entry requirements

In June I am planning to bring my children to the D.R. They are 13, 12 & 9. Does the D.R. require they have passports or is me having one sufficient? Just the 4 of us will be traveling - without their mother, does this create a problem?

Larry

You should have their original birth certificates of course but a passport is better. Also, since their mother isn't travelling with you, have a letter signed before a Notary Public (or commissioner of oaths if you live in Quebec, Canada) stating that she authorizes that you take them to DR. This letter should specify the date you leave and the date you return.

Katia

Yes, definitly make sure you have that letter. When I was a kid, my father and I traveled to the Dominican Republic without this letter. They sent us back as the airline did not check for this letter in New York. It was not a pleasant experience. Have a good trip.

Interesting. Seems like a rather discriminatory policy, if in fact a policy. My daughter has traveled with me internationally a dozen times without such a letter from her father. Who requires such a letter? Maybe I've just been lucky so far?

I have traveled with high-school aged children (not my own) as a chaperone, and they had their own birth certificates but I carried no documentation for them. I DID have their parents send a notorized statement that I could sign for their medical treatment should they be ill or injured, but this never came into play (thank heavens!) Check with the state department for a definative answer.
Regards,
WBD

I'm hopeful that the requirement goes both ways, i.e., whether traveling alone with the mother or father...otherwise it is discriminatory.