flying from Edmonton to Orlando.

I told her I thought they would all need passports, she said that she tought that the expired passport would work, and that anyone under 12 doesn't need a passport to fly from Canada to the US.

What's the scoop?

You've got three issues here -- the expired passport, the child with no passport, and the fact that the child is not travelling with both his parents.

As mentioned above, the expired passport won't cut it. And, unfortunately, I believe you cannot renew an expired passport, you must re-apply totally. This happened to my BIL a few years ago; I don't know if the law has changed on that but I suspect it hasn't. So the dad needs to apply for a passport, and get a passport for the son as well.

And the couple will need a notarized letter from the child's mother, giving her permission for the trip. Without it, they could very well be turned away at the airport.

IF the couple was going to drive from Edmonton down into the U.S. and then catch a flight within the U.S., the dad wouldn't need a passport, and neither would the child. The dad's birth certificate and photo ID would suffice for a land crossing (air travel from Canada to the U.S. however now requires passports). However, they would still need the child's mother's permission for the trip, in the form of a notarized letter -- just like she would need a notarized letter from the child's father if she wanted to take the little boy out of the country.

I hope they have a fabulous vacation -- they should likely go directly into a passport office and see if they need to pay extra for a rush on the passports. December will be here before we know it

 

[vickiea]

I got passports for my kids back in Dec of last year, when the real crunch was on and even with mailing it in it was only 6 weeks - which to me seemed pretty reasonable.

Just make sure whoever takes the childs pic knows the rules well, as kids are more difficult to get to sit still, NOT smile, etc.

I had to get photos for a 11 month old, 2.5 yr old and 4.5 yr old - interesting No problems with the photos, but the pace taking them really took their time and made sure all was fine.

BTW, I beleive that your SO will need a letter of consent from the childs other parent to have them travel out of country, even though the child is with one parent, the other has to give consent too.
HTH
Vickie