Is Passport Enough

[sparks1093]

That is what I thought - but I also thought his passport would have our names in it, so it proved we were his parents. So I wanted to make sure.

 

Thanks.

 

As long as you say you are his parents it should be fine. I don't believe that we've gotten to the point that proof is required when a family is traveling together.

[RSLeesburg]

OK. Everything came in today. Here are the timelines for the passport for my 3 y/o son.

 

June 10th - Applied for passport at local post office

 

June 27th - Passport book arrived in mail.

 

July 1st - Original BC and Passport Card arrived in mail (in separate envelopes).

 

PS: For those planning to apply for passport, contact post office as soon as possible. We called in early May, and the earliest appointment available was over a month away!

[Athankfulheart]

Our son had his first passport when 2 months old:D

He is now 29 and on his 5th:)

 

BTW, a birth certificate is not returned.

 

 

This is untrue. Birth certificates come mailed in a separate envelope and did not arrive on the same day as the PP.

[Treven]

OK. Everything came in today. Here are the timelines for the passport for my 3 y/o son.

 

June 10th - Applied for passport at local post office

 

June 27th - Passport book arrived in mail.

 

July 1st - Original BC and Passport Card arrived in mail (in separate envelopes).

 

PS: For those planning to apply for passport, contact post office as soon as possible. We called in early May, and the earliest appointment available was over a month away!

Glad everything worked out for you & the little one.

[Galveston Cruiser]

This is untrue. Birth certificates come mailed in a separate envelope and did not arrive on the same day as the PP.

 

His was not returned. Don't know the reason and, great if others had theirs returned.

[Algebralovr]

OK. Everything came in today. Here are the timelines for the passport for my 3 y/o son.

 

June 10th - Applied for passport at local post office

 

June 27th - Passport book arrived in mail.

 

July 1st - Original BC and Passport Card arrived in mail (in separate envelopes).

 

PS: For those planning to apply for passport, contact post office as soon as possible. We called in early May, and the earliest appointment available was over a month away!

 

Wow! A month just to meet with the person to receive your documents? One more thing different across the US. Locally, the post office does not act as an acceptance agent. Instead, the county clerk does, and there are two people in the office qualified to accept the documents. They do not take appointments, you just are supposed to call ahead and make sure one of them are there.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Probably security - one envelope may get lost/stolen, but both are unlikely. If you've gotten the passport, you know to look out for the birth certificate (tit is returned). If you get the birth certificate but not the passport, you know something is amiss. In either case, you can contact the proper authorities for advice - missing either the passport or the b.c. is an invitation to identity theft.

 

If they were in one envelope, it takes such a variable amount of time for the passport to process, people may not realize they haven't gotten the passport until it's too late.

 

Ok, this makes sense. Never understood why the items didn't come together in one envelope.

 

My hubby had sent his off to be renewed a few weeks ago and he was using the tracking service (I'm guessing he was talking about the passport website and not the USPS site) to see where it was in the process. Saturday he got a letter from the passport office saying that his photo wasn't clear enough (he had me take it with his camera -- he's done this before and the photos were accepted). He went back on the passport website and found an app that would help make sure the photo was acceptable -- he'd wished he had seen that before -- so he grabbed someone to take his photo immediately (my daughter was looking up something for me at the time on her computer, and I was on mine, getting some software installed for me -- so hubby grabbed my expert's daughter to take it instead of waiting maybe an half hour:rolleyes:). And he's not in any hurry to get it renewed immediately as we don't have a cruise booked!

 

Got my daughter her first passport at 3 years of age. And I like it as an ID for her, rather than using her BC as it has her photo on it. Even have used it to register her for school. Next time she gets hers renewed, it'll be for an adult one!:)

[RSLeesburg]

Wow! A month just to meet with the person to receive your documents? One more thing different across the US. Locally, the post office does not act as an acceptance agent. Instead, the county clerk does, and there are two people in the office qualified to accept the documents. They do not take appointments, you just are supposed to call ahead and make sure one of them are there.

 

Yes. I do believe this is handled differently across the US. When I checked for local passport office online, it showed 5 or 6 post offices in our county - that was it. We drove to one early Sat morning and were told that we needed an appt - they had a 6 week waiting list. I called around that morning and found one that could take us in 4 weeks. We are not cruising till Sept., so no rush - but I am glad we took care of it. We sometimes wait till last minute on some things :rolleyes:

[CaveDiving]

All of the responses here have stated that only a passport is necessary for parents to take a child out of the country and that a birth certificate is not necessary in addition to the passport. But what document shows that the two adults really are the child’s parents?

 

What is to prevent an uncle & aunt or grandparents with the same last name as the child from taking the child out of the country? It would seem that a birth certificate would prevent this.

 

Scott & Karen

[sparks1093]

All of the responses here have stated that only a passport is necessary for parents to take a child out of the country and that a birth certificate is not necessary in addition to the passport. But what document shows that the two adults really are the child’s parents?

 

What is to prevent an uncle & aunt or grandparents with the same last name as the child from taking the child out of the country? It would seem that a birth certificate would prevent this.

 

Scott & Karen

 

As I understand it only a couple of counties are concerned enough about this to require documentation if only one parent is traveling and that only to the point of making sure that said parent isn't in the process of kidnapping said child. Short answer is if two people claim to be the parents, even if the last names are different, they are probably going to be believed. It is difficult to conceive of someone whisking a child away on a cruise for some nefarious purpose. Not the quickest getaway around.

[RSLeesburg]

Security will often ask child to point to his mom or dad, so I am guessing that this is their idea of a sniff test :). Personally, I would put both parent's names on the child's passport - this would eliminate any confusion or issues. If the identification of the parents do not match the names on the passport, a notarized letter from the missing parent or parents is required. But of course, this makes too much sense, so it will never happen...lol

[celle]

Security will often ask child to point to his mom or dad, so I am guessing that this is their idea of a sniff test :). Personally, I would put both parent's names on the child's passport - this would eliminate any confusion or issues. If the identification of the parents do not match the names on the passport, a notarized letter from the missing parent or parents is required. But of course, this makes too much sense, so it will never happen...lol

 

Is there a place on the passport to record parents' names? I didn't think there was.

[RSLeesburg]

Is there a place on the passport to record parents' names? I didn't think there was.

 

No, that is my point - it should be put there by the government when they create the passport :)

[Doug R.]

Probably security - one envelope may get lost/stolen, but both are unlikely. If you've gotten the passport, you know to look out for the birth certificate (tit is returned). If you get the birth certificate but not the passport, you know something is amiss. In either case, you can contact the proper authorities for advice - missing either the passport or the b.c. is an invitation to identity theft.

 

If they were in one envelope, it takes such a variable amount of time for the passport to process, people may not realize they haven't gotten the passport until it's too late.

 

When I renewed in late 2011 I mailed my application to the office in Philly. My new passport was mailed out of New Hampshire. My cancelled passport with the new photo stapled to it arrived the same day from Philly. No doubt the Philly office scanned the new picture and sent my information to NH for processing.

[celle]

No, that is my point - it should be put there by the government when they create the passport :)

 

Good luck getting that to happen!

 

I know it's different for cruises, and I know that the USA is stricter about parental consent. However, neither my son nor his wife has ever had any problem travelling on their own with one of their daughters. Due to work restraints, they have taken different flights all the way from the UK to Australia and New Zealand and back (one parent with each child) on more than one occasion.

 

Even though my daughter-in-law has not taken her husband's name and their daughters have their father's surname, neither of them has ever been challenged to prove that the child/children travelling with them is their own.

 

Recently, DIL flew from the UK to India and back with the two children (our son was working there). Nobody even asked if the children were hers, let alone if she had their father's consent to take them.

[sparks1093]

[quote name='celle']Good luck getting that to happen!

I know it's different for cruises, and I know that the USA is stricter about parental consent. However, neither my son nor his wife has ever had any problem travelling on their own with one of their daughters. Due to work restraints, they have taken different flights all the way from the UK to Australia and New Zealand and back (one parent with each child) on more than one occasion.

Even though my daughter-in-law has not taken her husband's name and their daughters have their father's surname, neither of them has ever been challenged to prove that the child/children travelling with them is their own.

Recently, DIL flew from the UK to India and back with the two children (our son was working there). Nobody even asked if the children were hers, let alone if she had their father's consent to take them.[/quote]

I don't believe it is the US that is concerned about parental consent, I believe it is only certain countries (and maybe it's only one- Mexico). According to CCL for a minor to travel to Mexico with one parent then a letter granting permission must be presented that is notarized. I thought this also pertained to Canada but that could just be faulty memory.:o

[dread_pirate]

[quote name='sparks1093']I don't believe it is the US that is concerned about parental consent, I believe it is only certain countries (and maybe it's only one- Mexico). According to CCL for a minor to travel to Mexico with one parent then a letter granting permission must be presented that is notarized. I thought this also pertained to Canada but that could just be faulty memory.:o[/quote]
The US is concerned to the extent that it requires both parents to be present if a child is applying for a passport, or that there be a notarized consent from the other parent. But that's only for the application process. Once the child has the passport, it's no longer necessary to prove that the adults accompanying the child are the parents or have parental permission. Of course, individual carriers may have their own restrictions and could require such proof, but the government doesn't require it.