Papers Please!

Travelling is hard enough. It's even harder when you add in children. Did you pack any underwear? Do the kids have their swimsuits and their toothbrushes? Take the cat out of your suitcase for umpteenth time. Find something for a spouse or a child because they can't "find" it on their own. Where did we put the tickets (if paper)? Do we have all the electronics chargers? When do we leave for the airport to get there, park, check in, and get to the gate? Did everyone go to the bathroom? Where's that cat? I can't wait to dip my toes into that sand. First vacation since we had kids.

All of that is going on leading up to a trip. This mad whirlwind is relatively typical and hasn't changed in a while. Well, one thing did change: Security and paperwork. Especially if you have not travelled in a while. It would be devastating if you are travelling outside of the US and do not have the proper paperwork with you. I have taken a lot of information from the US Government websites and cooked it down to plain English so you can have a guide to ensure you have all the right papers for your trip.

DOMESTIC TRAVEL

If you are flying within the United States, even to Alaska and Hawaii, you need to have government issued photo ID, like a driver's license, to comply with regulations. You should have heard of REAL ID by now. It's been around for a while now. Some states, like my state of Pennsylvania, are under a waiver until May 7, 2025. After that date, if you do not have a REAL ID, passport card (we'll talk about that in a bit), or passport book, you will NOT be permitted on an airplane or even enter through security. You will be turned around at that point.

For children under 18 travelling domestically, no ID is needed, but if they have one, bring it. No need to bring birth certificates or other sensitive documents for young ones.

There may also be a need for a notarized letter for child travel, but I discuss that under international travel because it is most pertinent there.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

This is where things get tricky as there are quite a few documents that you may need depending on your circumstances. I will outline each document in general along with links for further reading. By no means is this a comprehensive list for every circumstance. Follow the links to the government webpages that have the definitive answers to your situation. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE TO GET ANY OF THESE DOCUMENTS! They can take months to process even with a provable emergency.

Passports - These are by far the most recognized form of documentation for international travel. That little book that you can apply for at the local post office that gets stamped when you enter a country. It has the name of the issuing country embossed on the front and full of special secure paper inside with your picture printed right to one of the pages with all your information right there. Before you get a passport, you get screened by Homeland Security to make sure you aren't an axe murderer or don't owe the IRS a zillion dollars. This document is needed by EVERY INDIVIDUAL flying outside of the United States, including children and infants.

Passport cards - These are cards that look like a driver's license or REAL ID. These are good for domestic air travel, land crossing into Canada or Mexico, and sea crossings to the Caribbean countries and Bermuda. They can NOT be used to fly to any of these countries. A passport card is good if you are only going to travel within the US, driving across the border, or going on a cruise.

For more information on passport books or cards, visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html

Visas - Some countries require a visa in order to enter the country. There are many types of visas and many requirements that need to be met. Go to https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go.html and follow each link on this page to make sure you have everything squared away before booking your trip.

Notarized Letter for Child Travel - This is very necessary if children are not travelling with both of their parents. The children could be travelling with one parent, grandparents, another relative, or on a chaperoned trip with a wholly unrelated adult.

There is no legal document, per se, although there are quite a few fill-in-the-blank templates available on the internet. If your child is travelling in these circumstances, you need to either write the letter yourself or use these templates giving that adult permission to take your child travelling and give them permission to seek medical attention as needed at the destination. Here is a link to a template for both domestic and international travel (I do not receive any endorsement from this site. It is but one example.)

https://www.lawdistrict.com/child-travel-consent/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwupGyBhBBEiwA0UcqaFaMXCYcKA3Ju3YaJr5vk3JFpkt9x70HLtrZ4BZmugAlZUN-yhyoihoCOEYQAvD_BwE

When in doubt, speak to your travel agent while booking travel. They will direct you to the appropriate outlets in the government or help you get a template for you to complete.

Yes, in this digital world, there is still quite a bit of paperwork that is required to travel. Like I stated at the beginning, this is not a comprehensive list. If you have any questions about any of this, please ask your friendly neighborhood travel agent while booking or visit the government sites provided above.

Until we meet again...