usvi-on-line
Child's Passport/ID question
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kristen1206
- Posts: 533
- Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:13 pm
- Location: MD
Child's Passport/ID question
Hi all. My 6 year old's passport expired last year. I was holding off on renewing since it is only good for 5 years and our next trip is to St. John. If I don't renew, what type of ID do I need for her, if any? birth certificate? The expired passort?
Thanks
Thanks
Passport
Happy New Year to all!
There have been a lot of posts about this issue in the past and I think most can agree this is a very GRAY area.
My son and I went in July and were told that he didn't need a passport, but some sort of picture ID would suffice since hes under 18. Not to mention that I have seen the "No Passport Needed on St John" all over various St John sites.
So I went to the department of motor vehicles and got him a picture ID. Well...we get to the airport and get all our luggage checked in and get up to the customs area with our little form and the lady asks for our ID's and passports. I had his birth certificate and she said that wouldnt work. I tell her I was told we didnt need passports on multiple occasions by both airport personnel and customs and she proceeded to give us the hairy eyeball and then went on to ask us all kinds of questions about our US government.
We stood there for about 15 minutes answering the questions that we could (funny how little we DONT know, which she was quick to point out), and basically belittled my son because "he should know a lot more about our government than he does, especially since hes in high school". By that time she had made us so nervous we could hardly remember our names. She would just stand there and stare at us making us totally uncomfortable.
Bottom line in my opinion is if you have the time and resources to get her renewed, go for it. If you happen to cross hairs with the lady I had in July............well best of luck.
Needless to say, my step daughter and I will be returning to St John in 2013, she WILL have a passport cause there is no way I ever want to go through that again. Didnt ruin our trip by any means but I think that all the security at the airports and the long trip generally makes people on edge as it is. We chalked it up to she was having a bad day BUT she certainly didnt make our day any easier....
Bre
There have been a lot of posts about this issue in the past and I think most can agree this is a very GRAY area.
My son and I went in July and were told that he didn't need a passport, but some sort of picture ID would suffice since hes under 18. Not to mention that I have seen the "No Passport Needed on St John" all over various St John sites.
So I went to the department of motor vehicles and got him a picture ID. Well...we get to the airport and get all our luggage checked in and get up to the customs area with our little form and the lady asks for our ID's and passports. I had his birth certificate and she said that wouldnt work. I tell her I was told we didnt need passports on multiple occasions by both airport personnel and customs and she proceeded to give us the hairy eyeball and then went on to ask us all kinds of questions about our US government.
We stood there for about 15 minutes answering the questions that we could (funny how little we DONT know, which she was quick to point out), and basically belittled my son because "he should know a lot more about our government than he does, especially since hes in high school". By that time she had made us so nervous we could hardly remember our names. She would just stand there and stare at us making us totally uncomfortable.
Bottom line in my opinion is if you have the time and resources to get her renewed, go for it. If you happen to cross hairs with the lady I had in July............well best of luck.
Needless to say, my step daughter and I will be returning to St John in 2013, she WILL have a passport cause there is no way I ever want to go through that again. Didnt ruin our trip by any means but I think that all the security at the airports and the long trip generally makes people on edge as it is. We chalked it up to she was having a bad day BUT she certainly didnt make our day any easier....
Bre
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luv2travel
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:26 pm
No one needs a passport any longer for travel to and from the USVI. Here is the .gov link explaining, but a birth certificate for the kiddos and a drivers license for adults will suffice: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail ... VOaw%3D%3D
We travel to the VI's with passports. However, in november, we were checking in at the airport with our travel companions, and they suddenly realized they didn't bring theirs. (I think they wanted to stay a few extra days). However, they were able to come back through with only their drivers license.
Child's passport
While you may not need a passport for your child for a St. John trip, you may want to renew anyway. Yes, they are only good for 5 years but renewing is a big hassle and time consumming. Not something you want to wait to do at the last minute. You will need your child's birth certificate (not a copy) to apply and it will be sent off with the application. The birth certificate will be returned to you but separately from the passport. Also both parents need to go to the Post Office or passport office to apply with the child with various forms of ID required as well. If one parent can't make it, a notarized letter will be required. Read all the instructions carefully before you show up to apply. We just renewed our daughter's passport so the pain is fresh in my mind. In our three trips to St. John we always had them with us so never a problem. Not sure if we would have had less of a hassle using drivers licenses.