Documents for minors

[ubarpants]

I'm working on planning a family cruise to Alaska and have some questions about travel documents.  What's the best resource to talk to a human who has correct and binding answers for this?  I know the cruise line customer service staff is pretty famous for uninformed answers that no one upholds.

 

If it helps, the question is whether we could cruise from Vancouver with an under-16 minor US citizen who probably won't be able to get a passport. The State Department's website indicates that kids under 16 can enter Canada with proof of citizenship only--presumably a birth certificate in his case.  We live in driving distance so no air travel is involved.  I've cruised from Vancouver before but I have a passport and I don't remember the details of the paperwork checks. I have the same question around the White Pass rail trip too.

 

Otherwise, we'll settle on cruising from Seattle but the itineraries are somehow so much worse.

[1025cruise]

Stick to Seattle.

[n4w]

Do kids need a passport to go to Canada?
There are different ways to get to Canada, and your travel mode will affect your travel documents. Consider your options as follows:

1)  Air
All passengers traveling in and out of Canada by air must have valid passport books. This rule applies to children as well. You cannot use passport cards or other travel documents to travel internationally by air.

2)  Sea
You can travel to Canada by sea in two ways:

Closed-Loop Cruises: These start and end at U.S. ports. Thus, most cruise lines allow children to board the ships with their birth/ citizenship/ naturalization certificates alone. However, some may require children to have valid passport books.
Standard Cruises: These start or end at a non-U.S. port and require all passengers, including children, to have valid passport books.
3)  Road
Kids traveling in and out of Canada by road don’t need passport books. Instead, they can use their birth/ naturalization/ citizenship certificates.

 

I'm in the process of getting an urgent service passport for my 14yo so we can fly to Vancouver for a one-way to Seward.

Edited June 12, 2023 by n4w

[martincath]

You're not going to get a 'binding answer' from anyone at the cruise line, end of story - their contracts make it absolutely clear, although of course in the small print(!), that YOU are responsible for all matters around complying with Immigration policies of all countries visited so don't waste your time waiting hours on hold for varying degrees of incompetent answers or emails which just quote their rules and policies...

 

Drive/bus/train across the Canadian border, or enter by sea, and you are correct - Minors <16 only need a birth cert. No plane will take them for several years now - friends learned that the hard way when the rules changed and their 'take new baby to see granny' trip got derailed expensively at the airport! - but land and sea borders you're still good per WHTI rules.

 

If the 'no passport' issue is because you're hoping for a cheap 'last minute' cruise THIS season rather than an issue with parental approval - ignore the next paragraph 😉

 

Each cruiseline has their own preferred format docs for minors being brought by folks other than their parents/guardians, in case that's a factor, covering permission to take the kids abroad and to make medical decisions for them if needed. If the reason for the kid not being able to get a passport is one spouse won't sign off on it, then this trip will likely be a non-starter anyway unless the other spouse is awarded full custody in the interim... someone who objects to a passport for their kid doesn't seem likely to allow them to leave the country without them either!

[GTJ]

To the very good response by martincath, I would add only a few notes.

 

No one will provide a binding answer, not even immigration officials. There are varying degrees of discretion and inconsistency, as well as individual traveler variables, such that no administrative will give definitive answers. Sometimes immigration officials do not even adhere to the law: no person is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. You will likely get good advice from immigration officials, but what one person tell you may not be adhered to by someone else. The immigration official at the border might harbor discriminatory intent, or might simply not like a person's attitude, or simply deny admission for completely arbitrary or baseless reason. I recall a friend of mine being denied entry to Canada and removed back to the United States, simply and solely because he asked the immigration to stamp his passport. As a result of no one taking responsibility, the burden is completely on the traveler.

 

Adding to these difficulties is that carriers themselves screen passengers for documents when accepting them on international journeys. Sometime carriers are legally obligated to do so, and in other cases the carriers choose to do so in order to minimize their liability exposure in having to return passengers not admissible to one or more of the countries to which the carrier would be providing transportation. In screening passengers, some carriers make mistakes. Carriers will refuse to transport certain passengers, even if those passengers would be admissible, because the carrier mistakenly believes that such passengers would not be admitted by immigration officials.

 

It is never completely certain that one will be admissible. Best is to do as much as possible to be admissible. If at all possible, have a passport and don't rely on non-passport bases for admission. Be certain that the passport is valid for at least 6 months (preferably one year) beyond the date of anticipated exit from the country to be visited. Don't have any entry stamps for Israel or other controversial countries in your passport. Get a visa, even if one might not technically be required. At the border, answer questions succinctly without long explanations or elaboration. Don't volunteer information or make light of anthing. Keep possessions out of sight in closed and opaque containers. Do not be under the influence of anything. Avoid giving any basis for being refused admission.