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VIP..traveling with children not your own...grandchildren etc


IDKaren
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we recently took 8 year old granddaughter on a cruise. carnival website said ORIGINAL LETTER from parents authorizing travel and BIRTH CERTIFICATE..nothing about ORIGINAL.

We got a NOTARIZED letter from daughter and SIL and a COPY of birth certificate. No problem at airport or getting on cruise..debarking thru LA at Homeland Security...agent questioned if notary was real as Idaho seal is different..also said..you have not done your homework it has to be an ORIGINAL birth certificate..questioned us for fifteen minutes..questioned grandchild.....was not particularly pleasant.

If ypu are traveling without a child’s parents be sure and check what the govt really needs to bring the child home and go by that. I thought I had done it right but I really thought they weren’t going to let us through with her!!

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I’m surprised they let you on the ship with only a copy of their birth certificate. I cruise every year with my children and we only use a birth certificate since passports are so expensive when you have to get one for 4 kids.

 

The ship asked for nothing when boarding the ship..no birth certificate..no letter..nothing! Even when taking her on the plane both ways they only asked her what her name and Birthday were and who we were. Someone on another thread posted a link to govts site and all they listed also was copy of birth certificate and letter authorizing travel from the parents. This guy obviously did not know the rules..was being a pompous jerk and I should in retrospect asked for a supervisor.

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A child under 16 is required to use an original, notorized or certified birth certificate. You were lucky they let you on the ship. It’s good for others to be aware of this, so the post is quite useful. https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/74/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNTIyMjMwODQ3L3NpZC9tWVNnREtJbg%3D%3D

 

Carnivals website strongly recommends a passport with 6 months validity, or government issued birth certificate. https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3409/session/L3RpbWUvMTUyMjYyNjgzOS9zaWQvZlVRWjZNMVFhZ3ZYT2VfVk5NaXBIbk1LN3I1JTdFV09FWENtajRta3hKWFBuTWxSbEVaVEp3TGpBcm9wUlByNkUxblQxTjZDUUczc29vOXBUWTQ2bUdWcjh5S1Ffem9uckdUa215d29PdWtiMEprUmQzcnc5dWtTJTdFdyUyMSUyMQ==

Edited by kitkat343
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Tried to edit but ran out of time - I do think carnivals website should be clearer like the custom and boarder protection department page, but I’m guessing they assume government issued birth certificate means an original copy. Travelers over 16 also need government issued photo id

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  • 2 weeks later...
The ship asked for nothing when boarding the ship..no birth certificate..no letter..nothing! Even when taking her on the plane both ways they only asked her what her name and Birthday were and who we were. Someone on another thread posted a link to govts site and all they listed also was copy of birth certificate and letter authorizing travel from the parents. This guy obviously did not know the rules..was being a pompous jerk and I should in retrospect asked for a supervisor.

 

 

 

Well yes. In the absence of say the Berlin Wall for example, it is a lot harder to get INTO a country compared to getting out or traveling domestically.

 

I would never ever piss off immigration even if they are being a pompous jerk. They have a lot of power to detain, much more so than an ordinary police officer. Just take it as a life lesson that you cannot re-enter the US without a state issued document (meaning it has a raised state seal) asserting citizenship (eg passport, state issued birth record, state issued birth certificate, etc).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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I just came through customs this morning and they asked each child who they were and their dates of birth. One of my kids is developmentally delayed and couldn’t give the correct answer for her date of birth. I explained and he said no worries. They asked my 10 year old who his mom is and he is adopted since birth and the smarty pants asked him if he meant his birth mother?!?? I was just glad it didn’t become an inquisition!

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