Sometimes There Is No Other Option But To Get An Expedited Child Passport
By Advisor. Filed in Florida |
Traveling internationally can be a great experience for a child, but many parents forget that when children travel, they’re going to need a passport. Unfortunately, this realization will often come when it is late in the day and an expedited kids 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.
As with any type of passport, it is important to become familiar with U.S. passport law before acquiring a child passport. First of all, passports are required for any non-government international travel by U.S. citizens. This includes all citizens, even children and infants.
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 tiny more reassurance that both parents know about the travel, even if the child is only traveling with one parent.
This means that when a passport for a child is in the process of being obtained, there is actually an extra step that is required in the process. This is important to know because the process is already a bit time consuming. Adding this extra obstacle means that more time should be allotted for the overall process.
The child must have his or her pic taken prior to applying in person at an application center. One-hour photo stores in pharmacies or supermarkets are often then best and least costly places to obtain passport photos. When pressed for time, these one-hour pic stores are by far the best place to get express passport photos because they can crop the photos to the requisite specifications immediately on site.
Before the application can be submitted, the dual consent form has to be properly filled out and signed by both parents. If the parents are divorced or living in separate cities, this can sometimes cause a problem, especially if expedited service is needed. This is actually the cause at times for the expedited service as it takes both parents so long to get the forms signed.
The normal process of a passport is around two months. If the trip is going to happen inside of that time frame, it is ideal to pay the $60 to get the expedited service that’ll have the passport back in about three weeks. If that is still not swift enough, there are other services that are more high-priced that’ll create an even quicker turnaround time.
When traveling abroad, it is best to have all the ducks in a row so that there are no issues at the last second. However, it is perfectly understandable to see how a child’s passport could slip the mind of the parents that they would need to get an expedited child us passport. When this happens, know that there are many measures in place to make the express passport process as simple as it can be with the added pressure of a short turnaround time.
