Children and Entry

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Toddy

New member
Jan 10, 2002
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Greetings:
My sister is 14 and I am taking her to the Dominican Republic in 2 months for a vacation. We are both from the US. She does not possess a passport but I do. I have read elsewhere that her birth certificate and a government-issued photo ID will be sufficient for her to enter the DR. The problem is that I do not know how to obtain a "government issued photo ID" for her, other than a passport. Were she over 16, she'd have a driver's license, but this isn't possible at her age. She does have a school id containing her picture, but this is just a flimsy piece of laminated cardboard and looks rather unofficial. What shall I do? I probably don't have time to get a passport for her, unless I get very expensive expedited service. Will the school ID and birth certificate be adequate? Is there any other form of ID that someone could recommend?
Thanks.
BTW, this forum is awesome, and I'll be posting many questions in the coming months and my photos when I return.
Toddy
 
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doug

Member
Jan 1, 2002
266
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Travel Document

Get your lawyer to notorized a picture of her and make sure it is stamped and that should be sufficient....I lost all my ID when I was about 17 and I used this method to gain entry into the DR, I'm from Canada and the entrie requirements were the same as they are now.....mind you this was over 20 yrs ago! I took a passport photo and had my lawyer attest to the fact that this was indeed me, along with my birthcertificate! Sounds kinda loose, I know....but it worked for me....also ask your travel agent!
 
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doug

Member
Jan 1, 2002
266
2
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Toddy

I don't know about whereever you are, but here in Canada, you can get a passport in 3 to 10 days. If you are in Canada e-mail me an I will tell you how I went about it one time and got mine in 3 days.....at no extra cost!
 
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Jodi

New member
Jan 2, 2002
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Hi Toddy....you should check with the Dominican Consulate or Tourist Office wherever you are, but I'm pretty sure that any children under the age of 16 who are not travelling with both parents need notarized written permission from both parents. I recall that when my sister took her baby to the DR, she had to take along a letter signed by her husband.
 
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Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Get a passport

You have more than enough time to get your sister a US Passport! Get it done and you don,t have to worry about it .Everyone should have a "Valid Passport" I once got a trip to Europe,because I was the only one in the office with a valid passport,and I had to leave the next morning!If you can,t "afford" a passport,you should stay home! Criss Colon
 
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El Jefe

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
534
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If you're in the States, most states have a state issued ID card for folks who don't drive but need some official ID. Check with your motor vehicle department.
 
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Toddy

New member
Jan 10, 2002
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Thanks everyone for the tips. Cris, please read a little more carefully. I never said I couldn't "afford" a passport. Of course I can afford a passport! If I couldn't, why the heck would I be using my money on traveling and not something else like buying food? What I said was that I wanted to avoid the expense of expedited passport service, which makes a passport cost about 2x as much in the states. Especially if a passport is unnecessary for her to enter, getting expedited service seems like throwing money down the drain.

Todd
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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toddy: Don't sweat Criss, he has an image to maintain.

You do have the time to get a passport. It should not take more than a couple of weeks if you have your birth certificate and photos.
and once you have one, it is absolute proof of who you are. Good thing for a kid to have..

Hb
 
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Marc

New member
Jan 1, 2002
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www.haugen.ca
Hi toddy!

Please be sure to take heed to Jody's and HB's posts about the letter from the parents. Search the 2001 archives for it, there was some recent discussion about this very topic.

I would hate for you to show with the shiny new passport and get turned away because she is a minor with no parents going along...

have fun
marc
 
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Toddy

New member
Jan 10, 2002
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no problem

Thanks again for the advice. From the information I could gather, the letter is only required if the child is 13 or younger. I got this information directly from the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs site. My sister is 14 so we should have no problem.
 
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Sassy

New member
Jan 1, 2002
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Am I understanding this correctly?

Hi Toddy,

I am a single parent traveling to the DR in March with my 17 year old daughter.......the way you stated your last reply it appears as though because she is traveling with one parent, then I will NOT need a notarized letter from her father in order for her to travel cuz she is over 13? I have tried to research this, but fail to understand the requirements exactly.....DO I need a letter from her father cuz she is over 13 and traveling with one legal parent? Thanks for your help!
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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the problems have not been with older children

A lot of the red tape was set up to avoid child custody fights or kidnapping of infants.
My young granchild travels quite often with friends, his mom or some other family member and has not had a problem. My seconds oldest has gone to NYC and back a couple of times with his mom and had no problems.
At 17, I am as positive as one can be that you will not experience any problems.

HB
 
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