Starting in 2024, a mandatory requirement for children: passports will be necessary for their travel.
Starting in 2024, children will be obligated to possess a passport for international travel, as per the Dresden city administration's advisement. The previously issued children's passports will no longer be available after January.
Planning an overseas trip with your children necessitates applied for a passport or identity card—both valid for six years. These travel documents are not issued at the local citizen's office but are obtained from the Federal Printing Office. With a processing time between two and six weeks, it is crucial to attend to this well ahead of your journey.
Existing children's passports will remain valid until their respective expiration dates. Given the rapid growth and development in infants and toddlers, regularly checking the validity of their documents is particularly important.
If the photo in the identification document no longer resembles the child, the document becomes invalid before the stated expiration date and cannot be used for travel.
According to U.S. travel regulations, children, regardless of age, must have their own passport for any international air travel. For children under 16 traveling by land or sea from Canada or Mexico, only an original or copy of a birth certificate is currently mandatory; a passport is not compulsory in such cases. However, for all other international travel, particularly by air, children of any age are required to present a valid passport.
Children's passports for those under 16 have a validity of five years, while those aged 16 and older have a validity of ten years. Passport cards for children under 16 are valid for five years, and those aged 16 and over are valid for ten years. Passport cards are only valid for land and sea travel between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean; they are not valid for international air travel.
When traveling internationally by air, all children—regardless of age—will require a valid passport. For land or sea travel from Canada or Mexico (for U.S. citizen children under 16), only a birth certificate is necessary until 2024. Following this year, children will be required to have a passport for such travel as well.
Your family-dynamics may need adjustments when planning upcoming travels, as all children, regardless of age, will be required to have a passport for international air travel starting in 2024. This lifestyle change should also include regular checks on the validity of family members' travel documents, such as passports, due to the swift growth and development in infants and toddlers.
