applied for express passport for 12 year old granddaughter cruising the caribbean but might not arrive on time

[stevel45]

can she get buy with a birth certificate?

[ColeThornton]

11 minutes ago, stevel45 said:

can she get buy with a birth certificate?

 

 

Look at the Frequently Asked Questions section on whatever cruise line web site you are going on.   Documentation requirements will be listed.

[Ashland]

59 minutes ago, stevel45 said:

can she get buy with a birth certificate?

A closed loop itinerary (caribbean so I'll assume yes) just have her birth certificate (raised seal original) and the form (notarized) giving her permission to to travel with you if parents aren't traveling.

 

 

[Philob]

And medical permission from the parents.

 

You really need to check with the cruise line about passports or certificates, some lines will require passports regardless of what the "rules" say.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Philob

[SimplyMarvie]

Can she? Yes. But if anything happens, she's going to be terribly stuck, because she'll need both her legal parents to sign for an emergency passport to return to the United States, and those signatures need to be in ink or done at a passport office. 

 

I, frankly, would not do this. If you decide to travel with her and she will not also have both parents along, download 2 copies of the DS-3053 passport authorization form from the internet and have her parents sign them in front of a notary before you go. Then if something happens while you're on the cruise, you have the formal permission you'd need in order to apply for her emergency passport. Note that the forms are only good for 90 days from the date of signature and must include a photocopy of the ID the parent provided to the notary (passport, driver's license.)

[stevel45]

Thank you 

we are hoping the expedited passport will arrive on time

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, Philob said:

And medical permission from the parents.

 

You really need to check with the cruise line about passports or certificates, some lines will require passports regardless of what the "rules" say.

The form that RCI has includes the medical authorization.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/minor-traveling-without-parent-or-guardian-form.pdf

[capriccio]

You don't mention how many adults will be traveling with your granddaughter.  I know Princess (and maybe other lines) require any minor traveling with a single adult have a passport:

 

When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Carrier requires that all guests must be in possession of a valid passport. Carrier has implemented this requirement so that Your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in Your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. Carrier cannot guarantee that all members of Your party will be allowed to disembark with only a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate.

[sverigecruiser]

10 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

Can she? Yes. But if anything happens, she's going to be terribly stuck, because she'll need both her legal parents to sign for an emergency passport to return to the United States, and those signatures need to be in ink or done at a passport office. 

 

 

Are american authorities really that strict in an emergency? Will they abandon an american citizen in need? A child?

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it surprise me.

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Are american authorities really that strict in an emergency? Will they abandon an american citizen in need? A child?

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it surprise me.

There are provisions in the regulations that allow the waiver of the passport requirement for emergencies and for humanitarian reasons, so I highly doubt that the child would be "terribly stuck". I would rather show up with the birth certificate than nothing.

Edited July 10, 2023 by sparks1093

[SimplyMarvie]

9 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Are american authorities really that strict in an emergency? Will they abandon an american citizen in need? A child?

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it surprise me.

 

They wouldn't abandon the child, but they are going to require that the legal requirements are followed. It's possible that she could be issued and emergency one-way passport for direct return to the United States, but that requires more clearance and work on the Embassy's part which will take more time -- and depending on the Embassy it can limit your opportunities for flight, because it is supposed to be a direct return to the US, without transfers. That's not always possible. 

 

Otherwise, they'd require mom and dad to sign consent and either overnight it to the Embassy or do the signature at a Passport Agency so it can be sent directly to the Embassy. If you don't have a passport agency close, that can cause additional delays.

 

The US takes child protection and anti-trafficking very seriously when it comes to passport issuance.

[sparks1093]

52 minutes ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

They wouldn't abandon the child, but they are going to require that the legal requirements are followed. It's possible that she could be issued and emergency one-way passport for direct return to the United States, but that requires more clearance and work on the Embassy's part which will take more time -- and depending on the Embassy it can limit your opportunities for flight, because it is supposed to be a direct return to the US, without transfers. That's not always possible. 

 

Otherwise, they'd require mom and dad to sign consent and either overnight it to the Embassy or do the signature at a Passport Agency so it can be sent directly to the Embassy. If you don't have a passport agency close, that can cause additional delays.

 

The US takes child protection and anti-trafficking very seriously when it comes to passport issuance.

The most likely outcome on a closed loop cruise is the child would be given authorization by the authorities (CBP working in conjunction with State) to fly directly to the US where they would be cleared in secondary inspection. 

[Charles4515]

13 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Are american authorities really that strict in an emergency? Will they abandon an american citizen in need? A child?

 

I don't say that you are wrong, only that it surprise me.

Of course not. There are procedures to get temporary or emergency passports. She is not going to be as one poster said terribly stuck. When they allowed birth certificates for closed loop cruises they discussed that there might be emergencies and put procedures in place. Hundreds of thousands of US citizens take closed loop cruises without passports. It will take some extra steps but they won't be stuck. And the odds of an emergency are low. They should go ahead and take their grandaughter if the passport does not arrive. 

[SimplyMarvie]

18 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Of course not. There are procedures to get temporary or emergency passports. She is not going to be as one poster said terribly stuck. When they allowed birth certificates for closed loop cruises they discussed that there might be emergencies and put procedures in place. Hundreds of thousands of US citizens take closed loop cruises without passports. It will take some extra steps but they won't be stuck. And the odds of an emergency are low. They should go ahead and take their grandaughter if the passport does not arrive. 

 

They are traveling with a child who does not belong to them, and who has never been issued a passport before so there are no records in the federal system showing who the child's legal parents are and whether they have ever consented for the child to be issued a passport. Even if they're traveling with a birth certificate, neither of the adults recognized as parents on that birth certificate are available to execute a passport application. Ya'll can think what you want, but I do this for a living and I'm telling you that this would be a big mess. Bring an executed consent with you if you decide to travel. 

 

 

[sparks1093]

11 minutes ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

They are traveling with a child who does not belong to them, and who has never been issued a passport before so there are no records in the federal system showing who the child's legal parents are and whether they have ever consented for the child to be issued a passport. Even if they're traveling with a birth certificate, neither of the adults recognized as parents on that birth certificate are available to execute a passport application. Ya'll can think what you want, but I do this for a living and I'm telling you that this would be a big mess. Bring an executed consent with you if you decide to travel. 

 

 

The child is in the system because a passport has been applied for and it may not make it back in time for the cruise. You are presupposing that an emergency passport application has to be done and that isn't the case on a closed loop cruise. In any event this discussion would only apply if something happened that would require the child to leave the ship to travel home and the odds of that happening are low.

 

Absolutely the grandparents should have a consent with them for both the travel and for medical treatment. My personal preference when traveling with a child not my own would be to have a passport for them (which we did when we took our step granddaughter on a cruise) but I wouldn't hesitate to cruise with just the birth certificate in the OP's situation.