Kristen

are certified state issued birth certificates sufficient for entry into Grand Cayman?

MuyLinda

Hi Kristen - I would ask your travel agent this question. I believe you can travel anywhere in the Caribbean with birth certificate/driver's license but I personally would just get a passport. I watched a young couple get denied boarding at Logan Airport two years ago because their birth certificates didn't meet the airline's specific guidelines. Just my two cents...

mm

If you do not have the time to get a passport you can go to your town or city hall and get a certified voter registration card which is acceptable proof of citizenship.

MM

bigguy

HI KRISTEN,
Your voter registration card,may be of value in the U.S., but it is worthless anywhere else in the world !The previous posting is totally wrong and misleading.
B.G.

mm

Hey Dumb Guy,

Not so fast. I've travelled to Jamaica several times using the voter registration card with the official city seal. So have dozens of other people I know.

You cannot vote unless you are a citizen and most, if not all, Caribbean countries are capable of putting 2 and 2 together.

MM

mm

Hello All,

Time for a correction. I found the following in the Jamaica Consulant webpage:
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ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: U.S. citizens traveling as tourists may enter Jamaica with either a U.S. passport or a certified U.S. birth certificate and current, government issued photo identification. Persons traveling with U.S. passports tend to encounter fewer difficulties upon departure than those who choose to use other documents. Visitors must have a return ticket and be able to show sufficient funds for their visit. U.S. citizens traveling to Jamaica for work or for extended periods of time are required to have a current U.S. passport with a visa issued by the Jamaican Embassy or a Jamaican Consulate. Travelers must pay a departure tax when leaving the country.
----------------------------

I can only say things change and I made a mistake.

Regards,

MM - The Real Dumb Guy

tamara

Although the bahamas is not in the caribbean, I know for a fact that customs no longer accept voter registration cards.

After 9/11, I haven't heard of anyone who does. Besides, it's up to US customs not necessarily the country where your going and certainly not the airlines to determine what is the proper ID. Getting out of the country isn't the real issue, it's getting back into the country that becomes a problem.
As for travel agents, most know less then bupkus about these things.

bigguy

THANKS "MM"......TAMARA,your last sentence, about travel agents knowing "BUPKUS"about these things,is so true.
B.G.

SandyFeet

Many people do not know how things have changed since 9/11, as many have not travelled by air - hence the airlines/travel industry in financial trouble. For a while now your passport is scanned like a credit card into the airlines computer. I do not know for what. Our last trip we saw a couple unable to board their plane due to their NOT having a passport. I could not imagine the frustration and disappointment of that happening. I have always been a well prepared traveller and have always travelled with a passport to the caribbean. I remind every client to get a passport, as another poster stated above...you can get out but its hard to get in.

I know TA's get a bad rap, as some should. The reason some TA's do not know anything about passport requirements is because they do not travel. Most are just salespeople selling vacation packages for incentives. Some have not been on a plane in years! That's a fact! They book you on trips they have never been and thru airports/customs they have no idea about.

I could do another expose on the TA business..it would really make you wonder.

In the mean time, if you plan on going out of the country anywhere even in the caribbean, please get a passport. It is the best and most important investment of your trip. You will breeze thru anywhere you go. And it good for 10 years.

bigguy

CONGRADULATIONS,
That was an excellent posting,I really hope you do follow through on your expose, regarding the travel business.As an example,even though a pass-port, is not required for U.S. citizens entering Canada,it sure facilitates entry.Your pass-port is the number ONE form of identity.GET ONE !!!

BjorkChop

I take offense as being told I'm nothing more than a glorified salesperson. Yes, TA's sell vacation packages, that's what we do, but we're also travel consultants. I give advice on hotels, destinations and the fine print. For most parts of the Caribbean, you need either a passport OR a state issued birth certificate with raised seal (original or certified copy) along with a government/federal form of ID. There are some islands that require a passport. Sandy, if you saw a couple being denied for not having a passport maybe they were going to a place where a passport is required not just preferred or that they didn't have a state issued B.C. I get some people that take their hospital registration instead as a mistake. The airline cannot override what the U.S. State Dept. makes as law. If you do encounter this, see the airline rep's supervisor. And it's true, I do book people to places I've never been but the difference is I research the destination. Even lawyers have to do research, they don't know all legal questions off the cuff. It's impossible to have been to all places. I know there are lazy and unprofessional TA's out there but to lump us all together?

SandyFeet

Please don't get your knickers in a twist. I am also a TA. I used to work for a very large agency, which has been around for a very long time in a very upscale affluent area. The old biddies in the office were horrible. And there was a lot of them. I guess there are not too many young people wanting to become travel agents, I mean lets face it, we are a dying breed and you most certainly cannot live on what you make. The other agents would comment on my each and every trip.."Oh where you going now? Do you know how much this trip costs??..Gee don't you get bored with all these trips to the caribbean - you've seen one you've seen them all. Blah blah blah"
I used to say for a travel agent not to travel is like a food critic eating frozen dinners. Most of these people have not traveled at all since 9/11. The owner books all the big trips due to his referrals, (and he is an old fart) the only man is the agency. The old bats live on past vacations to europe from over 20 years ago. This is an agency with approximately 30 inside agents and 10 outside (from home) agents. In todays travel economy, a pretty large agency.
I am sure you are not one of these types, either am I that is why I started my own. It's small but I am very happy, and I make my clients happy. I do have my favorite destinations, and since I know my clients and their personalitis, it is very easy to book them and to make them happy. The referrals are ususally pre sold on their friends trip and go where I had sent them. Look it definately is not a living, but it is fun little side thing for me. I know my friends are well taken care of and often I do not take commission, since it will save them a few bucks. The many other TA's I have encountered are terrible. They would rely on my input, since I actually travel. Even with a discout (which can be good depending on the destination) they still do not get up off their butts and go! They rely on the reps that come in and schmooze and sell big commissions and bonuses and incentives. They will shove Beaches, Sandals, Cruises or anyplace that has big commissions to anyone that will listen and tell them how wonderful it all is...even though they have never been. They will try to get you off the track of where you wish to go. I have seen many TA refuse to book certain hotels that their clients inquired about because they do not pay commission. I mean c'omon the little bit of commission that you would make means that much? I have made as little as $7.00 on a hotel...but so what. If your're looking to make money go to Wall Street cause travel has never been big income and it never will be.

Like I said most of the women there have never dipped their toes in caribbean water, I have never heard of any of them evensaying they boarded a plane, or experienced the "new" airport security. I am not saying all travel agents are that way, but some are. It's just like any other profession, you have your good and your bad.

SandyFeet

I forgot to add...not everyone can go everyhwere. Research is a very large part. It has been even before I became a TA. Travel sites such as these are priceless and I refer here often, not just for clients but for my own personal travel. Believe it or not travel agents do pay for their own trips, I know many think TA's travel for free - not anymore! There's no truth like the real truth and that is what you get espically at Fodors. So please do not take offense to what I stated above. Like I said in a previous post, I left and started my own business. I treat people fairly. If anyone inquires about a destination that I have never been I tell them so straight out, and tell them I will get any and all info I can. I try to help with airport security and how to pack and what to bring. I really love to travel and everything about it. I enjoy doing research and going to a new destination so I can tell others about it.

I am very sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings as that was not my intention.

jkurtiak

Hey can I answer the actual question posted here?
Yes your raised sealed birth certificate is fine to enter with a valid picture ID (driver license)
Grand Cayman, I dont have a valid passport and I got in and out no problem

Kristen

Thanks JKurtiak!!! That's what I needed to know.

BeachBoi

Back up to the first respondent....maybe the couple were not US citizens?Always makes a difference, not every nationality has the same entry requirements..you'd be surprised.
SandyFeet.....ROTFLMAO!!! I have been with my TA for 15 years (since I was 10)and thats why he left his last agency after being the owners "faithful slave" for 7 years..his exact description of the management.....good for you to go out on your own in such a tumultuous time for your industry...Best of Luck...keep hangin"......S