Traveling with passports and visas: do babies need them?

Many people tend to forget that babies are people, too. In fact, we’re always surprised at how many families forget that their babies need valid passports for international travel! Babies are citizens of their country, and in order to legally leave and come back for leisure travel, they’ll need their passports checked and stamped! In this section, learn about baby passports and visas when required.

For most intents and purposes, this chapter is written in regard to Americans and US passport holders.

Passports

Here’s a scenario: you’re dreaming of going away, you’re looking at flight deals, and you see two unbelievably cheap flight tickets on your favorite airline to Cancun, Mexico. And you want to take the baby with you! Can you all go? Does your baby have a passport?

Start early with your baby’s passport

It’s smart to get your baby a passport way ahead of when you think you may even book an international trip. For us, we didn’t know when we’d feel ready to take that first flight to another country with our baby, but we wanted to have her passport squared away and the process completed so that we could feel free to go.

We got our baby a passport shortly after she was born, to inspire us to book a trip. We took her passport photos when she was 8 weeks old, and had her passport appointment shortly after. At the time, the wait time for passports was considerable, but within 5-6 weeks, the passport showed up in an envelope at our door. We were free to travel internationally with our baby!

How long are baby/child passports valid?

Baby passports (in the US) are valid for five years, not 10, like adult passports. While this is not a huge deal because five years is a LONG time, it just means you’ll have to renew your child’s passport sooner than you’ll have to next renew yours.

See our guide to getting your baby a passport. It’s where we answer all the frequently asked questions, as well as detail our experience about how we got our daughter’s passport when she was a newborn.

Visas

If you’ve never needed to get an international travel visa, you may not have a lot of experience with how they work. Some countries require visas, even for tourists. Some examples are China, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, many countries in Africa and other countries in Asia (for American passport holders).

Do babies need visas?

Just like you, as an adult, your baby will need a visa if you are visiting a country that requires visa for the country in which you hold a valid passport. If you’re going to visit your in-laws in India, or if your bucket list trip is to China, well: you and your baby will both need visas before flying out and entering those countries.

Applying for visas

In my experience, having applied for lots of visas and lots of different types of visas, leave ample time for applying for visas.

You will also need to leave time for receiving them in the mail, if they are not e-visas. And some visas are electronic, online. Some are even instant, meaning you pay by credit card online at a government website, and then you receive your e-visa by email.

For all other old-fashioned visas, though, you may have to a) mail in your passport to an embassy or even b) go in person for an appointment, and that includes your baby, as a legal passport holder.

One more thing to remember: your baby will need their passport by the time you need to apply for visas. Telling government officials that the passport got delayed or is coming in the mail usually will not suffice, as visas always include the individual’s legal passport number.

Do they cost money?

Visas typically cost money! The fee can range greatly, from less than $50 to more than $150. It depends which year you’re applying, the type of visa you’re applying for and the length of time the visa will be valid.

Validity for international travel visas

Visas may have validity anywhere between 30 days to 10 years. Sometimes you’re able to request a validity time frame; this is helpful if you plan to visit family every year or twice a year in India, for example.

But sometimes validity periods are randomly assigned, and I know that this has happened to me, and to people I know, when applying or reapplying for a visa to Mainland China (not Hong Kong/Taiwan). You could get a visa for 15 days, or for two years. It can be an eye-opening process, a lot of the time!

Global Entry

We got our baby Global Entry so that we could all go through passport control quickly upon returning to the US. We decided to do this after asking other travel-savvy parents in our circles about what they did: did they get their baby Global Entry? We were surprised to learn the reason why.

Do babies need Global Entry?

Yes: even babies need Global Entry. That is because Global Entry is a US government service attached to the individual’s passport number. Every passport holder needs their own Global Entry account, if they wish to have one, and a Global Entry account cannot be shared between parent and child.

We wrote a guide on how to get Global Entry for your baby. This should answer all your questions!

TSA PreCheck

TSA PreCheck is one of our favorite travel hacks for going quickly through security at the airport. Did you know the following things?

  • Babies do NOT need TSA PreCheck: children under 12 can currently go with their parents.
  • TSA PreCheck is really helpful with a baby, to avoid long lines at security!
  • Remember that TSA PreCheck is NOT available outside the US (unless you are flying through select partner airports).

See our guide answering if TSA PreCheck is worth it (but we think it is, for young families).