Passport for 8 yro ????

[mollyeilis]

This is not difficult. The passport website is amazing.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html

 

Look under Show Parental Consent.

 

Now that does say "parental", but if you read the words after the heading it says "parent/guardian" every time.

 

Choose the scenario that matches you. If you have legal custody of your grandchild, it seems like the first part works for you. So make sure everything is notarized and you have the court paperwork etcetc.

 

 

 

 

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[mollyeilis]

Now I am making an assumption that your family has not traveled abroad. I want to make you aware of something.

 

The customs/immigration/security people at international airports are serious. They might ask you what feel like ride questions. Deal with it. They will ask you the questions in from of the child. And you have to deal with it.

 

Upon our arrival at Heathrow I was asked all sorts of questions about my life when my son and I arrived separately from husband. Including "if you don't work how did you get the money to pay for this trip?"

 

My lovely child had allowed me 20 minutes of sleep from Seattle to Vancouver to London and it was about 2am my body's time, and I nearly snapped ("by selling myself" was on the tip of my snarky tongue), but I really did not want to be arrested, so I said "my husband works".

 

Be prepared for that. And it has nothing to do with being the grandparents, though you might as well take that custody documentation on the trip. Just in case.

 

 

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[SRF]

Things are getting tighter about this, due to trafficking in children.

 

There have been several cases of single parents being detained for questioning at an airport and missing their flights. In the aviation world, most everyone who comes in contact with customers is being trained somewhat to look for trafficking and reporting it. And if they report you, you WILL have issues without proof that the child is your and that you have custody or permission.

[bingomamma19]

I have taken multiple cruises with my kids while my husband stayed home. I have never been asked for anything other than a passport for them.

 

 

Exactly, just got back from my 11th cruise with my 11 yrd old dd....I never, ever had a letter from her father, and never been asked for one. We also have different last names.

 

I do bring both of our birth certificates as a back up to show I am her mom, but again, nobody ever even asks anything.

[waterbug123]

 

Upon our arrival at Heathrow I was asked all sorts of questions about my life when my son and I arrived separately from husband. Including "if you don't work how did you get the money to pay for this trip?"

 

 

Oh the answers I would be tempted to respond with.... :'):'):')

[lbjen]

Even if cruise lines are not checking whether you are supposed to be taking a child out of the country, international airlines, especially at overseas airports, might be. The chances of you being asked if you have permission probably are small, but if you dont bother getting the letter and end up missing your return flight because of it, you’ll wish you had spent that little bit of time and money to do it, trust me.

[kdnurs]

I appreciate all the advice.. As I have stated earlier, this is a first for us and is starting to be a bit overwhelming. His mother will be traveling too but the grandparents have physical custody. We just want everything to be smooth. There is no father involved PERIOD and want to make sure there are no issues. There are court custody papers and will make sure to pass on that they should be brought along as well as the birth certificate. [emoji1303]

 

 

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[shellunderwater]

It's your vacation. If you want to ensure things go relatively smooth, follow instructions, get the documents, even if they don't ask for them.

 

Better safe than sorry, standing at the dock watching your ship sail away...

 

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[kdnurs]

It's your vacation. If you want to ensure things go relatively smooth, follow instructions, get the documents, even if they don't ask for them.

 

Better safe than sorry, standing at the dock watching your ship sail away...

 

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Thank you

 

 

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[mollyeilis]

Oh the answers I would be tempted to respond with.... :'):'):')

 

Yep.

 

That was a rough moment lol.

 

 

 

I appreciate all the advice.. As I have stated earlier, this is a first for us and is starting to be a bit overwhelming. His mother will be traveling too but the grandparents have physical custody. We just want everything to be smooth. There is no father involved PERIOD and want to make sure there are no issues. There are court custody papers and will make sure to pass on that they should be brought along as well as the birth certificate. [emoji1303]

 

 

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Just show them the state dept page I linked to. That'll pave the way for the passport. Then for the cruise bring the passport and the custody papers. Since the grands have custody, the bc doesn't show anything relevant. And might confuse matters. Custody paperwork is king, should it be needed.

 

And please tell them that the agents at the European airport they are flying into are just doing their jobs. Don't overreact to any questions. And don't give yourselves a mere two hours to land, get through customs, and get to the other part of the airport for a connecting intl flight at Heathrow. If that's relevant to your flight plans. :)

[JuliaMS]

It's your vacation. If you want to ensure things go relatively smooth, follow instructions, get the documents, even if they don't ask for them.

 

Better safe than sorry, standing at the dock watching your ship sail away...

 

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Exactly, if they say you need them bring them. If they ask for them there won't be an exception.

 

One of the shows about cruise ships, maybe Mega Ships, showed someone almost being denied boarding. Luckily they checked in early and had time to contact the missing parent and get a form notarized and faxed.

 

If there is no father listed on the birth certificate then you will be fine with just the mother. Otherwise you will need the documents for him releasing all parental right or the custody agreement. The passport office will know what is needed.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html

[kdnurs]

Thank you so much..... only Mom is on birth record and she is going. The grandparents have physical custody and are going... I will send them the link provided and right now I am breathing easier [emoji4] trying to make sure 20 people have everything together is taxing... I am do grateful to cruise critic members for all the help ❤️[emoji1362]

 

 

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[land lover]

Now I am making an assumption that your family has not traveled abroad. I want to make you aware of something.

 

The customs/immigration/security people at international airports are serious. They might ask you what feel like ride questions. Deal with it. They will ask you the questions in from of the child. And you have to deal with it.

 

Upon our arrival at Heathrow I was asked all sorts of questions about my life when my son and I arrived separately from husband. Including "if you don't work how did you get the money to pay for this trip?"

 

My lovely child had allowed me 20 minutes of sleep from Seattle to Vancouver to London and it was about 2am my body's time, and I nearly snapped ("by selling myself" was on the tip of my snarky tongue), but I really did not want to be arrested, so I said "my husband works".

 

Be prepared for that. And it has nothing to do with being the grandparents, though you might as well take that custody documentation on the trip. Just in case.

 

 

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Did this happen recently? 10-15 years ago. It took my young sons to Europe in 2001, 2003 and 2006, land trips. At that time there was a big wave of people or parents for lack of a better word smuggling children out of the States. I had the appropriate documentation from their father and it did not matter my children, not me, were the ones that were questioned. If the children can not answer questions for themselves then documentation at that time was definitely needed. But after 911 things have changed, and far more checking is done prior to trips with most of us providing our passport information to the airlines and cruise line before travel, so computers do a lot of the foot work.

 

OP have a wonderful time......looks like you are on top of it.....hoping the 20 will stay well and make sure everyone has travel insurance.

Especially the Grandparents, Mom with the child, because with an 8 year old in sports or even riding their bike things happen.....

Edited October 11, 2017 by land lover

[SRF]

And please tell them that the agents at the European airport they are flying into are just doing their jobs. Don't overreact to any questions. And don't give yourselves a mere two hours to land, get through customs, and get to the other part of the airport for a connecting intl flight at Heathrow. If that's relevant to your flight plans. :)

 

And even if you have 5 hours to connect smart a** comments to the agents may mean you still miss your connection.

 

They do NOT have a sense of humor.

[martincath]

Thank you so much..... only Mom is on birth record and she is going. The grandparents have physical custody and are going... I will send them the link provided and right now I am breathing easier [emoji4] trying to make sure 20 people have everything together is taxing... I am do grateful to cruise critic members for all the help ❤️[emoji1362]

The specifics of your situation are new to me (grandparents = official custody, but single parent mom is still involved with child and all traveling together if I've parsed all your posts correctly?) but the info above, especially links to relevant governmental pages, seem like solid advice. If you've sent all the info to the custodians, you've done your job as organizer and should now relax! Passport, custodial docs etc are on THEM - you've given them the info required, if they fail to get their ducks in a row it is nothing to do with you any more.

 

 

As to the 'never been asked for X' posters - I don't doubt you, but this is just like saying you have never had a ticket for speeding even though you've done it many times. Basically irrelevant, the law is the law, and just because you got lucky is no cause to offer advice to others not to bother with acquiring the legally-required, cruiseline-required, airline-required etc. documentation. Will you pay the lost $ for a vacation that can't be taken if someone who follows your advice ends up told they can't board the plane or ship?

 

 

I have two friends who have been stopped at the border for not having the right documents when traveling with their kids - the first a Canadian divorcee who was forbidden entry to the US until she returned with a letter from her ex (minor inconvenience as it was land border only 90mins from home, no problem when she returned later with the letter) but the second almost had her entire immigration experience screwed over. She is now a US-based widow who always carries a notarised copy of her husband's death certificate when traveling with her daughter after being forbidden to LEAVE the US with her right after burying her husband!

 

 

Kid's birth cert, passports, US PR application for her, citizenship papers for the kid, even a copy of the death cert (grandparents had the original as they were dealing with insurance claims) and a temp visa specifically granted on compassionate grounds so she could return her dying hubby to the US while she was in mid-application for PR status - none of it mattered to them without the original or a notarized copy of the death cert as sufficient proof she was allowed to take her kid out of the US, which meant she missed her flight... if she had left it until the last day of her visa and this happened she would have jeopardised her PR application, but fortunately(!?) her hubby died just soon enough she was able to get everything done that she needed to with a day to spare before she had to leave. Even though they're now both living in the US, and have for ~6 years, she is asked every time she leaves (at least once a year for holidays with the other UK-based grandparents) for proof of her sole custody.

 

I'd rather carry docs a hundred times and not be asked for them, than chance it once without them personally...

[kdnurs]

Yes, the grandparents have physical custody and mom has liberal visitation. Her job requires extensive travel and the child has special needs. She is very involved when she is not traveling and the child has stability living with his grandparents which is very necessary to his disability. This was done and agreed upon with love ❤️ and the child in mind. They have cruised together for years but this is the first time out of the United States and new to everyone. Thank you again for all the help. Things are looking much better. [emoji1303]

 

 

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[MrsPete]

You've received good information here. Passports are not always necessary for cruising, but in your case -- because of the international flight -- they are a necessity. Specific thoughts:

 

- Don't wait 'til the last minute to file for the passport. Sometimes the offices are unbelievably busy, and you may be turned away /told to come back next week. Rude but true.

- As others have said, with your situation being a bit unusual /complicated, bring all the paperwork that might be necessary. Yours isn't a typical situation, and you don't want trouble.

- Since you're brand new to this, I'll throw out this detail: You must bring your photographs with you. It's not like the DMV: they don't snap photographs for you. If you don't want to take the pictures yourself, you can go to Walgreens (possibly other drug stores as well) ahead of time. They'll cost you $6-10/person.

[mollyeilis]

And even if you have 5 hours to connect smart a** comments to the agents may mean you still miss your connection.

 

 

 

They do NOT have a sense of humor.

 

 

 

Of course not. The 2 hour traverse-the-airport time was simply yet another stress. Yet another thing for the then 10 year old to freak out about and send me closer to utterly losing it (Seattle to Vancouver to Heathrow to Dublin...20 minutes of sleep because of him). The airplane didnt have food for us so the bagels and timbits we luckily bought during the yvr layover were fortunate. My Rick Steves carryon didn't freakin' fit the Air Canada bins the right way. The FAs handed out the exact opposite immigration forms to everyone on the plane meaning we all had to take time to fill out new forms (as my kid was filpping out). We ended up behind a HUGE line before the "how did you afford the trip" agent. I mean huge. Giant.

 

2 hours for Heathrow just isn't enough time to do things calmly and peacefully. Even if you don't have the unfortunate series of events we had had. :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

,

 

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Sorry, posted in error.

[kdnurs]

You've received good information here. Passports are not always necessary for cruising, but in your case -- because of the international flight -- they are a necessity. Specific thoughts:

 

- Don't wait 'til the last minute to file for the passport. Sometimes the offices are unbelievably busy, and you may be turned away /told to come back next week. Rude but true.

- As others have said, with your situation being a bit unusual /complicated, bring all the paperwork that might be necessary. Yours isn't a typical situation, and you don't want trouble.

- Since you're brand new to this, I'll throw out this detail: You must bring your photographs with you. It's not like the DMV: they don't snap photographs for you. If you don't want to take the pictures yourself, you can go to Walgreens (possibly other drug stores as well) ahead of time. They'll cost you $6-10/person.

 

 

 

Thank you [emoji177]

 

 

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[SRF]

Of course not. The 2 hour traverse-the-airport time was simply yet another stress. Yet another thing for the then 10 year old to freak out about and send me closer to utterly losing it (Seattle to Vancouver to Heathrow to Dublin...20 minutes of sleep because of him). The airplane didnt have food for us so the bagels and timbits we luckily bought during the yvr layover were fortunate. My Rick Steves carryon didn't freakin' fit the Air Canada bins the right way. The FAs handed out the exact opposite immigration forms to everyone on the plane meaning we all had to take time to fill out new forms (as my kid was filpping out). We ended up behind a HUGE line before the "how did you afford the trip" agent. I mean huge. Giant.

 

2 hours for Heathrow just isn't enough time to do things calmly and peacefully. Even if you don't have the unfortunate series of events we had had. :)

 

I travel internationally a LOT (million miler on two different airlines, and visited 138 countries, 140 in Dec), but without the kid.

 

And I can sympathize. The number of stories of idiots in power, stupid airlines, lack of information, idiotic questions, and all the other things that go with travel.

 

But, believe it or not, one time I arrived in London, got through immigration, got my bags, caught the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, taxi to my hotel (Marble Arch), checked in, and into my room in 45 minutes from stepping off the plane.

 

Sometimes things go right.

[kdnurs]

I travel internationally a LOT (million miler on two different airlines, and visited 138 countries, 140 in Dec), but without the kid.

 

 

 

And I can sympathize. The number of stories of idiots in power, stupid airlines, lack of information, idiotic questions, and all the other things that go with travel.

 

 

 

But, believe it or not, one time I arrived in London, got through immigration, got my bags, caught the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, taxi to my hotel (Marble Arch), checked in, and into my room in 45 minutes from stepping off the plane.

 

 

 

Sometimes things go right.

 

 

 

Awwwww you made my day .... thanks [emoji1374][emoji4]

 

 

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[land lover]

I travel internationally a LOT (million miler on two different airlines, and visited 138 countries, 140 in Dec), but without the kid.

 

And I can sympathize. The number of stories of idiots in power, stupid airlines, lack of information, idiotic questions, and all the other things that go with travel.

 

But, believe it or not, one time I arrived in London, got through immigration, got my bags, caught the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, taxi to my hotel (Marble Arch), checked in, and into my room in 45 minutes from stepping off the plane.

 

Sometimes things go right.

 

Having a child that lived in Covent Garden......I became a regular on the LAX to LHR run......I am totally impressed!

[SRF]

It WAS only one time. :)