Can a minor travel with just a birth certificate?

[1injera]

I'll be cruising this summer for the first time in over a decade and my 6 year old son will be joining me.  I have a valid passport.  He does not.  

 

The Carnival agent said he can just travel with his birth certificate and nothing else.   I've googled and found some 7-8 year old articles that confirm this but nothing more recent.  I have enough time to get the passport but if i can save $150 and just use his birth certificate but of course I dont want to find out at the port that I have the wrong info.

 

Has anyone had their minor children travel with just a birth certificate in the last year or so?   We will be cruising out of and into Baltimore on a cruise that goes to the Bahamas and Turks if that makes a difference.  

 

Thank you

[1injera]

I will be taking my 6 year old son on a cruise this summer.  My wife/his mother will not be joining us.

 

I've heard that officials can be wary about one parent taking their child out of the country due to fears of child abduction.   Not sure if/how this would apply to a cruise but i'd rather be safe than sorry.  Do I need any paperwork/permission from my wife that consents to me taking him out of the country??  We are leaving from Baltimore and going to the Bahamas and Turks if that matters.

 

I am on the birth certificate.

 

Thanks.

[sparks1093]

Yes, a birth certificate remains sufficient for those under 16.

[sparks1093]

If you look at the Carnival website I believe there is a form that needs to be filled out and notarized. If not a notarized letter from the absent parent should work. This is one of those "better safe then sorry" things.

[1025cruise]

While a birth certificate is fine in this circumstance, if there were an emergency and you needed to fly home from the islands, a passport would be required.

[sparks1093]

25 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

While a birth certificate is fine in this circumstance, if there were an emergency and you needed to fly home from the islands, a passport would be required.

Maybe, maybe not. There are provisions in the regulations providing the authority to waive the passport requirement for an emergency or for humanitarian reasons. A lot would depend on the individual circumstances.

[zqvol]

Answering the OP's original question, without going into all of the couldof, mightof, maybes, etc., the answer is Yes. The OPs sone can travel on the specified cruise using only a birth certificate issued by a governmental agency, not a hospital.

[zqvol]

1 hour ago, 1injera said:

I will be taking my 6 year old son on a cruise this summer.  My wife/his mother will not be joining us.

 

I've heard that officials can be wary about one parent taking their child out of the country due to fears of child abduction.   Not sure if/how this would apply to a cruise but i'd rather be safe than sorry.  Do I need any paperwork/permission from my wife that consents to me taking him out of the country??  We are leaving from Baltimore and going to the Bahamas and Turks if that matters.

 

I am on the birth certificate.

 

Thanks.

Very simple her, since mom appears to be OP's wife just have her write a letter or find a form online giving her permission to take the child out of the county. Since Op is on Carnival, their website may have an appropriate form. If a letter is used, it is always best to specifiy details of the trip in the body of the document.

[1injera]

Thanks everyone.

 

[martincath]

Ahem - birth cert is fine for these RT cruises, provided that the Minor is a US citizen. While OP lives in New Jersey, nothing about nationality has been mentioned...

 

[martincath]

Agree - it's all about having proof that the non-traveling parent is aware of and approves of the travel. If the cruiseline has a specific form, complete it - if not, a letter clearly stating permission for travel to the visited places at the time the cruise is leaving, with contact info listed for the missus just in case anyone official wants to check she hasn't changed her mind. Since there is one traveling parent there shouldn't be any need to indicate authority given for medical treatment decisions, but no harm in listing that too.

 

[sparks1093]

57 minutes ago, martincath said:

Ahem - birth cert is fine for these RT cruises, provided that the Minor is a US citizen. While OP lives in New Jersey, nothing about nationality has been mentioned...

 

True but it would be incumbent on the OP to provide that information if it were other than US citizen. 

[martincath]

31 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

True but it would be incumbent on the OP to provide that information if it were other than US citizen. 

I agree that all posters SHOULD provide full info whenever asking any questions, otherwise it's a G.I.G.O. situation - but given OP has literally just joined CC to ask these questions about traveling 'solo' with a kid, I figure it's more incumbent on us regular posters to give them the benefit of the doubt and cover all remotely-plausible bases... and someone choosing a username involving an Ethiopian flatbread just strikes me as having a reasonable potential of not being part of an umpteenth-generation US family. Better safe than sorry!

[sparks1093]

5 minutes ago, martincath said:

I agree that all posters SHOULD provide full info whenever asking any questions, otherwise it's a G.I.G.O. situation - but given OP has literally just joined CC to ask these questions about traveling 'solo' with a kid, I figure it's more incumbent on us regular posters to give them the benefit of the doubt and cover all remotely-plausible bases... and someone choosing a username involving an Ethiopian flatbread just strikes me as having a reasonable potential of not being part of an umpteenth-generation US family. Better safe than sorry!

Then shouldn't you have also said that if the child was born abroad but is a US citizen they would need their Naturalization Certificate or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, since nothing indicates that the child is a child born in the US.😉 There are so many different variables that we could add info all day long. (And I had no idea the user name had an Ethiopian origin.)

[martincath]

17 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Then shouldn't you have also said that if the child was born abroad but is a US citizen they would need their Naturalization Certificate or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, since nothing indicates that the child is a child born in the US.😉 There are so many different variables that we could add info all day long. (And I had no idea the user name had an Ethiopian origin.)

Yeah, there are so many possibilities that a truly-comprehensive answer about anything related to immigration controls could be tens of thousands of characters - but the 'only US citizens' element is a fairly common factor which had gone completely unmentioned so far by anyone else (plenty of resident non-citizens in the US these days even if you only count 'legals') and injera is a very specific term that I've only ever heard bandied about by Ethiopian & Eritrean folks or those who really enjoy the food (especially those of us who complain they shouldn't call it that unless it's from authentic Teff rather than regular wheat flour) so, while maybe OPs name just stands for '1 guy who lives In Jersey called Andy' I thought the odds of an Ethiopian connection were higher, and even if still low posting could save some MAJOR problems if OPs Travel Agent had likewise just assumed everyone in New Jersey is American citizen 😉

[kitkat343]

If you are traveling on a closed loop cruise and the child is an American citizen and nothing goes wrong, you will be fine with just a birth certificate.  If anything happens and you need to fly home, well, that's potentially a very difficulty problem as this family learned:  https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/nicole-roman-mejias-florida-cruise-ship-passport/67-5bbe7d14-829e-4b84-8208-90053161bd20  .

 

However, there was nothing preventing them from getting off the ship, getting their child medical attention and then applying for emergency passports so they could fly home.

Edited February 21, 2020 by kitkat343

[cb at sea]

Under 16 does NOT need a photo ID...so the BC will be fine.