Traveling with Young Children

It is a lottery!

If both parents are travelling with him then there is no problem at all. But if it is only one parent, then thre maybe a problem. If the child is able to communicate I doubt the authority will give you a hard time. US passport is the best way to go. No need for Birth Certificate as the passport says that he was born there. Coming back he should not have a problem.

If child is travelling with someone other than his parents, you might as well pay the airline to escort him and avoid the hassle of having to get additional documents.


I only had a problem with my 11 months old son due to his inability to communicate and that I didn't have a passport for him. I had a birth certificate. IOn top of that, the incoming agent did not registered his entry. I was lucky to convince the agent to let me go, otherwise I would had had to get a notarized letter from the mother, my wife, saying it was okay for him to travel with me. But rarely this works the other way. Mothers travel with a child, alone all the times without getting a second look.

Again, rules changes all the time in DR that it's hard to keep up. So check with Dominican immigration.

i can not comment on the kid traveling with his US passport,
just wanted to add that for you as a resident your mentioned cedula does not count at immigrations, you need to present your residency.
the cedula is only for the use inside the country, crossing borders the needed document is the renewed residency.
Mike

Under the strict interpretation of the rules, a child under the age of 13 must have a signed, notarized original copy of a letter authorizing the travel. The letter must be written by one parent for the other parent. If there is no other parent, an affidavit of single parenthood must be provided.

Since this child is 14, there are no restrictions I know of providing you have the necessary documents you've noted.

Is this child a dual citizen living in the DR and his mother living in the DR? I believe under Dominican law the notarized letter applies to anyone under 18. In actual experience in traveling in an out of the DR with 8, 19, AND 12 year olds we have never been asked for anything other than Passports.

Castellamonte said:

Under the strict interpretation of the rules, a child under the age of 13 must have a signed, notarized original copy of a letter authorizing the travel. The letter must be written by one parent for the other parent. If there is no other parent, an affidavit of single parenthood must be provided.

Since this child is 14, there are no restrictions I know of providing you have the necessary documents you've noted.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately the immigration staff in the DR think the cuttoff age is 18.

My daughter has had problems with immigration 3 (out of about a dozen) times. Once traveling with me, another time with her mother, and a third time by herself. Each time she was over 12. The last time, she was 16.

Since you are the mother traveling with a minor the odds are that you will not be bothered in any way with requests for paperwork. That being said it is better to be prepared and to have the paperwork done correctly, especially if the child(ren) is of an age that is unable to speak/communicate clearly.

Our son was also born in the DR to a US mother and at that time it was my understanding of the law that he needed his Dominican passport in order to leave the country since he is also considered a Dominican citizen. (this was quite a while ago however) Another one of those never enforced laws but it did come in handy when we were returning to the DR. He always flew out on his US passport and returned using his DR passport. It is not that expensive or difficult to get a Dominican passport assuming his birth was properly registered with the Dominican officials. I would recommend you get his DR passport.

Consider

Maybe the Consulate or the Embassy would actually like to see your documents, thus verifying your identity and requirements?
Also, child abduction by one parent or the other is not an uncommon problem worldwide, so strict procedures for traveling with minors are for the protection of all parties involved,
would be my guess.
Have you looked through travel.state.gov ?
If you browse the site it likely can answer the FAQ's and then some.

donluis99 said:

IN the end, what right does Dominican Immigration have to regulate the exit of TWO AMERICAN CITIZENS.

Click to expand...

The right of any sovereign nation to regulate entry to and exit from its territory.

The relevant provisions are Articles 204 and 205 of Law #136-03:

Art. 204.- ACOMPA?AMIENTO OBLIGATORIO. Ning?n ni?o, ni?a o adolescente podr? viajar fuera del pa?s si no es en compa??a de su padre, madre o responsable. Cuando viaje con personas que no son su padre, madre o responsable, ser? necesario la presentaci?n de una autorizaci?n debidamente legalizada por un Notario P?blico. En ausencia del padre o de la madre, aquel que tuviere la guarda presentar? una certificaci?n del Tribunal de Ni?os, Ni?as o Adolescentes, donde se haga constar la misma.

P?rrafo.- Si uno de los padres va a salir del pa?s con uno de sus hijos o hijas, no podr? hacerlo sin el consentimiento por escrito del otro.

Art. 205.- COMPETENCIA DE ATRIBUCI?N. Los jueces de Ni?os, Ni?as y Adolescentes, o en su defecto los jueces de primera instancia en atribuciones de ni?os, ni?as y adolescentes, ser?n competentes para otorgar los permisos a los ni?os, ni?as y adolescentes para salir del pa?s cuando haya desacuerdo al respecto entre sus respectivos padres.

As for the definition of what is a child and adolescent, Principle II states:

"DEFINICI?N DE NI?O, NI?A Y ADOLESCENTE. Se considera ni?o o ni?a a toda persona desde su nacimiento hasta los doce a?os, inclusive; y adolescente, a toda persona desde los trece a?os hasta alcanzar la mayor?a de edad."

In a nutshell, a parent leaving the country with a son or daughter under 18 should obtain the consent of his or her spouse.