Photo Credit: U.S. State Department
A tightening of the belt for passport requirements went into effect on June 1st, 2009 for U.S. travelers. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) now requires valid passports for land and sea travel with the continued exception for “closed-loop” cruises. These are cruises that originate and terminate at the same U.S. port. This leniency applies only to cruises and many of the cruise lines are strongly recommending to their passengers to travel with a valid passport, one that is valid for at least 6 months beyond completion of travel.
According to the U.S. State Department, travelers by air will be required to present a passport book to enter or re-enter the United States. Sea travelers may also use the passport booklet or the passport card and now the continued option of birth certificate and photo ID.
Qualifying cruise passengers opting to take advantage of this leniency will be required to show proof of citizenship such as a original or certified copy of a birth certificate and a government issued photo ID i.e. driver’s license. Children under the age of 16 will also be required to show a birth certificate as proof of citizenship.
All air travel and cruises that begin and end in different U.S. ports or foreign ports will still require a valid passport or other recognized WHTI compliant document. Lynn Torrent, senior VP of sales and guest services with Carnival Cruise Lines says, “We’d like to take this opportunity to remind all our guests that proof of citizenship is required in order to travel and failure to present a valid document at check in will result in denied boarding and no refund will be issued.”
Future travelers struggling with the dilemma of “do I or don’t I need a passport?” will be better served by visiting the U.S. State Department WHTI requirements Web site. This site offers explanations of terms and requirements as well as tips for living abroad and overseas Citizen’s services. Applications for passport booklets and passport cards are available for printing as well as locations to apply in person and the frequently asked questions section offers a broad spectrum of answers to possible issues.
There has been much confusion surrounding the WHTI and its requirements along with implementation dates and who is affected by the initiative. Cruise travelers have been fortunate to have the effective dates of the requirements pushed back a number of times.
However, when planning for the dreaded “what if” scenario, even travel insurance may not protect a traveler when trying to re-enter the U.S. from a foreign port if they need to return to the U.S. due to an emergency.
Bill Thomas, CEO of Tropical Latitudes Travel, explains “Since the passport card is not valid for air travel, the continued leniency policy for closed-loop cruises does present some concerns for travelers without a valid passport. Should an emergency arise and cruisers need to disembark in a foreign port and fly back to the U.S., they might face delays in admittance back to the U.S..”
The best protection? “Have a valid passport,” Thomas says.
In 2007, 18.4 million U.S. passports were issued, according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Adriana Gallegos. From 2008 through 2009, 7.1 million have been issued. “The demand has been lower than expected,” Gallegos says. “We attribute this to a delay in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and the current economic conditions.”
Got Passport? Will Travel was created by and is property of American Consumer News.
