Child Passports – A Must For A Family Vacation
Family trips are a lot more than just making memories together although that is certainly one of the best parts. It is a great educational opportunity because, after all, the most important teachers in a child’s life are their parents. Traveling as a family opens the world and its people to your children but it is important to remember that even children need to have a passport to travel to an international destination. Child passports like adult passports are easy to purchase online.
The internet has revolutionized the passport process. There is no longer the need to wait in long lines at a court house or post office. Passport websites are as convenient as your own home computer. Passport applications can be downloaded and filled out in the privacy of your home and the time period necessary for delivery has been substantially improved. You can even acquire expedited passport services which will deliver your passport within 24 hours.
A child passport is issued for children under the age of 18. While an adult passport is good for 10 years, a child’s passport must be renewed every 5 years. The growing process a child experiences causes sever changes in how a child looks which make it necessary to update their passport more often. Even a baby must have a passport so if you purchased one when your child was very young, you may need a passport renewal for your child’s passport. If your child is 16 or older, their child’s passport can’t be renewed. An adult passport will have to be applied for unless applying for their very first passport.
The United States passport requirements for children have been increased in recent years. This has become necessary due to an increased number of kidnapping and child trafficking episodes. It is required that both parents or legal guardians must give permission for a child to get a passport. This is to avoid the child being taken out of the country without the knowledge or permission of one of the parents or guardians. Parents will have to present an original birth certificate, proof of citizenship and passport pictures for the child. Additionally, they will have to produce proof of their own identity and proof of their relationship to the child.
When your child’s passport arrives, it will require a signature. If you child is old enough, have them sign on the signature line. If they are too young to write, the parent must print the child’s name, sign their own name and, in parentheses, indicate “Mother” or “Father”.