02/04/2004

News / New passport rules: Read all about them

Something old and something new is as much a tradition with passport requirements as it is with weddings.

Feb. 1 brought new passport costs and requirements as well as opening day of applying for a passport alternative for certain destinations.

If you're planning a vacation this year to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, how you're traveling will determine what documents you will need.

By air

You need a passport or other valid travel document that shows identity and citizenship to enter or re-enter the United States.

For most of us, a passport is the gold standard of travel documents.

By land and sea (cruise)

Passports won't be necessary for Americans and Canadians entering the United States by land or sea until mid-2009 -- a year later than planned.

Even with the postponement, U.S. and Canadian citizens still will need a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, to enter the U.S. That's as of Jan. 31.

Those 18 and younger only are required to present proof of citizenship, such as a certified birth certificate, naturalization certificate or a passport.

As of Feb. 1, applications became available for a U.S. Passport Card. It might be just the ticket for one man who inquired about requirements for Canadian travel at the mid-January Breton Village Travel Expo, which drew about 1,500. His family is among five families that travel together to Canada once each year, and having to get passports for everyone would be expensive.

Eventually, Michigan residents who travel to and from Canada also may be able to use an upgraded version of the state driver's license rather than a passport.

The new U.S. Passport Cards are expected to be available and mailed to applicants in spring 2008, according to travel.state.gov/passport, the U.S. State Department's Web site.

Cards, which cost less than a passport and should be easier to carry, will be valid for U.S. land and sea entry from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean region. (Note: Not to worry if you're traveling to American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Swains Island or the U.S. Virgin Islands. The passport requirement does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or from those U.S. territories.)

The cards will be good as long as a passport: 10 years for an adult, five years for children 15 and younger. Adults who already have a passport may apply for the card as a passport renewal and pay only $20. First-time applicants will pay $45 for adult cards and $35 for children. Comparable passport application costs: Age 16 and older, $100; 15 and younger: $85. Expedited services is another $60 per application.

The card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification that will link the card to a stored record in government databases. There will be no personal information written to the RFID chip. Another new option: apply for both the traditional passport and the Passport Card together on one form -- and save yourself part of the government-required processing fee.

If you use the new form to apply for both, the cost for a passport is the same, but you would only pay $20 for the passport card because you've already paid the processing fee, said Jeff Hawkins, deputy clerk for Plainfield Township.

He reminds applicants prices are set by the U.S. government and are the same wherever you apply. Again, travel.state.gov contains a link to 9,000 passport facilities in the U.S., and you can type in your ZIP code to get the 10 closest to you.

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land also is moving toward an upgraded, optional and more expensive version of Michigan's driver's license that could be used instead of a passport for Michigan residents who are U.S. citizens to go to and from Canada and other Western Hemisphere countries.

Several states also are creating a similar enhanced driver's license, said John Lovell, president of Breton Village Travel Services Inc., and president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents.

Still, specialty card options aside, "If you think you may travel outside of Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, my advice is to bite the bullet and get a passport -- you'll still need a passport, and they're good for 10 years," Lovell said. "You could end up paying for both."

by Sue Schroder | Booth Michigan Travel Editor
Saturday February 02, 2008, 11:25 PM

Source: http://www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2008/02/new_passport_rules_read_all_ab.html

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