Will you need a passport for US Virgin Islands travel?
Tuesday March 31, 2009
Headed to the US Virgin Islands for spring break? They're US territories and you won't need a passport, but note that you will need id (like a driver's license) and a birth certificate if you don't have a passport (more details below). A reader recently wrote to say that she hadn’t realized she needed to bring her birth certificate along on a trip to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands; Valora wrote, "I thought I was clear to travel to and from St Thomas with my driver's license. I got to the airport for my return flight and caught h*ll from the TSA agent for not having a passport or birth certificate."
Yeah, no, don't need h*ll from the TSA! While it's wonderfully true that St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John are US territories, meaning no passport is needed to travel to these Caribbean islands, the USVI is considered a "port of entry" –- and thus, you do need to prove you are a US citizen to re-enter the United States without a passport (a passport, by itself, proves your citizenship).
So: remember to bring your certified (raised seal) birth certificate for returning to the mainland from the USVI if you don’t have a passport, and remember that you will need to prove who you are at airport security -- bring an official government issued picture identification like a current driver’s license or a photo ID card, which can be issued to non-drivers by your state’s motor vehicles department, or two forms of non-photo identification (one needs to be state-issued) or (of course) a passport.
Learn more:
- Do I need a passport to go to the Caribbean?
- Complete list of US territories
- Ways to visit the Caribbean without a passport
- How to expedite a passport application yourself
- How to get your first passport
- How to check US passport application status
I just called NPIC and you DO need a passport if you are FLYING to St Thomas et al. I called because I am traveling in August and have I do need one, I don’t need one, over and over. Travelers Beware: If you don’t absolutely know for sure, contact NPIC or TSA, don’t rely on bloggers and wikis.
All states do not have raised seals on official birth certificates copies. California, for example, has a purple stamp along with the statement “the purple ink stamp indicates official copy” or something like that.