I know there have been many postings regarding passports, etc., but a new situation has come up and I'd like some feedback from recent travelers:

A friend traveling to the Dominican Republic this week was told (not sure by whom) that in order to re-enter the U.S., she will need her birth certificate as well as her passport. Is that just a Latin American thing or have you needed your birth certificate while traveling to and from Europe?

I know I only needed a passport in 2000, but maybe this is a post 9/11 thing? Thanks for your help!

Hi LC - I think you would get more reliable information from the U.S. state department.

http://travel.state.gov/index.html

I have never heard of that before. Passport trumps birth certificate any day.

I'm guessing your friend's information is incorrect. But as mentioned above better to ask the government this question.

I'm with Suze. I travel to Europe several times a year and have never had to bring a passport, nor have I heard of anyone else needing one.

Tracy

Yikes! Sorry, I meant that I never had to bring a birth certificate!

Tracy

Well, I checked the State Dept. website and there is nothing about this - only the notice that everyone now needs a passport to travel, even within the Western Hemisphere. I can only think that this friend was given incorrect info based on old travel requirements for the Dom.Rep. plus the new passport requirement.

Thanks for your help!

I'm guessing maybe she was confused because you used to be able to travel into Mexico and the Caribbean from the U.S. on only a birth certificate and photo I.D. Now a passport is required.

I agree! Thanks everyone!

I do believe that there is a required travel document that must accompany a passport when returning to the US from Mexico. Currently it is inconsistently enforced but I think that there is a date when all Mexican officials will require it from all US travelers. I've heard that it is a Mexican requirement, not a US.

Maybe Dominican Republic is asking for something like that...

A birth certificate is meaningless. I am a naturalized citizen. What would be the point of showing my foreign birth certificate?

The Mexicans don't review documents when you leave Mexico. At least they haven't in my past 35 years of border crossings. So why would Mexico require anything at all?

Rufus, Maybe Tadaa was referring to the Tourist Card?

I think it was also probably a mistake based on the idea that you used to be able to travel with only a birth certificate in lieu of a passport to some countries if you were American. Or maybe it was for some particular nationality. I was in Mexico within the past year and you do not need a birth certificate in addition to a passport.

This requirement was in order to re-enter the U.S., not to leave the Dom.Rep. And the person in question is of Hispanic descent, although a U.S. citizen. However, everyone in her group was told this, regardless of ethnicity.

However, as I mentioned before, I believe it is just a case of mis-information based on previous travel policies within the Western Hemisphere.

Thank you all for your help in clarifying the issue.

Rufus-- WOW! what an intelligent statement...."The Mexicans don't review documents when you leave Mexico." You must be the only person in the planet that has managed to be processed by all Mexican border control authorities. After all, that would be the only intelligent way to draw such conclusion....right? Oh, darn! the guys who checked my papers upon return from Mexico must not have been Mexicans at all....obviously.

Viajero--Yes, it must have been the American border authorities who reviewed your documents.

Still confused why the title of this post refers to Italy. Was that a mistype?

Sorry for the confusion, LoveItaly. I was originally posting this to see if I needed my birth certificate for my upcoming trip to Rome. I now know, thanks to everyone, that I do not.

Not to beat a dead horse (well that's an awful metaphor) but this is what happened to my friend:

She assumed (bad thing to do) that the birth certificate was needed to return to the U.S. Since she did not have a certified copy, she requested one to be DHL'd to her hotel in the Dominican Republic.

Well, it turns out she needed the B.C. in order to enter the Dom.Rep.! So she was stuck in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Moral: Never assume anything and always do your homework!

Hi LC Boniti, well as you know all you need to enter Italy and return to the US is your passport. Thanks for answering my question..I was confused and curious. And you know I am imagine you are only suppose to stay a maximum of 90 days.

Now about your friend. Is she a US citizen? And if so besides her US passport she needed her birth certificate to enter the Dom Rep? I never knew. Not that I plan on travelling there, but how strange.