Is it necessary to obtain a passport if departing from the USA? Will the airlines and customs folks recognize a birth certificate and not raise a hassle about no passport? Antigua says yes, but has anyone had an experience?

If you have time to get a passport (4 weeks) or you can do expedited service which is shorter than get one. They will accept a Birth Certificate, if it has a seal, etc. however, a passport is just much easier. Plus after this Dec. you will need a passport so you mine as well get one.

A certified copy of a birth certificate along with a driver's license is enough. However, I think you're getting down to the wire. I'm not sure when the passport requirement becomes effective. We went to T&C w/the bc & license and that was fine in mid-May.

Many thanks. The problem is relatives don't want to lay out the cash if they can get in w/o one. Don't plan more foreign travel later. My concern is I don't want to get into some hassle by an American Airlines agent who believes it's a passport or nothing that gets one into Antigua, and thus screws up our boarding.

As long as the BC is a certified copy with a raised seal, plus a government issued photo id, you should be fine for getting into Antigua and back to the US. I had several extended family members and friends who traveled to Antigua two years ago for my wedding who traveled either on an expired passport or with the BC plus driver's license.

But every adult should strongly consider getting themselves a passport. On account of you just never know. You know?

Hope you enjoy Antigua. It's one of my favorite destinations. Where will you be staying?

Just to be sure check with the consulate office in the US and your airline. Last yr. I traveled to St.Vincent connecting thru Barbados. I checked with the consulate and was told no Passport necessary ,only requirement is raised seal on birth certificate. I had a passport my friend didn't and I read some where that a PP was necessary. I investigated further....wasn't a Barbudian requirement but one of USAirways. I argued but was told it was the airlines policy even if it wasn't Barbados'. So last minute 2 days shy of departure my friend received her passport. It will become a requirement to travel back and forth to Canada, Mexico,and the USA as of Jan 2006

Thanks. It's Sandles actually. The NY office oof Antogua refuses to return our calls. American says it will accept BCs. Thanks to all ... looking forward to Antigua ... headed down in November. Ciao

Just a tip I read on another board. Since you have the time, write to AA & ask the policy about BC's & Antigua -- apparently they do reply to these letters. Then you'll have something in writing in case you get a cranky gate agent.

Also, keep checking. At the end of May, French St. Martin suddenly announced that they were requiring passports effective July 1 (nice notice!).

Just a tiny correction to vinceygirl's info:
Dec 31, 2005: Passports will be required for Caribbean, Bermuda, Central & South America

Dec 31, 2006: Passports will be required for Mexico & Canada.

Dec 31, 2007: Passports will be required for all land, air & Sea border crossings (can't think of anything left after the above two dates pass...)

So, everybody really ought to get one. As ejcrowe put it, you just never know. What if somebody wants to take your relatives on a free cruise?

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2224.html

Think the BCs will have to do it ... a few are on fixed incomes, not willing to splurge on passports. The best idea was to write AA and get a letter ready to show a fussy gate agent who decides it's PP or nothing. Thanks to all for your kind input. Ciao, L.

You only have to show the BC and identification when you check in at your airline. After that, you don't have to show it at the gate.

Call your airline and ask for confirmation. I called American Airlines to make sure that I was okay for T&C last month and they said it was fine.

Sorry, folks, but this is a subject that always gets me quite "excited".

Let me ask you US citizens a question -
which nationalities can enter the USA with a Birth Certificate not a passport? Ever thought of that??

I just had a new (Norwegian) passport, the last one was still valid up to December 2009. Why did I get a new one? Simple - I wanted to take my son on a trip to New York and also visit some friend over there. As of earlier this year, the USA requires a machine readable passport, mine was not, so if I wanted to go, no choice but getting a new one. Cost $ 180.

On arrival at JFK, I was fingerprinted and photographed. Does US citizens get the same treatment when they visit my country? NO!

Did I complain? No. In New York we walked past the 9/11 site and also the temporary memorial at Battery Park. A very poignant reminder why every country are tightening up their border controls.

Antigua is not US territory, but British. British citizens, like my husband, has to show a PASSPORT on entry and it always infuriates him why seeing US citizens waiving their birth certificates.

So just get on with it, and get a passport and travel the world without worries.

From 26 October 2005 a new style of passport will be required, containing a micro chip with all personal details, so I may have to pay out for another passport once again.

OT:

It is true that US citizens have an easier time of traveling in certain areas that do not require passports for us, while they do for others. However, it's not our (American travelers) fault and RnRforever wasn't complaining, the poster was simply asking to prevent any problems.

It seems as if one or more of the people in his/her party is elderly and on a fixed income, therefore, he/she did not want to unnecessarily have the elderly person get a passport if that person wasn't going to do any overseas traveling after the Antigua trip.

The most likely explanation for the relaxed standards for Americans vs. other country's citizens is that Americans on the whole bring more money via tourism into other countries. By relaxing the standards, these countries are trying to make it easier to make money from Americans, which I think helps the country itself (and Great Britain, in the example of Antigua) in the long run.

RnRforever,
Just a tip also for you, I would bring along marriage certificate, and if divorced, something to show the chain of names for female travelers. I say this because in April 2001, at the Amercian Airline counter, the agent WOULD Not let me board until I showed my chain of names. It was an incredible challenge to get back home, get the documents and still make the flight, 5-10 only to spare. I have never met anyone since then that this has happened to, but it did to me and it was a nightmare. We got our passports as soon as we returned, as we did plan to do more traveling in the future. Just wanted to try to spare you any crazy mishaps on the name thing...hope this helps. It was probably a rarity, but it did happen.

OT

I find it very funny actually, we’ve lived in the US for nearly 4 years but during our sons first year at school he had a French trip to Canada and it took an awful lot of explaining that they didn’t need a copy of his Birth Certificate they needed his passport.

When we explained that as a British Citizen the Canadian customs might have let him in, US customs would need his passport and an INS certified ‘travel parole’ to allow him back into the US.

At the meeting before the trip a parent actually raised the question did they take US dollars in Canada? OK, so where could they get Canadian dollars? Also where to have the duplicate BC notarized – DH answered all of these questions.

Luckily we’ve met US citizens who do travel, so we just look on this as a funny episode.

Wherever you are in the world there will be people who ask questions that you think are obvious: e.g. what to wear? What’s the weather?

A chain of names ... what? Apparently that agent must have been into geneology. We'll have our passports, and in-laws their BCs ... and I plan to get a letter from AA on their policy. If the Antigua government officials in NYC would ever get back from lunch and start earning their pay, I'd be able to get their policy in writing and take that along. But apparently they have better things to do than help toruists trying to spend dollars in their economy. Being in NYC has confused their sense of mission no doubt.

Rn,
The policies from AA are a great idea! Don't ask me why we were tormented this way at our lovely St. Louis AA counter that morning. It was awful, for me anyway. She wanted to see documents from my birth last name to my current name on DL!! Yes, maybe she has a geneology fettish....my only reason for mentioning is, it happened and it was more that just a hassle. For me it convinced me that a passport clears up any idenity questions. just trying to help, Carol

Actually, it's not uncommon for married women who take their spouse's last name to have to show further proof of identity when they don't have a passport. Otherwise only the first names would match up from the BC and the driver's license. Just another argument to have a passport and for married women to keep their own name!

Finally managed to reach Antiguan government officials. A BC and picture ID will do the trick. Thnaks to all for your ideas and help, especially Carol. Ciao

Rn-You are welcome, have a blast on your trip!
Ej, thanks for the post