When your teen no longer looks like their passport pic.

[lklgoodman]

We cruise at end of March 2022. I was looking at my 13 yr old dd's passport. It expires Dec 2023. She has changed drastically since getting the passport. She lost weight, had braces so her jawline has changed, now wear glasses, and her hair is even a lighter brown. Years ago when the pic was taken her hair was more blonde from being outside at summer camp. She did online school last year, when she went back to in person this year, friends she's had for years didn't recognize her. Has anyone else have this with their teens and was it a problem when you showed customs their passport? I don't know if we can get her a new one since the other one doesn't expire until 2023 or if it would come before our cruise.

 

[iannovich]

My son's appearance had changed and we didn't have a problem with it, but he may have still been recognizable enough. I was just filling out my own passport renewal last night and along with 'expired' and 'lost' there is a check box that you can check if you are renewing because your appearance has 'significantly changed'. You should be ok to go ahead and get her a new one early to avoid any problems.

 

[lklgoodman]

My son's appearance had changed and we didn't have a problem with it, but he may have still been recognizable enough. I was just filling out my own passport renewal last night and along with 'expired' and 'lost' there is a check box that you can check if you are renewing because your appearance has 'significantly changed'. You should be ok to go ahead and get her a new one early to avoid any problems.

Good to hear. Thank you, I forget how much she has changed since I'm with her every day, but then I see a pic of her from just a yr or 2 ago and it's amazing how much they change at this age.

 

[Disney.Dreamin.Dee]

It doesn't matter.
My sister and I look vastly different than our passports and we are full grown adults and our passports don't expire for 5 more years.
We've both lost a lot of weight, my sister had braces, I change my hair up every year or so, I've changed my color from black to blonde to copper red, got a perm, then chopped it etc.
I feel like every time I use my passport I look different than the last time I used it lol.

 

[HissYoureNeverAround]

We got my four year olds' passport when she was one and it looks nothing like her now. When we were on our cruise in November, the customs agent asked her questions like who are these people she is with, what is her birthday, how old is she. That was the only time anyone said anything about it.

 

[geegee14]

I don't think it matters. My two youngest got their passports around 15 months each. They looked very different as babies then they did as 3 and 4 year olds, but we never had an issue. I vaguely remember the customs agents asking my 4 year old on one trip who we (the adults were) to make sure we were mom and dad.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We cruise at end of March 2022. I was looking at my 13 yr old dd's passport. It expires Dec 2023. She has changed drastically since getting the passport. She lost weight, had braces so her jawline has changed, now wear glasses, and her hair is even a lighter brown. Years ago when the pic was taken her hair was more blonde from being outside at summer camp. She did online school last year, when she went back to in person this year, friends she's had for years didn't recognize her. Has anyone else have this with their teens and was it a problem when you showed customs their passport? I don't know if we can get her a new one since the other one doesn't expire until 2023 or if it would come before our cruise.

Not a teenage response here, but our then 5 year old didn't look a thing like her passport issued at age 1 when we traveled. No problem at all.

 

[cvjw]

My kids got their first passports as toddlers. Were still using them 5 years later when they looked totally different. No issues whatsoever.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

My oldest’s first passport photo was taken at 10 days old (traveled at 7 weeks) he used it until he was 5 and we never had problems

 

[soniam]

I thought they requested photos without glasses, or maybe that's my state driver's license. I remember my son needing to remove his in Germany, but my husband and didn't, I don't think. It's always so hard to remember with jet lag. I am a bit concerned. I have shoulder length blond hair in my pic, but now I have short blue hair. I bet my face is still similar enough though. My passport photo looks terrible. I figure it's closer to how I will actually look getting off an international flight

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I thought they requested photos without glasses, or maybe that's my state driver's license.

That's a fairly recent change to passport photos. I looked it up, Nov 7, 2016 glasses had to be removed in passport photos.

 

[soniam]

That's a fairly recent change to passport photos. I looked it up, Nov 7, 2016 glasses had to be removed in passport photos.

I love when you do have to remove them for a picture, and they get mad because you are squinting. I am wearing the glasses for a reason. It's natural to want to see, and I can only, not really, see without them if I squint.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I love when you do have to remove them for a picture, and they get mad because you are squinting. I am wearing the glasses for a reason. It's natural to want to see, and I can only, not really, see without them if I squint.

I totally get what you’re saying. Think of it like being behind frosted glass. Like you’re trying to sneak a peek inside Santas workshop but even with your glasses you can’t see through the frosted glass!

 

[DCSWO]

Don’t waste the money or time. As others have posted, we took our daughter’s passport pic when she was a few days old and she used it until it expired at age 5. Never had an issue.

 

[KVH]

Also, as an FYI, if you're going to renew because you need a new pic or because of expiration, do it soon. Fee going up by $20 very soon.

 

[bayri]

My boyfriend's passport is from 2013, and he's 28 now. He was a very scrawny, nerdy looking kid. Now he's a bit bulkier (but still pretty lanky) and with a more masculine/older face and facial hair. The only comment he got was for the TSA agent at MCO on our flight back after the cruise. The agent looked at the passport, at bf's face, did a double take, and exclaimed "You got OLD, man!"

It was a highlight of the trip for me LOL

But, along with the others, I'd say your daughter's current passport should be fine. Kids age all the time and I'm sure TSA and customs, etc go through that kind of thing all the time. But if you're that nervous, then no harm in getting it updated (besides to your wallet).

 

[BruinEd03]

We cruise at end of March 2022. I was looking at my 13 yr old dd's passport. It expires Dec 2023. She has changed drastically since getting the passport. She lost weight, had braces so her jawline has changed, now wear glasses, and her hair is even a lighter brown. Years ago when the pic was taken her hair was more blonde from being outside at summer camp. She did online school last year, when she went back to in person this year, friends she's had for years didn't recognize her. Has anyone else have this with their teens and was it a problem when you showed customs their passport? I don't know if we can get her a new one since the other one doesn't expire until 2023 or if it would come before our cruise.

Don’t waste the money or time. As others have posted, we took our daughter’s passport pic when she was a few days old and she used it until it expired at age 5. Never had an issue.

Passport fees increase by $20 (17%) on Dec. 27 from $115 to $135 for children under 16. Since it expires in 2 years (or realistically 1.5 years as it will be difficult to travel with a passport with less than 6 months left), it might be worthwhile to begin the process now. That will get her up to 18 or an adult passport. Just be mindful of passport processing times - which may be 2 - 3 months.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzann...2/passport-renewal-fees-are-about-to-jump-18/

 

[nancipants]

I can't wait until we finally get to use my son's passport, to see if the agents say anything. We got his right before everything shut down for Covid, naively thinking we'd still be able to travel that summer. He was 3 months old in his picture. He'll be 2.5 when we finally (hopefully) use the passport.

 

[meliscan]

I just travelled with my 14 year old and he is drastically different from his passport and they gave us no issues. You should be fine.