Although some people seem to think otherwise, infants engaging in international travel must have a valid U.S. passport. All U.S. citizens must have a valid passport for international travel. An passport is very similar to normal passports, with a few exceptions.

While it may seem silly to force an infant to carry a passport, there are several practical reasons that make it necessary for all U.S. citizens to carry passports during international travel. First of all, it is a matter of national security and border security. The government needs to know who is entering and leaving a country at a given time. Allowing infants to forego passports would make it easy to sneak in infant illegal immigrants–an action that seems innocuous, but could have serious consequences twenty years down the line.

Something else that not many people probably even think of is human trafficking. If the law about infant passports was not in place, people could easily transport illegal children across the borders for a variety of reasons. This goes for kids coming both in and out of the country.

The process of getting a passport for an infant has a few extra steps from a standard passport, but it is nothing that is overly inconvenient. The obvious point is that a baby is not going to be able to fill out their own forms, so the parents are going to have to take on this task. They are also going to have to get passport photos, just like the ones that are on adult passports.

Since an infant cannot sign their own name, mom and or dad are going to have to handle the task for them. It is actually a co-signature that goes on the passport until the child can sign the passport by themselves. When the child is able to sign their own name, the passport can be renewed with their actual signature on the passport.

If a parent needs to sign a passport in place of a child, the parent must print the full name of the child, and then beside the child’s name, they must sign their own name and write their relationship to the child (mother, father, guardian, etc…) in parenthesis next to their own signature. Ideally, the parent traveling with the infant should be the parent to sign the passport. However, this is not necessary, as other laws ensure both parents consent to child passports.

In order for a child younger than sixteen to obtain a passport, the child must receive written consent from both parents or guardians. This is part of new law passed in an attempt to prevent international custody disputes. A child under sixteen must apply for a passport in person, and both parents must sign form DS-11, in person, together, with the child. A child cannot receive a passport without both parents present.

It should now be pretty obvious why the infant US passport exists. It may sound a little silly when you first look at the law, but it actually there to protect children from various things. Therefore, getting these passports is a smart decision for any parent, regardless of how old their child is. If an emergency or surprise trip comes up, the baby or young child will be ready to go with you and there will be no challenges in getting in and out of the country.