Passports

Cozumel Mexico Passport Requirements

WASHINGTON – January 23, 2013, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by AIR between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document.

Birth Certificates

You need your birth certificate to apply for a passport. When you get your birth certificates always get an extra one while your at it.  It’s about $6 each.

The best way to find out how to get a birth certificate is to perform the following search on Google and add your city and state:

VITAL RECORDS BIRTH CERTIFICATE (your CITY, STATE)

Passport Renewal

When you renew your Passport, they actually take your passport and the birth certificates.  Although we got ours

in 4 weeks, always allow 8 weeks to get your Passport and birth certificate back.

Nearest Passport Office – Click Here

Total Cost for adult US Passport valid for 10 years is about $100, includes application fee, pictures and shipping.

Click on the link above to find the nearest location to get your passport office and their phone number.  Call them first and find out if they take pictures.  Some facilities offer picture taking at about the same price as Kinko’s or other special passport service without the hassle.  They can also give you the actual costs.

Ask them about forms of payment before you go. Some offices don’t take cash.  Some take credit cards for the pictures and the shipping portions, and only personal checks or money order for the application portion. 

Take your checkbook anyway.

For details about passport or other citizenship documentation requirements for U.S. citizens, the U.S. State Department’s travel web site

www.travel.state.gov

or call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778  There is Passport Application information at http://www.usps.com/passport

For those Traveling with Children

(this information is from the US Consulate, Merida, Yucatan)

If you are traveling alone with a minor or have a minor traveling alone to visit you, the Mexican government requires that the child has a notarized letter with both parents signatures allowing the child to travel. This applies whether or not the child is traveling with one parent and regardless of what type of passport the child travels under. Though enforcement of by the Mexican government is reportedly uneven, U.S. airlines are also obligated to respect this Mexican requirement for flights into Mexico and leaving Mexico (It is not a U.S. law). There are known incidents of children not being allowed to board planes headed for Mexico and children being put on the next flight back after arrival in Mexico because of lack of proper documentation. Please keep this in mind for all of your international travel. Remember, the document must be signed by both parents in the presence of a certified notary. The permission letter is needed for travel both into and out of Mexico. The permission letter is needed whenever the child is not traveling with both parents.

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