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Passport for 3 year old child???


tonyfsu21

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A birth certificate is sufficient, but many will argue for a passport in case an emergency arises and you need to fly back from a port of call. You need to do what you're comfortable with.

 

For what it's worth, my son is going on his 15th cruise at 9 and has been cruising since 1 and he's had a passport as proof of citizenship each time.

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I am of the "there's no better form of ID than a passport" camp.  I would consider your future travel intentions with your child in making the decision.  If you think you will travel outside the country more in the future I would recommend going the passport route.  If this is a one off type of thing and you're comfortable with the birth certificate, go ahead and go that route.  Note that passports for children under 16 are only valid for 5 years.

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Thanks for the info. I will probably end up going the passport route since we live in Fort Lauderdale and cruise often.

Apply as soon as possible. The requirement for passports changed in 2007, so a record number are coming up for renewal in 2017. I'd say rarity January at the latest unless you're willing to pay for expedited service.

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I always recommend getting a passport, period. I know it's more expensive, but the benefits of a passport are why you should invest in one.  Chief among those benefits, if you get stuck in some foreign country for some reason, having a passport is a big difference than not having one.

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I always recommend getting a passport, period. I know it's more expensive, but the benefits of a passport are why you should invest in one.  Chief among those benefits, if you get stuck in some foreign country for some reason, having a passport is a big difference than not having one.

 

If I have a passport for my toddler, is that all I need or will I also need a birth certificate linking his relationship to me and/or his mother?  I've never seen a child passport and haven't actually applied for one yet to know if this familial linkage is included in/on the child's passport.

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If I have a passport for my toddler, is that all I need or will I also need a birth certificate linking his relationship to me and/or his mother? I've never seen a child passport and haven't actually applied for one yet to know if this familial linkage is included in/on the child's passport.

Ironically, you will only need the passport. I always thought this was weird as it didn't prove parentage. Interestingly, though, if you aren't traveling as a family, you do need proof of custody or consent from the absent parent.

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It is proof of citizenship; however, unlike a birth certificate, it does not identify the child's parents like a birth certificate does.

 

Well, yeah.

 

But as someone who has traveled with small children that were holding passports; and when your name and their names on all the passports all match, even if the husband's passport is not a US passport, I can assure you the customs/immigration agents are going to assume you are the parents and not question you about it.

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Well, yeah.

 

But as someone who has traveled with small children that were holding passports; and when your name and their names on all the passports all match, even if the husband's passport is not a US passport, I can assure you the customs/immigration agents are going to assume you are the parents and not question you about it.

An uncle, aunt, and even grandparents can have the danger last name; it doesn't mean any of them have legal custody of the children or that there have the permission of the parents to take the kids on a cruise. Just saying . . .
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It is recommended to bring an original birth certificate when traveling with children whose names on passports differ from your own. I just returned from my first cruise in Greece on RCI and while I was never called upon to use it (as my childrens' last names are a combination of two last names ) it is still something to have in case--extra documentation particularly in the case of "these are MY kids" is really never a bad thing and could provide clarity---remember the laws of the USA do not apply to us when traveling to foreign countries....a stupid point I realize but I and others sometimes forget that :)

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An uncle, aunt, and even grandparents can have the danger last name; it doesn't mean any of them have legal custody of the children or that there have the permission of the parents to take the kids on a cruise. Just saying . . .

 

This is true.

 

They are also required to have a notarized letter from the parents saying they have permission to take them out of the country and are required to present it with the passports. If not and if they get caught, they'll probably get detained and possibly get tossed in a Federal prison. Don't mess with the Feds.

 

Edit: I wanted to add a couple things to this. We're talking about cruising, you're travelling on a closed loop, in my case Galveston to Galveston. So you have to satisfy Royal Caribbean's requirements for children traveling with guardians other than their parents and/or custodial entities.

 

The other thing is upon re-entering the country, you have to fill out that declaration. One of the things you're supposed to declare is if you're traveling with immediate  family or not. Lying on the declaration is not recommended.

 

Another experience I had - and this was when we found out about the "you have to have a letter from the absent parent" thing. My Australian in-laws would often come to the US and we would often go visit them where they chose to vacation, sometimes in Hawaii, other times in Florida. The last time they blew through I decided I didn't want to go so my husband took our kids and on that particular trip they decided to go to the Bahamas. Just a short hop out of the US. But boy, did they get grilled over me not being there and them oh so innocently trying to take my kids out of the country.  When they got back my husband made noises about getting the kids Australian passports, tho he never got around to it.

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Well, yeah.

 

But as someone who has traveled with small children that were holding passports; and when your name and their names on all the passports all match, even if the husband's passport is not a US passport, I can assure you the customs/immigration agents are going to assume you are the parents and not question you about it.

 

That's always been my experience too (although in my case both parents and the child have Canadian passports), but I would always be cautious about suggesting the experience would be the same for everyone in the same situation.  As a confident yet polite, clean-cut, middle-aged guy with his family, customs goes really smooth for me -- in a way it might not for a young guy with long hair, tattoos, and is nervous or has a bit of attitude. The customs agents might make less assumptions with him. So individual results may vary for reasons beyond the names on the passport or birth certificate.

 

The other thing is they might be questioning it without you realizing. They might be observing the body language of the kids and how they interact with their parents, and they will ask the kids questions in a way the sounds like they're just being friendly, but is actually a bona fide question to help them figure out if there's anything they should be concerned about. How the kids are acting can be a lot more revealing than a piece of paperwork that could have been forged.

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