By pat (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 1:10 am: |
Folks,
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By Bob Smits (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #129) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 1:51 am: |
This yr my wife and I went first, with two of our children.
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By DARLENE ELLIS (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1044) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 8:41 am: |
Pre 911 I traveled with my daughter from my previous marriage and we had no problems. I had gotten a letter with approval from my X but no one ever asked to see it and it was not certified. If it were me, I would rather be safe than sorry.
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By Kelly Jo Lott (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1263) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 9:09 am: |
Pat, I had a really bad experience with this so let me put in my two cents! I traveled about a year and a half ago to Cozumel with my boyfriend, his two daughters, and my daughter (on an organized group dive trip, there were a total of 30 people). All of us had passports. I had read that I needed a notarized letter from my ex husband to take my daughter out of the country... so I had one! But my (now ex) boyfriend didn't have one from his exwife for his girls, and in Houston, they would NOT let them board the plane to Cozumel. In fact, they wanted to send us BACK to Columbus, Ohio, which is where we live.
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By Linda Richter - NetTech (Moderator - Post #1859) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 9:25 am: |
It is primarily a Mexico requirement. It has been for more than 15 years. The idea is to prevent non-custodian parents from kidnapping their children. I have heard of non-USA parents with children that are USA citizens being asked for custody papers and such when exiting the USA - again it is the kidnapping issue.
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By Meryl Virga (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4097) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:02 am: |
When my daughter's were younger 10 and 11 we took several trips to Bonaire...we got a notarized letter stating it was ok for me to take them to Bonaire for vacation, This was signed by my ex, myself and my two daughters. I also brought along a copy of my divorce papers which shows I have full custody. I was never asked to show any of them!
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By Larry Leonard (BonaireTalker - Post #65) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:44 am: |
It may vary from country to country but I have taken my step kids (their last name is different than mine and my wife) to Jamaica, TCI, Bonaire and PR with no one even blinking when they went over our passports. I took my sister's kids with me on a trip to the Philippines and the only question I was asked when we returned was how I was an American citizen if I was born in Taiwan...
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By Kelly Jo Lott (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1269) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 11:10 am: |
Well like I said, I think it's better safe than sorry, trust me, you do NOT want to be stranded in an airport with kids who want to be on vacation with no clue what you're going to do... it all ended up working out, but it sure was unnerving at the time!
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By pat (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 9:08 pm: |
Hi all - I'm home from work and lo and behold lots of good sense advice from everyone. Thank you for taking the time to respond.
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By Larry Leonard (BonaireTalker - Post #66) on Tuesday, June 15, 2004 - 10:53 pm: |
Have a good trip and be sure to let us know how it all went.
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By Brigitte Kley (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #112) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 7:23 am: |
Sorry for creating work for you Pat, but even on Bonaire you could need that letter from your X.
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By Glen Reem (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1763) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 8:29 pm: |
The 3rd Corollary of Murphy's Law states: 'The things you are prepared for don't happen'. Best have the letter if possible, though I read that you 'have tried' to get one signed. Good luck all around. :–)
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By Glen Reem (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1764) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 8:33 pm: |
Brigitte,
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By Brigitte Kley (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #113) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 8:55 pm: |
Both checked in very early so had some time till the departure of the plane.
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By William Heidrich (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 9:11 pm: |
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By William Heidrich (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 9:21 pm: |
Another helpful site, with a sample form
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By Linda Richter - NetTech (Moderator - Post #1866) on Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - 9:25 pm: |
Other important papers - adoption, marriage certificates, and divorce papers, especially if last names do not match with all documents or your kid's documents. For certain documents, you should get a notarized (raised seal) copy since obviously you can't really run around getting extra divorce papers that easily.
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By pat (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 9:30 am: |
Thanks all of you. We have the form letter, just having a hard time getting it signed. I've got two days left so I'm crossing my fingers. If it does not arrive then we'll bring paperwork re: the attempts to get it signed (cc of letter that was mailed to him and envelope), raised seal certified birth certificate and her passport. According to the consulates office for The NA, this should be sufficient. He lives quite a way from Jane & I so it isn't very easy to contact him.
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By Linda Stoltzfus (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #240) on Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 11:20 am: |
Pat,
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By pat (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Thursday, June 17, 2004 - 8:45 pm: |
Hey all. Well, it looks like we are good to go! We got a letter today with a stamped notary seal - not raised seal - hope this works. I'll bring the fed ex envelope which has his return address in Port Aransas. Also the ream of paperwork, passport, bc, orders, etc. that I have as a backup plan
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By Ross Canant (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 9:04 pm: |
It's unlikely that you'll ever be checked, but most countries are signatores of an international treaty on child kidnapping (notable exceptions in the Middle East). I traded letters with my ex years ago so we wouldn't have these discussions every time we planned a vacation.
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