Do We Need Baby's Birth Certificate?

[GirlWriter]

Hi there. We are cruising internationally next month with our toddler. Both my husband and I are going, and all of us have passports. However, I am wondering if we also need to take the baby's birth certificate along ... I see this on the travel.state.gov website:

 

"In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure."

 

I'm not sure if I'm to read that as "requiring documentary evidence of relationship ... (onlyl if there is a) parent(s) or legal guardian not present," or if it means that, regardless of both parents traveling with the child, some official person might require that we prove we are in fact his parents. We all have the same last name, but I suppose that in and of itself is not "proof"...

 

Does anybody have any experience with this?

 

Thanks!

[Yo Eleven]

I would hope that they require the birth certificate. That would be idiocy at its greatest. Can you imagine a baby that was abducted and taken aboard a ship to be sold in a foreign country.

 

I cannot confirm this but I think it is very probably that a birth certificate would be required for all px regardless of age. Good luck.

[jam82]

We've taken our 3 year old on five international trips. We have never brought his birth certificate with us because he has a passport and in order to get the passport, we had to present the birth certificate. I really wouldn't think you would need to bring a BC since you have a passport. If you are concerned, go ahead and bring it or a copy of it.

[cherylandtk]

If both parent's last names are the same as the baby's, then it is generally assumed they are the parents of the child. If however, either of the last names differ, then the Birth Certificate is often needed to show that the parent(s) of the child are indeed the people taking the baby onboard.

[Onessa]

I take it that "international" in this case means limited to North America? And does the cruise start and stop in the US? If no to either of those, you will need a passport for baby. If you are flying to the embarkation or debarkation port and either are foreign, you will need the passport.

 

For caribbean type cruises that begin and end in the US - Other than your child's BC, what "documentary evidence of relationship" would you be able to provide?

[MnAsMom]

So you are saying that your toddler also has a passport? If the child has a passport then you do not need to bring along a Birth Certificate... the passport is all you need. If your child does not have a passport I would get one. If something happened in another country and you ended up needing to fly home from there, you will have a much more difficult time if your child only has a birth certificate.

[imsulin]

You will absolutely need to bring your baby's original or certified BC if the child does NOT have a Passport! If it were me, I'd bring both, just to be on the safe side. This is what DD did with her two young children when they flew to Japan, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Where will you be cruising?

[GirlWriter]

I take it that "international" in this case means limited to North America? And does the cruise start and stop in the US?

 

We are flying from US to Barcelona to take the cruise. All European ports.

 

It sounds like we should take at least a copy of the birth certificate in addition to the passport, just to be on the safe side.

 

Thanks!

[Onessa]

So you are saying that your toddler also has a passport? If the child has a passport then you do not need to bring along a Birth Certificate... the passport is all you need. If your child does not have a passport I would get one. If something happened in another country and you ended up needing to fly home from there, you will have a much more difficult time if your child only has a birth certificate.

 

We are flying from US to Barcelona to take the cruise. All European ports.

 

It sounds like we should take at least a copy of the birth certificate in addition to the passport, just to be on the safe side.

 

Thanks!

 

If your child has a passport, as MNasMom states, the BC will not really be necessary. I'm a belt-and-suspenders kind of person and did travel with copies of my marraige license and DD's BC our first couple of trips to Europe (in addition to the passports). But never needed them - and haven't included them in my last few trips (but DD is now 14 and that makes some of this stuff a bit easier).

 

I do have all of my family's documentation scanned onto a flashcard which if all else fails I can plug into my camera and download -- and I actually had to use some of it once. I also have it in a folder in my eMail account and have it eMailed to a trusted friend.