HOME › Forums › General Discussion Topics about the Cayman Islands › Getting There › Passport Requirement News – Updated June 12, 2007
jpep 11 years, 8 months ago.Shelly ?
You have got to be kidding me! Seriously!!!
I cannot believe all you are going through when you applied with MORE than enough time – I remember when you applied there were no worries because they had said you needed “x” amount of time and you even gave that an extra few weeks.
I’m sorry that you are going through the stress of this with two weeks to go. It stinks…BIG time! Be sure to save the receipts for your birth certificates and submit them for a refund to the passport agency. Talk to your congressman or senator about this one, you shouldn’t have to pay those fees due to government error!
Man…you really need this vacation!!!!
We applied 15 weeks out and were told 10 weeks would be sufficient.
I would like to get re-embursed for the new copy of the BC’s I am having to get now, but won’t hold my breath on that one.
I definitely need this vacation…
Who needs this kind of hassle when that’s what we’re all trying to get away FROM?????
breathe, picture palms, rum punches, sunsets on Cayman blues and update us…..and go GET a glass of rum punch!
Celine
we all got are passports except are 15 year old daughter. We are making the copy of are application and going to the county court house to get her a new birth certificate. Is anyone sure that the Cayman goverment will accept a birth certificate
talk about panic , We are on are way on Monday the 18th .
we all got are passports except are 15 year old daughter. We are making the copy of are application and going to the county court house to get her a new birth certificate. Is anyone sure that the Cayman goverment will accept a birth certificate
I spoke with someone at the Cayman airport this morning first thing. They confirmed the birth certificate and picture ID requirement. Of course those under age without a driver’s license just need birth certificate. You can find this information by looking up the Cayman Islands government online and phone numbers are available in this thread.
My family has always travelled to the Cayman Islands with only Birth Certificates for documentation. We just applied for passports this year because of the new requirements by the US government.
I understand your stress completely. Perhaps your daughter’s passport will still arrive before you leave, but getting the Birth Certificate is definitely the right thing to do for backup.
If you contact your congressman’s office, they most likely have people working on just this issue and should be able to help you in obtaining your daughter’s birth certificate in short order.
Best Wishes!
Something is going to have to give really soon, because the way this sounds, the US is requiring one form of proof of cititzenship (copy of the passport application) and the Cayman Islands are requiring a different form of proof (birth certificates). As soon as they realize that the people who have applied for passports DON’T HAVE THEIR BIRTH CERTIFICATES, something will have to change.
If I’m not mistaken, you still can’t just go to Cayman with a birth certificate if you HAVEN’T applied for a passport, right? Cause the United States is asking for that for rentry, right?
I predict the Caymans will soon change their requirements to accept the copy of the passport application, but I’m just guessing……that really is the only solution to this predicament.
Unreal!
Char
Looks like we will pass both of you in the airport on are way home . Hope you have a great time.
June 13, 2007 at 2:02 pm #44469
I think that is why the US Government told Kay that she just needed the tracking number or something like that, because that is all the US requires. However, that does not fly with the countries we are visiting. To enter and exit other countries you have to abide by their entry requirements. Which is why this is a pain in the butt!!!
It is just bad anyway you look at it. What a nightmare for those of you going through it still. You would think they would have gotten their stuff together since the mess I was in in March and instead they are just mucking it up more!
Good luck to everyone and keep on your state officials to get this resolved for you! Then…enjoy a beautiful sun filled vacation in Cayman!
Now I’m assuming that a passport will work for entry/exit into the Caymans, but you know what they say about those who assume. Anyway, will a passport get us in the country or do we still need a birth certificate?
Good luck to everyone. All this added stress calls for one, at least, extra drink!
Cheers! -Pam
No need for birth certificates, as long as you have a passport. No worries there.
Char
WASHINGTON ? Frustrated travelers who paid an extra $60 to get their U.S. passports expedited ? and still had to wait for them ? can now get a refund from the government.
The decision to refund the money, disclosed in a State Department document sent Tuesday to members of Congress, represents the latest effort to come to grips with a massive backlog in passport applications that has ruined or delayed summer vacation plans for thousands in the United States.
The delays were largely due to a new rule that requires U.S. citizens to have passports when flying to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Last week, the government announced it was suspending that rule until September, as long as travelers to those countries carried a printout receipt showing they had applied for a passport.
The passport delays were so bad that many of those who paid for faster service, at a cost of $60 plus the regular processing fees of $97 for a new passport, did not receive their passports within the expected 14 days. Some who paid extra waited for a month or more.
“It’s an outrage to pay over $150 for a passport and still have your travel plans ruined,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who had previously called for the refunds.
Schumer also chided State officials for not doing more to publicize the refunds, saying they should be “shouting this refund policy from the rooftops, not whispering it in the wind.”
The State Department document, obtained by The Associated Press, says passport applicants who paid for, but did not get, expedited service should send a written refund application to the agency’s refund office in Washington. They should provide their passport number, if available, their name, date and place of birth, the approximate date they applied for the passport, as well as a mailing address and phone number.
Homeland Security officials have warned that the passport delays will not affect their schedule of requiring passports of everyone driving across the border into Canada or Mexico beginning in January 2008 ? a rule that some experts believe will lead to a fourfold increase in new demand for passports.
Conveniently absent from the article was the address to submit the refund application. After a little digging, here’s what I found:
State Department Passport Services/PPS/Refunds
2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. 20037-3202.
Haven’t seen anything about reimbursement for birth certificate fees incurred due to the passport application processing delays. If found, I will be sure to post.
Good Luck to all!
jpep
Thanks for posting that jpep!
Just back from Bureau of Vital Statistics in Columbus, Ohio. I have the 3 Ohio birth certificates ? yahoo! These were only 16.50 a piece. So for about $110, with the rush from Michigan, we will have new certified birth certificates to enter the Cayman Islands.
I strongly recommend arriving at opening time if anyone else has to do this. I was 4th in line and in and out in 30 minutes. The wait is much longer the later in the day you arrive.
I met a couple there who are missing out on the first day of their vacation due to this very issue. The airline refused to board them without the required documentation for their destination. They had paid for a 6 night package and are losing their first day and night, luckily the airline has them booked tomorrow morning. I don’t know if they had to pay a fee for that or not.
The State Dept. has posted this update to their website to alert people to this important issue. (Thanks Captain Jack)
From the Dept. of State:The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced Friday, June 8th that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or countries in the Caribbean region, who have applied for, but not yet received passports, can re-enter the United States by air. This accommodation does not mean that Americans are exempt from meeting the entry requirements of Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or countries in the Caribbean region . Entry requirements for those countries remain in effect. Americans traveling to those countries must verify the specific entry requirements for that country before departure.
Entry requirements for countries are self-determined. We are reaching out to the governments of countries affected by WHTI to consult with them about our announcement. We hope they also will be able to take a flexible approach. We will communicate the results of our consultations with the airlines to facilitate boarding. Please check this page for updated information.
Great news that you’ve obtained the birth certificates without getting stuck on long lines and are ready to go on vacation shortly!
That’s also a very important post from the State Dept. about travelers checking the entry requirements of their destination country…. but you figured that out and advised everyone here before they did! Great job, and we all owe you a big thanks!
John
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