Baby's First Passport
Gary and I love to travel. Over the years we have bonded through our travel experiences and we fell in love with seeing the world together. Knowing us to be globe trotters, when we became pregnant, the number one thing we heard was, “uh I guess no more traveling for you guys!”
We knew we were not going to shelter our baby from one of our favorite things, travel! It was important to both of us to continue to travel when our baby arrived, so he or she could see the world through different eyes, taste the food from different countries, and respect the varying cultures and customs around the world.
During her almost two years alive she has been all over the world, from Jamaica to Amsterdam- 6 countries and counting.
In order to groom our mini globetrotter, we had to first get Ms. Bell a passport. Yes, even the baby needs one.
So here’s my step by step guide on getting your baby’s first passport.
#1 APPLY
Every living person traveling outside the U.S. needs a passport, including your child. To begin you will need to fill out the application, FORM DS-11. You can either complete the form online or by hand. Keep in mind they will want quite a bit of information about you and your baby, so take your time and write legibly.
#2 PROVE IT
You will need to provide proof of your baby’s citizenship (birth certificate), proof of your relation (baby’s birth certificate) and proof of your identity, that can be your U.S. passport or government issued ID. You will be signing on behalf of your minor child, therefore you must show that you are the parent(s) or legal guardian.
#3 APPOINTMENT
In order to apply for your baby’s passport you can either go to a post office that provides passport services (you will most likely need an appointment for this service) or schedule an appointment with the consulate here.
#4 CONSENT
Both parents must consent to the issuance of a passport to a minor child. In our case we both went and filled out the application together. If you cannot go together you must provide a Notarized Statement of Consent. This seemed like a lot so we just took off midday for the passport appointment.
#5 PAY THE FEE
The cost of the Passport Application Fee currently is $115. This is minimal if you weigh the fact your child travels free, until they are two years old. Once you leave the U.S. you do have to pay minimal fees for taxes on the child’s lap seat. To put it into perspective, think about a roundtrip flight to Paris for $16- MINIMAL!
#6 FLICK,FLICK
Provide a 2x2 passport photo of your child. The background must be white and the picture must show the full face of your child. No other people, no pacifiers, no hair accessories or toys are allowed in the picture. While you can easily take this picture at home, we opted to take Kinsley to Walgreens and it took 3 minutes to take and print the pictures.
#6 SEND IT IN
Once you have all of the above, sign and date your application and make sure you have included their citizenship evidence, photocopy of your ID or passport, your payment, passport pictures and wait.
Due to COVID-19, they are not able to offer the service to track the status of your application. But, if you need baby’s passport in a hurry, refer to those guidelines here.
#7 BOOK THE TRIP
Now that you took care of the necessary documentation, hit book and fly fly away with baby in tow.
Remember they fly free or almost free until two years old :)
It truly is a beautiful gift to give your child the world, literally.
Where have you traveled with your child? How early did you get their passport?
Let’s talk about it.
Love ya, Mean it