Documents needed for kids, help!!!!

[crusin'mom]

I am cruising with my children in 3 weeks and this will be our first cruise. There father left town 18 months ago and we have not heard from him since. At the end of last year, I had their last names changed through the court to match my last name (I was never married to their father). When I booked this cruise I booked their names under my last name as this is what it has been changed to. However, when I went to get their new birth certificates with the change I found out that the paperwork had somehow been lost at the state level. The court is resubmitting the paperwork today but there is a slim chance that it will be completed by the time we leave for the cruise. I now don't know what to do about documents for the kids! Should I leave their names as having my last names and take their original birth certificates (with their dads last name) and the notarized court order showing I had their names changed to mine? Or I should I changed their names on the booking to the name on their original birth certificates? I'm worried because I've read that if my last names is different than theirs then I need a notarized permission statement from their father stating that they may cruise with me and there is no way for me to get that. Please give me some advice! Thanks!

[snc_cam]

Contact Carnival. But I would think that having their original birth certificates and the court order should be sufficient. Also, you may want to also contact the State Dept and ask them since you will have to go thru customs on the way back into the states.

 

But check with Carnival first.

[Cruise, J.D.]

I am cruising with my children in 3 weeks and this will be our first cruise. There father left town 18 months ago and we have not heard from him since. At the end of last year' date=' I had their last names changed through the court to match my last name (I was never married to their father). When I booked this cruise I booked their names under my last name as this is what it has been changed to. However, when I went to get their new birth certificates with the change I found out that the paperwork had somehow been lost at the state level. The court is resubmitting the paperwork today but there is a slim chance that it will be completed by the time we leave for the cruise. I now don't know what to do about documents for the kids! Should I leave their names as having my last names and take their original birth certificates (with their dads last name) and the notarized court order showing I had their names changed to mine? Or I should I changed their names on the booking to the name on their original birth certificates? I'm worried because I've read that if my last names is different than theirs then I need a notarized permission statement from their father stating that they may cruise with me and there is no way for me to get that. Please give me some advice! Thanks![/quote']

 

You need to call your state health department (or whatever entity processes birth certificates) and ask to speak to a supervisor. In addition, contact the constituent office of your local state legislator and ask for help. They can sometimes get things expedited with state agencies.

[ginurse]

Do you have sole custody? If not, depending on the kids ages you MAY be asked for the letter anyway. If you do take the court papers showing that. When my daughter was younger I was asked for it, she is 14 now and they looked at her passport and said have a nice day. Last year getting off the ship customs asked her a lot of questions about who she was to me when we were disembarking back in the states and we had even had her name changed in a step-parent adoption so her name matched ours.

[aaron3219]

My step daughter has a different last name then me and my wife. Her father hasn't been around since about 8 months before she was born.

 

They didn't blink an eye at the check in counter. Welcome aboard!

[crusin'mom]

The court that I went through to change their names contacted the state bureau of vital statistics and they are supposed to try and expedite it for me. But there is no guarantee it will be done by the time we leave.

 

I technically do have sole custody since the father and I were never married. In Ohio, the mother retains full sole custody unless the father files for rights, which he of course never did. I do not have any documents showing this of course since I didn't have to file for it. I just do not want to run into any problems and have our vacation ruined.

[dwjoe]

Also, you may want to also contact the State Dept and ask them since you will have to go thru customs on the way back into the states.

It would be better to contact US Customs & Border Patrol as they are the ones with jurisdiction at the border.

[dwjoe]

OP -

 

Do the kids' original birth certificates list you as the mother? And does the listed mother's name match your ID?

 

Is it unlikely that the birth certificate name change will be completed by the time you cruise?

 

If yes to all of the above - then I would change the kids names on the booking to match their original birth certificates and leave the whole court ordered name change out of it. Keep it simple for the cruise line agent who will be checking you in. They will see that the kids name on the booking match their birth certificates, and they will see that you are listed as the mother, which matches your ID. They are used to seeing kids with father's last names that don't match their mother's. You are unlikely to be asked for a notarized letter from the father authorizing travel, see this quote from Carnival's web site:

 

When minors (18 and under) are NOT traveling with a relative, we strongly recommend bringing an original signed letter from the absent parent/legal guardian authorizing the minor to travel. This will expedite processing by the Department of Homeland Security. Please note that a notarized letter to this effect is required if debarking with children in Mexico.

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx#q-544381

 

The kids will be traveling with a relative (you), and you will have proof of that, so you should be good there.

Edited July 9, 2014 by dwjoe

[crusin'mom]

Thank you dwjoe! The vital statistics office pushed the birth certificates through for me and I now have them with the name change. So their names on their birth certificates now match my last name and yes I am listed on the birth certificate with the same name I have now which also matches my ID. So am I ok to assume now that I will not be asked for anything from the birth father stating his permission for the kids to travel?

[snc_cam]

Since the names are the same with yours, if they ask, just state it is a cruise for you and the kids. Not that they should ask anyway. Besides, how would they know you are divorced. You could also be widowed or just a single parent.

[dwjoe]

Thank you dwjoe! The vital statistics office pushed the birth certificates through for me and I now have them with the name change. So their names on their birth certificates now match my last name and yes I am listed on the birth certificate with the same name I have now which also matches my ID. So am I ok to assume now that I will not be asked for anything from the birth father stating his permission for the kids to travel?

That is good news!

 

You are very unlikely to be asked for travel authorization from the father.

 

Mexico abolished the travel authorization requirement for foreign tourist children in January but since CCL still lists it as a requirement you may be asked for it if traveling to Mexico.

Edited July 23, 2014 by dwjoe

[crusin'mom]

We are traveling out of Charleston, SC to Nassau and Little Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas

[Homosassa]

This will not apply to the OP, but I am posting this for information purposes for anyone traveling to Central America in the event that one is forced to fly back in the middle of the cruise.

 

Costa Rica is very strict on children under the age of 16 entering or leaving the country. This applies to families traveling with their children.

 

Before entering the country at immigration or leaving the country at the airport, proof will be required that the adults traveling with the children have a legal right to travel with the children. This means having documentation that you have such a right.

 

In the case of families, passports will be scrutinized and children old enough to speak will be asked away from the adults who the adults are.

 

If traveling without the other parent, there must be documentation that the sole adult has the right to travel with the child. That means either a notarized authorization from the other parent (or the parents if not the parents), divorce and custody papers, death certificate, or other legal documentation that supports the travel arrangements.

 

I do not know if this type of documentation will be required of cruise line passengers before the ship is cleared by Costa Rican immigration officials.

 

I witnessed this scrutiny first hand of a family (the parents and two teen age sons) that was traveling on the same land tour we were on and we happened to be going through immigration clearance into the country and later leaving the country at the same time. Fortunately, our tour operator was up on what was needed and the family was fully prepared for the scrutiny.

 

Guatemala has similar requirements for children entering and leaving the country.

 

As I said, just a FYI for anyone who might want to be prepared for a problem on a cruise that requires an air flight home from Costa Rica

[mzloolue]

Thank you dwjoe! The vital statistics office pushed the birth certificates through for me and I now have them with the name change. So their names on their birth certificates now match my last name and yes I am listed on the birth certificate with the same name I have now which also matches my ID. So am I ok to assume now that I will not be asked for anything from the birth father stating his permission for the kids to travel?

 

 

 

Yay!

[2beachlovers]

You should be golden! New birth certs and your id will be all you need. Go and have a great cruise.

[DebJ14]

That is good news!

 

You are very unlikely to be asked for travel authorization from the father.

 

Mexico abolished the travel authorization requirement for foreign tourist children in January but since CCL still lists it as a requirement you may be asked for it if traveling to Mexico.

 

Mexico may have changed the law, but that has not stopped them for asking for the document. This paragraph is from the US State Dept. website:

 

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has received numerous reports of U.S. citizens being required to provide notarized consent forms for circumstances falling outside of the categories listed above, and/or being asked for such permission at land border crossings. Accordingly, the Embassy recommends all minors traveling without both parents carry a notarized consent letter at all times in the event airline or Mexican immigration officials request one.

 

That may be why most cruise lines are still suggesting that you bring one.

Edited July 24, 2014 by DebJ14