Passport question

I think you do in the USA. I'm from New Zealand and when my son was born, I had to get his own passport before we flew back to Samoa (where we were living at the time). I know they use to have a system where newborns were added to their parents passport but nowadays every person needs their own. It's only valid for five years and its since expired. I have to get a new one for him which I am working on right now.

Passports for children are very much justified. Look at all the abductions that go on. You wouldn't want a kidnapper to be able to take a child out of the country. Unfortunately, it is possible that an abducting parent might have custody of the passport, but in most cases I would guess that anyone taking a child would not have a passport for them and therefore would not be able to take them out of the country. We have photo ID health cards here in Ontario now. However my children don't get photos on their's until they are 16 (I think) because of the reason you stated. They change constantly. But that is just a health card. Passports are a security enforced document. I, personally, have never had a passport. I have only ever gone to the U.S. and we used to only need birth certificate and other I.D., now we have to get passports. Kind of makes you want to stay at home. :(

Yep, it's true. I guess they figure it is easier to track everyone as individuals if they all have their own conforming paperwork, regardlesss of age. Besides, once you get the passport for your child, it is much less paperwork to renew it every five years than for them to get a new one as an adult. ... which reminds me, I think it's time to renew my passport again! :-)

Yes, I had to get a passport for my baby. I did this in order to take him on holiday to Portugal. I got the passport photo done when he was just a couple of months old. He had to lay on a white cushion on the floor of a photography shop. His passport lasts for 5 years. So his baby photo will last until he is 4 years old! My older son was included in my previous passport. This ran out and I got a new passport in 2005. It was no longer option to put my younger son on my passport. The law says every baby, infant and child must have their own passport in my country.

You do not have to have a separate passport for your kids. However you have to get them annexed to yours until they get older.