Traveling internationally can be a great experience for a child, but many parents forget that when children travel, they are going to need a passport. Unfortunately, this realization will often come when it is late in the day and an expedited children passport is the only way to make the trip happen. It is always best to know all the passport laws to make sure there are no issues when planning a trip abroad with a child.
Getting familiar with the process and the law is always a good way to start getting an express passport. Knowing what is needed and where to go is half the battle. The first thing to know is that every child must have a passport if they are going to be traveling internationally. There are no exceptions and just about all laws that apply to adults also apply to them.
While there is one set of rules as they pertain to adults and there are specialty laws that pertain to children. One of the concerns of authorities is that a parent will unknowingly flee the country with a child. This is why both parents must sign a consent in order for the child to be able to get their passport. Doing this gives a little more reassurance that both parents know about the travel, even if the child is only traveling with one parent.
This law adds an extra step in the passport application process for a child, which in turn adds an extra step in obtaining an expedited child passport. Most child passports are new passport applications, and new applications are inherently more time consuming than renewal applications.
Everyone has to have their photo taken for a passport before they apply, and a child is no different. To speed things up, it may be best to go to an establishment that takes the passport photos right on the spot and returns them right away. There are plenty of one-hour photo shops in malls that do this express passport service and the photos can be returned before the applicant finishes their shopping.
The dual-parent consent form must also be signed prior to filling out the application. This can be difficult if both parents are not in the same area. This is often the most difficult aspect of obtaining an expedited child passport. However, if both parents are able to sign the consent form, then the child’s passport application becomes very much the same as an adult passport application.
A normal passport will take about 6-8 weeks to get back. If the time frame that is left in inside of that window, the parents are going to get stuck paying a fee of $60 to have the passport back within three weeks. There are other services that can be provided at a higher cost if that time frame is still not quick enough.
It is always best to plan well ahead of time when dealing with international travel. Expediting a passport can be a hassle, especially with a child. Luckily, an expedited child us passport only requires one extra step and there are express pasport services out there to help. If both parents are able to sign the consent form, it is usually not that unreasonable to get the passport in time. Still, it would be much easier in the long run to stay prepared and keep everyone’s passports up to date.
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