Does My Infant Son need a passport

[jenny368]

Here is the question that I emailed to Royal Caribbean:

 

"Everyone is my family has a passport. We are going on a cruise in April, 2011. Do we need to get our new baby a passport or can he cruise with just his birth certificate. He will be 20 months old at the time of our cruise. We are

leaving out of Baltimore on 4/16/11 on the Enchantment. Going to Port

Canaveral, Nassau and Co Co Cay. Then back to Baltimore to disembark."

 

 

Here is the response I got back:

 

"As of June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires all

travelers to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda to present a

valid passport or other WHTI compliant document that establishes the bearer's

identity and citizenship in order to enter or reenter the United States. Please

visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html#compliant_document

for a list of all approved documents.

 

United States citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the

same port in the United States) will be able to enter or depart the country with

proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and laminated

government-issued picture identification, denoting photo, name and date of

birth. A United States citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present

either an original or a certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a

Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (DOS), or a

Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services.

 

United States lawful permanent residents will continue to be able to use their

Alien Registration Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security or other

valid evidence of permanent residence status to apply for entry into the United

States.

 

Card renewal is an important matter. ARC holders (United States permanent

residents) with expired cards may be considered "out of status" and may be

denied entry or reentry into the United States. If your ARC was issued over 10

years ago, you should check the expiration date printed on the front of the

card. If your card is expired, or it is about to expire, you should renew your

card before you sail.

 

If you are holding an old edition ARC without an expiration date, you will not

be detained from entering the United States, but U.S. Customs and Border

Protection highly suggests that you apply for a new card before you sail.

 

Please refer to http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/greencard_renewal.html for

additional information.

 

Ms. Martin, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. We look

forward to welcoming you onboard."

 

 

 

HOW DO YOU INTERPRET THIS? I think that is says as long as we cruise out of and back into Baltimore then he can get away with using just his birth certificate. Is this how you read this?

[GTO-Girl]

Since it is a closed-loop cruise you should be able to use the birth certificate, but be sure it is a certified one with a raised seal.....

[cruisinfanatic]

Since it is a closed-loop cruise you should be able to use the birth certificate, but be sure it is a certified one with a raised seal.....

All certified BC's don't necessarily have raised seals.

People need to stop saying that

[cruisinfanatic]

Yes, you'll only need his BC for that cruise

[jenny368]

Great, thanks!

[BND]

All certified BC's don't necessarily have raised seals.

People need to stop saying that

 

I've said that on several threads. My BC has one (TX), my DH's doesn't (NY). One of my son's does (VA) and the other doesn't (MD), yet they are all valid state issued BC's. It just has to be a gov issued BC, not a hospital one.

[jmraggs]

All certified BC's don't necessarily have raised seals.

People need to stop saying that

 

Off of the State department website for passport applications regarding a certified BC. I would think it would be the same qualifications using it for cruise travel:

 

*A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. Please note, some short (abstract) versions of birth certificates may not be acceptable for passport purposes.

[firebrat25]

For the cruise you are referring to a BC will be fine, however if something goes wrong and you get stuck in a foreign contry you and your child will not be allowed to fly back without a passport. Spend the $ and get one, my daughter got her first passport at 3 months old, for her first cruise. Better safe than sorry.

[marci22]

I've said that on several threads. My BC has one (TX), my DH's doesn't (NY). One of my son's does (VA) and the other doesn't (MD), yet they are all valid state issued BC's. It just has to be a gov issued BC, not a hospital one.

 

Usually there is a raised, registrar's seal on a certified copy of a birth certificate. Why would some states not do this?

[renae83]

It is best to have a passport. If you were to miss the ship for some reason or if you or your child were to become ill you would have a very hard time getting back into the states.

 

The passports are less expensive for a child and if you travel a lot it is a good thing to have.

 

I hope you are not in a situation where you would need one but you just never know. Have a safe and fun cruise.

[jenny368]

I guess better safe than sorry. Thanks everyone!

[cruisinfanatic]

It is best to have a passport. If you were to miss the ship for some reason or if you or your child were to become ill you would have a very hard time getting back into the states.

 

The passports are less expensive for a child and if you travel a lot it is a good thing to have.

 

I hope you are not in a situation where you would need one but you just never know. Have a safe and fun cruise.

I'm sure the OP already knows.

[Annieeee]

Here is the question that I emailed to Royal Caribbean:

 

"Everyone is my family has a passport. We are going on a cruise in April, 2011. Do we need to get our new baby a passport or can he cruise with just his birth certificate. He will be 20 months old at the time of our cruise. We are

leaving out of Baltimore on 4/16/11 on the Enchantment. Going to Port

Canaveral, Nassau and Co Co Cay. Then back to Baltimore to disembark."

 

 

Here is the response I got back:

 

"As of June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires all

travelers to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda to present a

valid passport or other WHTI compliant document that establishes the bearer's

identity and citizenship in order to enter or reenter the United States. Please

visit http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html#compliant_document

for a list of all approved documents.

 

United States citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end at the

same port in the United States) will be able to enter or depart the country with

proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate and laminated

government-issued picture identification, denoting photo, name and date of

birth. A United States citizen under the age of 16 will be able to present

either an original or a certified copy of his or her birth certificate, a

Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (DOS), or a

Certificate of Naturalization issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services.

 

United States lawful permanent residents will continue to be able to use their

Alien Registration Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security or other

valid evidence of permanent residence status to apply for entry into the United

States.

 

Card renewal is an important matter. ARC holders (United States permanent

residents) with expired cards may be considered "out of status" and may be

denied entry or reentry into the United States. If your ARC was issued over 10

years ago, you should check the expiration date printed on the front of the

card. If your card is expired, or it is about to expire, you should renew your

card before you sail.

 

If you are holding an old edition ARC without an expiration date, you will not

be detained from entering the United States, but U.S. Customs and Border

Protection highly suggests that you apply for a new card before you sail.

 

Please refer to http://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/greencard_renewal.html for

additional information.

 

Ms. Martin, thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean International. We look

forward to welcoming you onboard."

 

 

 

HOW DO YOU INTERPRET THIS? I think that is says as long as we cruise out of and back into Baltimore then he can get away with using just his birth certificate. Is this how you read this?

 

 

A birth cert will be ok. It must be a govenment issued, such as issued by the state. A hospital birth certificate will not be ok, and it must be a birth certificate not a birth registration. There is a difference.

 

Annieeee

[wcook]

It is best to have a passport. If you were to miss the ship for some reason or if you or your child were to become ill you would have a very hard time getting back into the states.

You would apply for an emergency passport, which you would probably receive in a day or two.

[BND]

Usually there is a raised, registrar's seal on a certified copy of a birth certificate. Why would some states not do this?

 

My son's from MD is a birth certificate card which is how they were issued in 1986 when he was born. It has a textured border and print but does not have an embossed/raised seal. Mine has a real seal done by hand as it's an original from 1960 and was typed on a typewriter. My DH's is from NY and is a "reverse" print one. Original is white print on black background. It can't be copied. No seal. My oldest son (1983) from VA is 8x10 and does have a raised seal. This has come up before and multiple people have said their bc's don't have raised or embossed seals on them. I guess the gov likes ours because we've all gotten passports with them. So, it can and has been done. States determine how their BC's will appear, not the Fed Gov. Just like all state DL's are different in appearance.