Passports needed now?

[Sheffie]

I was just reading on another board that their local Passport Officer said that passports are now needed in GC. I know that the US Passport web site says that cruisers do not need passports in the Carribbean till Dec. 31 of this year. This is contradictory. Does anyone have any more info re. this? I think the person was misinformed. Maybe it was for people FLYING into GC?

[twinkletoes4445]

We were just in GC a week or so ago, and didn't need passports (but we have them) for our stay there. I noticed that while we were waiting for our plane to leave Atlanta, those traveling with BC's had to see the desk person, where we only had to show our passports and board. I don't think you need passports until the end of the year, and I think that is a US requirement, not Cayman Islands.

[nacoochee]

I went to the Gov website and it appears passports are not needed untill Dec 2006.

[drew sailbum]

I think you are referring to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a change implemented by the US government and NOT the governments of the various other countries.

 

In short, the US will be phasing in a requirement that US citizens use passports to re-enter the country. This is not at the behest of the many Caribbean countries which allow US citizens to enter with an official birth certificate and drivers' license.

 

 

Following a lot of discussion regarding the short timeframe to implement Phase One of this initiative, a the plan was changed. See: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html

When will the Travel Initiative be implemented?

In the proposed implementation plan, which is subject to a period of initial public comment, the Initiative will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed timeline will be as follows:

• December 31, 2006 – Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
  
• December 31, 2007 – Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

I thought there was an additional phase to be implemented on December 31, 2005. Is this a change?

In April 2005, the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed plan to be implemented in three phases beginning on December 31, 2005 for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. After further review and considering the delay in publishing the public notice in the Federal Register, DOS and DHS recognized that implementing the December 31, 2005, phase would be problematic for travelers during the upcoming winter tourism season. This change will simplify the implementation and provide a longer lead-time for travelers to come into compliance with the requirements.