Birth Certificate Question

[Ronath]

Taking granddaughter on her first cruise on the Conquest in July. She's 14 years old and was born in Germany as our son was stationed there in the Air Force. As there was no base hospital close by she was born in a German hospital, thus she has a German birth certificate. We're wondering if there's going to be a problem at the pier when we check her in. Has anyone had this problem before?

[*CruiseFan*]

I would take her to get her passport to be totally honest. They're cheaper for children under 15. They don't last as long but it would save you the headache. I recently got mine and it only took a little over 2 weeks. You can also get it rushed for an additional fee.

 

Buuuttt, you could always call the cruise line to find out for sure :) I'm sure as long as you have an official letter of her citizenship along with her birth certificate you should be okay but you might call just to cover all your bases :)

[tricktsm]

Is your son still in the military? He should have contacts to help. As long as he was on duty she is still a US citizen. Would be great to have a passport :)

[Lisichka]

Yes, a German birth certificate is not going to work. She will need proof that she is a US citizen.

[mosel]

If she was born overseas and is a us citizen she should have a consular report of birth abroad of a us citizen. That is what my daughter has. It is kind of fun because it is signed by the sec of state or at least a stamp so if you get copies, there are different sec of state on each one. My daughter has used this many times to board a cruise ship before she got her passport. All births abroad have to be registered with the consulate and you can get copies through the state department web site. Although in the end a passport would be easier you would still need proof of us citizenship to get a us passport. She could probably get a german passport pretty easily. Also I worked for Celebrity cruises for a while checking passengers in and I know for Celebrity it would be a no go. There is actually a member of the pursers crew that is on hand to decide on the validity of documents and they have the final say on who is allowed to board. We did have quite a few problems and some missed their cruise. So it does happen. It would be best to get this straightened out now than to have problem at the pier. Good luck!! Cindy

[MICruizers]

Ronath....I have sort of the same issue, as I was a military dependent born in Germany. I have both a German Gebertserkunde (Birth Certificate) and also a US State Department Certificate of Birth Abroad. She should have one of these issued by the State Department. My German birth certificate does not indicate that I am an American citizen--only that I was born if the Federal Republic of Germany. I have always used the "Certificate of Birth Abroad" for birth certificate purposes and have never had a problem. You can request one from the State Department, but it will cost $30.00 I believe, but you will still need it to apply for a passport as a US citizen....