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I need immediate help with this one! My husband Erik and his daughter Sarah are at the airport enroute to St. Barts right now. Unfortunately at chec

N

nnoska

Senior Insider
expired passport

I need immediate help with this one! My husband Erik and his daughter Sarah are at the airport enroute to St. Barts right now. Unfortunately at check in they discovered that her passport expired last week. When she was in Australia last year her passport was stolen and she had a new one issued, but it was only valid for one year. They got their bags checked through to SBH. They are trying to figure out what they will run into going from SXM to SBH. Any advice would be great!
 
Re: expired passport

Could be a problem for sure..I run into this problem almost daily in my job at AA..Some countries will make an exception and let people in as long as they can get a passport in hand before they leave..Others will not let you enter the country without one period..They will make you return to the USA on the next flight..Call the airline they are traveling on and explain the situation to them and see what they advise..I will call AA in SXM right now and see if they can advise me what will happen and I will PM you...
Dennis
 
Re: expired passport

I don't think that there will be a problem in transit. They are worried about getting into SBH once they are there. Does anyone know if they check passports when you use the Rapid Explorer ferry? Where do you go to use the ferry?
 
Re: expired passport

yes I just used the Rapid Ex last week and they were very thorough with passports...the ferry is in Chesterfield Marina
 
Re: expired passport

The PAF simply will not let her in. They check the Rapid Explorer and the Voyager and it is the private boat companies' responsibility to check that travellers have valid passports.

She will be sent to St Maarten. The only chance there is to get some kind of permit from the Sous-prefet
 
Re: expired passport

This is not the first time that this problem has come up since the requirements were tightened, but it is the first time that it has been discussed here. JimD's suggestion of obtaining a special permit from the Sous-prefet on the French side of SXM has worked in the past. It will likely cost them a night on SXM, but they should get to SBH tomorrow.

I am not familiar with the details of the process or where to find the Sous-prefet.

JimD - Is this something that PremiumIV has experience with or knowledge of?
 
Re: expired passport

Are they already on board the flight to SXM? And is it a direct flight or via SJU? If the authorities on SBH won't let them in then they may need to go to the nearest USA Passport office which would probably be San Juan and try to get it renewed the same day if at all possible. So if the flight is direct to SXM they may need to catch a flight to SJU, renew the passport, and fly back to SXM and connect to SBH. If the flight to SXM stopped in SJU I suppose they could go to the SJU passport office and pay the upcharge for same day service and then continue on to SXM and SBH.
 
Re: expired passport

I'm not certain but I don't believe there is a passport office in San Juan. At least when I got my passport while living in St. Thomas it came from Miami. Although it would certainly be worth an attempt. Good luck!!!

ChipN
 
Re: expired passport

They are on board enroute to SXM direct. Their bags are checked all the way to SBH and my husband has a valid passport. We are hoping that a lot of begging, and tears on her part, plus the proof that my husband has been to SBH 6 times in the last 2 years will help. Thanks for the suggestion about San Juan. If they don't get in, they may have to try that or does any one have any other information on the "sous prefet".
 
Re: expired passport

Everything has been tightened right up, however this may be of some use

Passport Office
St. Thomas
USVI
Havensight Shopping Center

340-774-4024

St Barth Commuter do a charter for around 1200 euros.

Here is the information for the Sous Prefect on St Martin
SOUS PREFECTURE
Route du Fort de Marigot 0590290916
 
Re: expired passport

On our last trip (June 2005) my stepdaughter was in the same situation. We found out the morning of our departure and after making a series of phone calls (airlines and french embassy) the following was our experience:

- She traveled with the expired passport, her drivers license and her original birth certificate.
- We had no difficulty with entry in to SBH. We used SB Services, were traveling mid-week, and within 15 minutes of disembarking our Continental flight, we were on WinAir. Transit gate was no problem.
- At SBH airport, her passport was examined, was NOT stamped, and was returned to her.
- Upon return into the US in EWR, she used her drivers license and birth certificate for ID. No problem at all.

I don't know that your situation will unfold the same way, luckily things went very smoothly for us. The woman I spoke with at Continental advised me that as of January 1, 2006 the scrutiny of passports was going to increase, and the use of a birth certificate as valid ID was no longer going to "fly". Have no idea if this is true or not, but that is what we were told.

Good luck! Susanne
 
Re: expired passport

nnoska,

I hope this all works out for your husband and his daughter. Please keep us posted. There's no telling when another of us will be in your same situation.
 
Re: expired passport

nnoska,

I hope this all works out for your husband and his daughter. Please keep us posted. There's no telling when another of us will be in your same situation.
Click to expand...

Yes, agree with Tim - don't keep us in suspense LOL tell us how they fared.
tks/rgds
georgedp
 
Re: expired passport

I just stopped back to see how they fared as well. I am hopeful everything went smoothly, please keep us posted on their arrival! Best, Susanne
 
Re: expired passport

Susanne -

From St Barth Properties website:

"Effective July 01, 2005, US citizens will be required to show a valid passport for entry into St Barth. For information on U.S. passports, go to the website: www.travel.state.gov/passport/index.html."

Your stepdaughter just made it under the wire.

I have a friend who travelled to SBH using a driver's license and a FAXed copy of his birth certificate as ID - but that was before last July.
 
Re: expired passport

Your stepdaughter just made it under the wire.


Certainly sounds like it! Thanks for the information, that morning was unbelievably stressful once we understood we had a problem. The upside, it will forever ensure that I double check everyone's passports in our travel group well before departure. Best, Susanne
 
Re: expired passport

Well, I haven't spoken with Erik yet, but I know they have arrived, checked into the villa and headed to the dive shop already. I'm sure he will be posting about his escapades as soon as he gets a chance. Thank you all for your help and input.

Nina
 
Re: expired passport

Well, I haven't spoken with Erik yet, but I know they have arrived, checked into the villa and headed to the dive shop already. I'm sure he will be posting about his escapades as soon as he gets a chance. Thank you all for your help and input.

Nina
Click to expand...

Wow that's great. Like Tim said we are curious how they got it done as one never knows when they will be confornted with the same situation. Looking forward to hearing the gory details.
 
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