Kid passport

[katieb4tom]

My dd got her passport when she was six months old. I know it's good for five years, but it's been two years and she looks completely different now. We are headed out of the country over the summer and I just wanted to make sure we wouldn't need to bring along her birth certificate or something else? Both her dad and I will be traveling with her, we all have the same last name. Dh thinks I am over thinking this, but I don't want to run into trouble.

[Deleted]

We never had any issues. They say they look at the ears.

[Deleted]

We never had any issues. They say they look at the ears.

[frlcb]

They won't even think twice. Both my kids got their passports (they each have two) at 2 weeks, so their pictures look nothing like them at all and we travel with them all the time and no one has ever said a word. They wouldn't allow for 5 years if it was an issue. We have also been told they look at their ears, but you can't even see my kids ears and they haven't asked to see them.

[anna7602]

We've never had any issues. DD was about 9 months old in her passport photo and we used that same passport to travel to several different countries, including ones requiring visas (just noting this bc I would think they might take a closer look when issuing a visa). The last time she used it before we renewed she was 5 and didn't look like the picture at all.

[dutchgirl678]

We sometimes got looks from the TSA, mostly laughs at how different they look but it's no problem. It is valid for 5 years so why get a new one before it expires? Both my kids got their passports at 3 months old and DD just got her first renewal at age 5.

[katieb4tom]

Cool, thanks all! I am going to go home and look closely at her ears, ha! I have never heard of that before.

[frlcb]

Apr 25, 2014 13:11:06 GMT -5 katieb4tom said:

Cool, thanks all! I am going to go home and look closely at her ears, ha! I have never heard of that before.

Don't even stress about that. It is seriously fine to use the passport with her baby picture on it, they see those passports all the time!

[Shreddingbetty]

DDs pic is from she was 2 months old. She had lots of black hair. She now has long blond hair (she looked completely different the year after she got her passport). We have never had any problems at all. Only once did they comment on it in Geneva and the guy just said something like: kids sure do change. They often do a double take but I think it is more the huge difference between how she looks now vs then rather than actually questioning if it is the same kid. I think they are just amused by it. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure they a re used to it.

[travelingturtle]

I think in Germany they don't even put photos in passports for kids that age. I don't know, though, I don't have a German passport.

[Deleted]

In Canada our kid passports are only valid for 3 years, probably for this reason. THey are cheaper though so at least you aren't paying full-price for a passport that expires early.
We JUST got 10-year passports up here, which is nice.

[Deleted]

If you are really concerned about it, take the birth certificates. I couldn't hurt to have them just in case.

[frlcb]

Apr 26, 2014 16:35:59 GMT -5 @kjewell said:

If you are really concerned about it, take the birth certificates. I couldn't hurt to have them just in case.

But you don't need them. I wouldn't travel with our birth certificates, I wouldn't want to lose them or have them taken, and having a passport picture as a baby and using the passport for the approved 5 years is fine, the passport people see that all the time.

[Shreddingbetty]

Apr 26, 2014 11:56:52 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

In Canada our kid passports are only valid for 3 years, probably for this reason. THey are cheaper though so at least you aren't paying full-price for a passport that expires early.
We JUST got 10-year passports up here, which is nice.

In the Netherlands kids don't even need their own passport if they are traveling with the parents. They just put the name in the (usually) mom's passport and don't their own passport until they travel by themselves or a certain age (probably 12 although I don't recall). I got my own passport when I was 11 when I traveled to the US without parents. I'm not sure if they get put in both parents passports if they travel with just the dad. Things may have changed a bit since I was a kid....

[frlcb]

Apr 26, 2014 21:10:52 GMT -5 Shreddingbetty said:

Apr 26, 2014 11:56:52 GMT -5 @lauriergirl28 said:

In Canada our kid passports are only valid for 3 years, probably for this reason. THey are cheaper though so at least you aren't paying full-price for a passport that expires early.
We JUST got 10-year passports up here, which is nice.

In the Netherlands kids don't even need their own passport if they are traveling with the parents. They just put the name in the (usually) mom's passport and don't their own passport until they travel by themselves or a certain age (probably 12 although I don't recall). I got my own passport when I was 11 when I traveled to the US without parents. I'm not sure if they get put in both parents passports if they travel with just the dad. Things may have changed a bit since I was a kid....

The UK was like this too but isn't anymore. Looks like it has changed and now kids need their own in the Netherlands - www.government.nl/issues/identification-documents/passports-identity-cards-and-dutch-nationality-certificates