Passports for Children

[Alicatt]

Hi everyone! I am taking a closed loop Caribbean cruise with two children. I know that they don't need passports but I've seen people recommend them just in case of an emergency. Would customs really not allow a child (well under 16) back into the country in an emergency situation with a valid birth certificate and two parents with valid passports? It just seems hard to believe. Husband lost his driver's licence the day before a domestic flight home once I was panicked, but they just asked us some questions, looked at my ID and it was no big deal. I'm just trying to think of all the reasonable what ifs before making a decision. It will cost me nearly $200 for a passport that they will likely only use this once before it expires.
Thoughts?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi everyone! I am taking a closed loop Caribbean cruise with two children. I know that they don't need passports but I've seen people recommend them just in case of an emergency. Would customs really not allow a child (well under 16) back into the country in an emergency situation with a valid birth certificate and two parents with valid passports? It just seems hard to believe. Husband lost his driver's licence the day before a domestic flight home once I was panicked, but they just asked us some questions, looked at my ID and it was no big deal. I'm just trying to think of all the reasonable what ifs before making a decision. It will cost me nearly $200 for a passport that they will likely only use this once before it expires.
Thoughts?

Yes, even with passport carrying parents, a non-passport holding child would not be permitted to fly home, if a passport is required for it. You would be "stuck" in the foreign country until proper documentation can be issued by a proper passport office. And it would be on you to get to said office (be it in the city/town you are in or some other one) for the processing to be done.

No, a non-passport holding person (US citizen) will not be stranded in a foreign country, but it could take several days to get the proper documentation.

My personal take - everyone should have a passport.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You know you're an American family and that your kids are yours and born in the U.S., but without documentation to prove that claim, you could be illegally bringing a child back from wherever for whatever. The laws aren't there to be onerous for legitimate travellers, but to prevent kidnappings, human trafficking and illegal immigrants. As a normal, law-abiding citizen, it may be hard to fathom what things they see (and sadly miss) in customs, but bad guys are around.

 

[Alicatt]

I get that but I also know with some agencies they can use some sense. Like certified birth certificates with the parents name and cruise documents and whatever paperwork from said emergency should be enough with some questioning.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I get that but I also know with some agencies they can use some sense. Like certified birth certificates with the parents name and cruise documents and whatever paperwork from said emergency should be enough with some questioning.

But, would you want to take the chance, in an emergency, that whoever you wind up dealing with will "use some sense"? Or just know things will work out, if you already have the all-powerful passport.

BTW, passports are excellent for any sort of ID, once home, also. Like school applications.

 

[apathetic]

Whenever you make an exception, you open it up to fraud. There is no way around that. They wouldn't prevent you from returning, just make it a royal pain. Because it is so easy to get a passport, there really isn't a reason to allow exceptions. A couple of hours at the post office and a few weeks waiting on the mail is all there is to it. It is easy to process the application even if only 1 parent can go, just a simple form. The chances of something happening are slim, but it's not worth the risk.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Whenever you make an exception, you open it up to fraud. There is no way around that. They wouldn't prevent you from returning, just make it a royal pain. Because it is so easy to get a passport, there really isn't a reason to allow exceptions. A couple of hours at the post office and a few weeks waiting on the mail is all there is to it. It is easy to process the application even if only 1 parent can go, just a simple form. The chances of something happening are slim, but it's not worth the risk.

And it could be significantly less time than a couple hours. I think we were done at the post office in less than 20 minutes when we got my daughter's. But we went in the middle of the day on a week day and had an appointment. I'm sure it would have been longer if we'd gone on a Saturday morning.

 

[cedricandsophie]

My daughter has had a passport since she was 1 and she just turned 31. Having one gives you much more security and flexibility. Decide to go to Canada on a whim? No problem. Win a free trip to Mexico? No problem. Need another form of id for school application? No problem. I just don't understand the hesitancy some people have in getting a passport for every member of the family.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

And it could be significantly less time than a couple hours. I think we were done at the post office in less than 20 minutes when we got my daughter's. But we went in the middle of the day on a week day and had an appointment. I'm sure it would have been longer if we'd gone on a Saturday morning.

I agree. Our city clerk also accepts passports in our town. We basically walked right in (no appointment) turned in our paperwork, which took her about 2 minutes to check over and copy, and hand us a receipt, and we walked out.

 

[jdrobinson06]

We got it for our DD with our first cruise being in a few months. Although it wasn't required, I didn't hesitate to spend the $$$$ on the cruise itself, plus the $$$ on trip insurance. The way I saw it, for $105 it was another form of insurance that could be used once (but hopefully more) over the next 5 years. I was in and out of the court house in under 20 minutes and it was in my mailbox 15 days later..... I couldn't justify not having one based on cost when compared to how much I spent on the other aspects of the trip. Just my personal thoughts though.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Agree with getting a passport for all reasons mentioned. I'll note that they need a new passport every 5 years till 16, then it is every 10 years like an adult passport. So, if possible, plan when to get it so that it is renewed age 16 (rather than 14 or 15 when it would expire in 5 years again). Of course, that may not matter right now if your kid is young.

Also, both parents need to be present to get a child passport, or documentation as to why they are not (death or not custodial as examples).

 

[MunFam]

I work in corporate travel. I have a (stupid) client that flew to Costa Rica for business on an almost expired passport. Due to some unforseen circumstances, the had to delay 3 days. Then...the 4th day, her flight to the US cancelled. There was NOTHING I could do about it. The 5th day her passport expired...and she was denied boarding. I told her to try...but nope. We even bought a 2nd ticket for later in the day, different airline, different shift of officials checking. NOPE. She was not allowed to leave the country. We then had to get her a very, very expensive car service to the consulate there in San Jose. It took 3 days and a lot of money to get her passport renewed so she could fly home. She had children at home that were in the care of a friend. It was awful.

Moral of the story...always have a valid passport for every single person in your group. If they made one exception and that exception happened to be someone human trafficking or kidnapping a child...it would NOT look good. Same goes for a terrorist. Security is high in the US, so no, they will not make an exception. There is medical care available around the world...so you will just be stuck with another country's care until you can get back to the country legally (and for a LOT more money than if you had just paid for the passport before you left)

 

[darnheather]

Why is it so hard to just get a passport? I don't understand Americans and their unwillingness to do this. It's super easy and not that expensive. Plus for children it's good for five years.

 

[jdrobinson06]

Also, both parents need to be present to get a child passport, or documentation as to why they are not (death or not custodial as examples).

Yes very true--however, we just had a DS-3053 form filled out by my husband (since he couldn't get off of work), it is a notarized statement of consent saying he approved of the passport application (since it was not death or custodial, just inconvenient for him to go)--you also need a copy of the front and back of BOTH parents drivers license to go with the DS-11 application.

 

[apathetic]

Agree with getting a passport for all reasons mentioned. I'll note that they need a new passport every 5 years till 16, then it is every 10 years like an adult passport. So, if possible, plan when to get it so that it is renewed age 16 (rather than 14 or 15 when it would expire in 5 years again). Of course, that may not matter right now if your kid is young.

Also, both parents need to be present to get a child passport, or documentation as to why they are not (death or not custodial as examples).

Actually, you don't even need a reason. You just do the form (3053) & the other parent signs it. We've used it when one person is working. Seems like that is open to fraud, but that's the system. I don't think it even needed to be notarized. If you can't get the other parent to sign the form, then you have to go through a process of explaining why only 1 person is present. We've used this to take advantage of school holidays during the week (non-federal holidays) and avoid the massive lines on the weekends.

 

[apathetic]

Why is it so hard to just get a passport? I don't understand Americans and their unwillingness to do this. It's super easy and not that expensive. Plus for children it's good for five years.

After 9/11, the US increased passport requirements. Previously, travel to Canada and Mexico was very easy. With the new requirement, a LOT of people now needed passports, especially those living near Mexico and Canada. Subsequently, the process of getting a passport became very time consuming. They didn't actually increase the capacity to process the applications, just the number of people who needed them. Most places you can make an appt, but I've been places where the wait for an appt was in months. Most places have walk-in times during the weekend, but the line can be daunting. With kids, you have to apply in person every time, every 5 years. One time, we had to wait for 7 hours (no exaggeration) at the post office to get them renewed. So, people kind of hate the process. It really depends on where you live. Closer to a border, especially Mexico, and there are a ton of people needing passports for kids. If you plan far enough ahead, you can do the appointment and no problem. But that isn't always possible. And when you have to go in person, it is a complete pain in the.....

 

[PrincessShmoo]

After 9/11, the US increased passport requirements. Previously, travel to Canada and Mexico was very easy. With the new requirement, a LOT of people now needed passports, especially those living near Mexico and Canada. Subsequently, the process of getting a passport became very time consuming. They didn't actually increase the capacity to process the applications, just the number of people who needed them. Most places you can make an appt, but I've been places where the wait for an appt was in months. Most places have walk-in times during the weekend, but the line can be daunting. With kids, you have to apply in person every time, every 5 years. One time, we had to wait for 7 hours (no exaggeration) at the post office to get them renewed. So, people kind of hate the process. It really depends on where you live. Closer to a border, especially Mexico, and there are a ton of people needing passports for kids. If you plan far enough ahead, you can do the appointment and no problem. But that isn't always possible. And when you have to go in person, it is a complete pain in the.....

I'll just point out, you don't have to go to the Passport Acceptance Facility that's closest to your home. Many people have found traveling to another location, they can sometimes get in much faster. You can combine a trip to another location (with better acceptance times) and get a quicker result.

 

[TestingH2O]

I agree. Our city clerk also accepts passports in our town. We basically walked right in (no appointment) turned in our paperwork, which took her about 2 minutes to check over and copy, and hand us a receipt, and we walked out.

And we have several libraries that do it too. In and out in 20 minutes while DD picked books for the week!

Check for non-traditional locations and things will probably go very fast.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Actually, you don't even need a reason. You just do the form (3053) & the other parent signs it. We've used it when one person is working. Seems like that is open to fraud, but that's the system. I don't think it even needed to be notarized. If you can't get the other parent to sign the form, then you have to go through a process of explaining why only 1 person is present. We've used this to take advantage of school holidays during the week (non-federal holidays) and avoid the massive lines on the weekends.

It does have to be notarized and as a PP pointed out, you need a photocopy of the absent parent's driver's license, front and back.

Most places you can make an appt, but I've been places where the wait for an appt was in months.

I'll just point out, you don't have to go to the Passport Acceptance Facility that's closest to your home. Many people have found traveling to another location, they can sometimes get in much faster. You can combine a trip to another location (with better acceptance times) and get a quicker result.

I agree to check around at different locations. When I was calling to get an appointment to get my DD's passport, the post office nearest my home didn't have an appointment available for over a month. But I called another post office that was just about 10 minutes further away and was able to get an appointment for the next week and had my pick of times.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Yes very true--however, we just had a DS-3053 form filled out by my husband (since he couldn't get off of work), it is a notarized statement of consent saying he approved of the passport application (since it was not death or custodial, just inconvenient for him to go)--you also need a copy of the front and back of BOTH parents drivers license to go with the DS-11 application.

Good to know, and definitely simplifies it for busy parents. But, was under the impression the 2parent requirement was to provide a hurdle to those wanting to get kids out of the country wo other parent being aware. Then again, my kids have passports and we went to Canada a couple weeks ago, without dad. It was a very last minute trip and I was scrambling to get a notary over the Memorial Day weekend, Bc it is recommended to have a notarized "permission slip" from parent that is not present (not required, though). When we crossed into Canada, the agent Indicated we would probably would have gotten across without it (we all had passports and Global ID with us), but that it was good to have as some agents are sticklers for that kind of thing - and he did review my notarized letter.