Sometimes There Is No Choice But To Get An Expedited Passport For A Child

Parents can sometimes get caught in the trap of thinking that their small child is immune to the law and that they do not have to worry about silly things like passports. If there is an international family trip planned in the near future, that philosophy is going to have to be rethought. However, there is no need to hit the panic button, because an expedited childrens passport is all that is needed.

Just because they are a child, does not mean that there are not travel laws that pertain to them. Any family that is getting ready to travel aboard would do well to get on the Internet and do some research on passport rules and regulations. For the record, anyone traveling abroad needs to have a passport.

However, there are some amendments to the law that have been added specific to children. The most important of these is that any child that is not at least sixteen years old will have to have written consent from both parents before a passport can be obtained. This law is in place to prevent a parent from unknowingly leaving the country without the second parent’s permission.

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 first step for a child at that point, just as it would be for an adult, is to get a valid passport photo taken. Because of the rush, it is probably best to utilize the one-hour photo shops that do passport photos. Let them know specifically that the photo is for an express passport and they make it the proper size.

Before actually heading to the local passport center, make sure the consent form is filled out properly and that both parents have signed it. If not, the application will be refused and it is back to square one. Believe it or not, this is the reason that many parents end up having to get an expedited passport for their child. By the time they get everything together, the trip is right around the corner.

The normal process of a passport is around two months. If the trip is going to happen inside of that time frame, it is best to pay the $60 to get the expedited service that will have the passport back in about three weeks. If that is still not quick enough, there are other services that are more expensive that will 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 passport. When this happens, know that there are several measures in place to make the express USA passport process as easy as it can be with the added pressure of a short turnaround time.