Documents for Traveling with Kids
There are a few documents that we wish we had brought with us when we came to Argentina last year.
The first item we should have carried with us was an original long-form birth certificate for each daughter. (A long-form is the one that shows the names, ages, and birthplaces of the parents.)
The second documentary task that we should have completed prior to leaving the Estados Unidos was getting a notarized letter authorizing each other as parents to travel alone with either kid as well as make make medical decisions solo, if needed.
Technically, Argentina requires citizens of all countries who are traveling alone with their children to be accompanied by a letter such as the one I describe above. From what I hear, it’s not enforced very stringently with foreigners, especially if the kids are 7 and older, but you never know when that may change.
As we learned today, it’s a good idea to avoid having to go to the US embassy in Buenos Aires for notary services, if you can. They confiscated our phones, my knitting (wooden needles) and our Kindles before allowing us in the waiting room — bereft of entertainment, it was a bit mind numbing.
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The same happens at US consulates in Bolivia – isn’t it lovely?! Although reading their posters about US presidents (in Spanish) isn’t half bad…
*laugh* Now I feel completely ripped off, we did not have any posters with info. about US Presidents. We did have two really ill-behaved kids running around like lunatics, opening secure doors and freaking out the security guards — that was kind of entertaining.
Whenever I go to the embassy for a visa interview, they make me line up outside in the cold for two hours. THEN they take all my electronics, make me sit inside for another hour, and once it’s all over, I have to pay 10 dollars for DHL to hand-deliver the visa to my home. So, it could be worse.
*laugh* Okay okay, you win for worst US outpost in a foreign land experience on my blog! Unfortunately, other than the distinction, nothing else comes with the win!
What happen to the US EMBASSY in the Movies 🙂
We had to go there once then we learned to get things apostatized and FedEX overnight international to my hubby’s office. I always bring a paper book in case of boredom or a deck of cards.
Khara! *smile* You mean the world where everyone is skinny, attractive, lives in great houses/apartments and there are fabulous, helpful US Embassies dotting the land? Yes, where the hell is my piece of that world?
Futbol, even though we don’t necessarily have all that much time to read, I find that I can’t take too many pages of the story at once or I start to lose concentration, which causes skimming, and then I miss too damn much. It has been interesting to compare notes with Tom as we read (we have very different reactions to his writing, particularly where it involves male angst — I have thin patience in that department) You can check in with the Infinite Jest summer reading site. There was a cool post by David Foster Wallace’s editor on the project (wow, that would have been quite a job.) Check in with me when you have made some progress!