Does an infant need a passport?
If at least one of the parents has an old-style international passport, you can do without issuing a separate document for the baby. The child is simply included in the parent’s document.
But after this, travel abroad for the baby will only be possible accompanied by the adult in whose passport he is included.
In some countries, a separate document is mandatory even for an infant.
If you are planning a one-time trip, it is worth checking whether a child aged 2 years (3 years and so on) needs a foreign passport at the consulate of the country you are visiting or with your tour operator.
If parents plan to travel abroad with their child regularly, it is still better to issue . This can be done at any time in the baby’s life, starting from birth.
Do I need a passport for a child under one year old?
When the first biometric passports began to be issued in 2009, parents thought about the question: do they need to issue a foreign passport for their child or can they not do this and continue to include babies in theirs?
If the child is over 14 years old (he already has his own identity document), then the parents are required to obtain a foreign passport for the teenager. But for a newborn and a teenager under 14 years old there is an alternative option.
If the parent has an old-style international passport, then you can enter information about the baby from birth into it. Continue to do this until he has his own document. The method has both advantages and disadvantages.
This is interesting: Going abroad with children? We will show you how to enter your child into your passport without any problems!
Advantages:
- The old-style passport is changed every 5 years and this is convenient for small children, because they grow quickly and change in appearance.
- You don’t need your baby’s presence to register your baby.
Flaws:
- It will be impossible to travel without a legal representative - all trips with grandparents and other people are excluded.
- The state duty is higher than for a new document.
- The processing time is longer than for a biometric passport.
- If the father and mother have a difficult relationship, then this will not be easy, since each other’s consent is needed.
- If the family plans to move, it will still be necessary to obtain a personal passport. Otherwise, he will not receive a residence permit in another country.
What type of passport should I choose?
In the Russian Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you can issue two types of foreign passports:
- biometric (valid for 10 years);
- without biometric data (validity period – 5 years).
For children under 14 years of age, it is wiser to choose the second type of document .
The photo on a newborn's international passport will very quickly cease to correspond to the baby's real appearance, which will make his document invalid - it will need to be issued again.
Until a child reaches 14 years of age, it makes no sense to overpay for a foreign passport with biometric data.
Ways to obtain a passport for a child
Children's foreign passports are issued in the same authorities as documents for adults:
- Migration Service (GUVM of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation);
- MFC divisions;
- government services portal.
It is not necessary to take your baby with you to the authority.
Through State Services
The easiest option for obtaining a foreign passport for a newborn child up to one year old is sending an application through the State Services portal.
The application form is in the catalog. On the site you need:
- select the desired document type;
- fill out an application form;
- attach electronic copies of supporting documents and photos;
- pay the fee;
- Make an appointment at the UVM by a certain time.
Through MFC
A foreign passport for a child under 2 years of age and older can be issued through the MFC division. You can also sign up here in advance through the organization’s website or by phone, or come on a first-come, first-served basis.
Not all MFCs accept documents for foreign passports. It is necessary to clarify in advance which department deals with these issues.
Organization employee:
- will check and accept the collected package of documents;
- if necessary, make copies;
- will help you fill out the application form;
- will take a photo (if a biometric passport is selected).
At the MFC cash desk you can usually pay a state fee for obtaining a travel document.
Through the migration service
Citizens who urgently need a child’s international passport can contact directly the Main Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at their place of residence.
no more than a week to complete the document . You can sign up for a visit in advance, through the authority’s website or by phone.
Submitting documents via the Internet
Submission of documents via the Internet is carried out through the State Services portal. Parents need to go to the website https://www.gosuslugi.ru/ and register. Registration is necessary in order to create a personal account through which papers are directly submitted. After registration, namely: entering personal initials, contact phone number or email address, a person must activate his page by entering an activation code. The activation code can be obtained by mail or at a Rostelecom branch.
After activating the page, you can begin filling out an electronic application, which in content is no different from the established form on paper.
Application form for a passport for a child
After filling out the form and attaching all the necessary documents, the form is sent for processing. After about a month, the person receives a notification that he must personally visit the migration service office to personally submit documents.
Who should do the design?
If the family decides that the answer to the question - does a newborn child need an international passport - is positive, they can arrange for it:
- mother father;
- guardian/guardian;
- any of the adoptive parents.
All others (both hired intermediaries and the child’s relatives) can submit his documents to visa services only if they have a notarized power of attorney from the child’s legal representatives.
All the intricacies of obtaining a foreign passport for a baby are described in the following video:
Required documents
To obtain a passport for a newborn, you need to prepare originals and copies of the following documents:
- baby’s birth certificate (with a note on citizenship);
- Russian passport of the parent involved in registration;
- three photographs of the established sample;
- receipt of payment of state duty.
Adoptive parents/guardians of a newborn must also present documents confirming their rights to the baby.
Application form
Questionnaire - application is required for any of the two types of passports. It contains the passport data of one of the parents, data from the child’s birth certificate. A very important detail of the questionnaire is the reason why the parents decided to apply for a foreign passport.
Registration of a foreign passport for a newborn via the Internet (GosServi website)
Complete the registration procedure on the website www.gosuslugi.ru. You must receive an activation code for your “personal account”. Carefully ensure that all fields are filled out correctly! After recording your personal address, the site will provide you with the Federal Migration Service authorities with addresses where you can obtain a foreign passport.
Plan for “moving” around the site:
- Select “FMS”, then – obtain a foreign passport.
- Select the option of obtaining a passport for a child under 14 years of age.
- Read the rules for receiving and processing and go to the “Get a service” field.
- Enter the required data of the child and your own;
- Attach an electronic photo of the newborn.
- Submit your application and wait for a response. You will receive the address of the Federal Migration Service, where you will need to go to pick up the completed documents.
For detailed instructions on how to prepare a document via the Internet, read here - registration of a foreign passport via the Internet using the State Services service.
The second option is through the Federal Migration Service
The legal representative must bring all the necessary papers to the Federal Migration Service office in the area of registration. If you need to complete all the paperwork urgently, then there is a service for emergency production of passports and other documents.
To obtain a new type of passport, the future owner must undergo a dactyloscopy procedure (fingerprinting). But this document collection point is only necessary for citizens who have reached the age of twelve.
There is no signature in the newborn's international passport, because... Only people who have a civil passport, that is, who have reached the age of 14, have the right to leave it.
This is important to know: Do I need to change my passport when changing my last name after marriage?
Features of photographing a baby
Parents who are applying for a biometric passport for their baby do not have to worry about photographs - they will be taken at the place where the documents are accepted.
But you will have to take a photo of the baby for an old-style international passport yourself. It is worth considering some nuances in the process.
General photo requirements
Parents will need three photographs of the child measuring 3.5 by 4.5 cm.
- The baby should be photographed against a white background.
- There should be no foreign objects or people in the frame (parents' hands, toys).
- The baby's mouth is closed, his eyes are open and looking into the lens.
- The child's head is held straight, without tilting.
- Headwear is not allowed.
Retouching of the background in the photo is allowed. But changing a child's appearance using photo editors is strictly prohibited .
How to remove a baby?
Before taking a photo of your baby for your international passport, it is better to put it on a white diaper and take it while lying down . However, all general requirements for photos remain the same.
A grown-up child of 1-2 years old can be photographed in a photo studio.
If you are shooting at home, it is advisable not to use flash. The camera should be held at eye level with the child.
You will learn a lot of useful practical tips on how to photograph a baby for a foreign passport in the following video:
If the baby is unrecognizable in the photo
If the child is unrecognizable in the photo, problems may arise when passing border control, including border guards issuing an order to change the document.
This is true even for biometric passports. Despite the presence of a chip with the baby’s personal data, his photograph must correspond to reality.
As soon as the photo of the baby on the international passport no longer corresponds to reality, the document needs to be changed. The validity period of the passport is not important.
How to obtain a passport for a child
Where can I get a passport? The following departments deal with this issue in the Russian Federation:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Management of the Federal Migration Service (FMS);
- Russian consulates abroad.
Only parents (or legal guardians, having provided the necessary confirmation) can issue a passport for a child, who will need to collect the necessary documents and submit them to one of the above departments.
Before you go and stand in line, dear parents, ask what documents are needed to obtain a child’s individual passport.
Documents that need to be collected and provided:
- Birth certificate + copy;
- Passport of the parent who issues it (or residence permit) + copy;
- Insert about the child’s Russian citizenship (the mark may appear on the birth certificate itself);
- Questionnaire (filled out by the parent in the name of the child);
- 4 photographs 3.5*4.5 cm on matte paper;
- Receipt for payment of state duty:
Difficulties may arise with photographing a child if he is very small. You can bring the baby to the studio or take a photograph at home yourself on a white background, and the specialists in the studio will edit it and print it in the desired format.
The state fee must be paid in advance, informing the operator at the bank that you are applying for a foreign passport.
The cost of a passport for a child: a regular old-style passport – 1000 rubles , a biometric one – 1500 rubles.
You can submit documents directly to the Federal Migration Service or submit an application on the State Services portal on the Internet.
It is much easier and faster to order a passport through government services, so you don’t have to stand in line, and this is extremely important when you are with a baby. After requesting via the Internet, you will arrive without a queue at the appointed time to the Federal Migration Service. When applying for a new passport for 10 years, the child must appear to have biometric data taken. If you are applying for a regular international passport, you do not need to bring a child.
You will receive your passport within 10 working days.
Processing time for a passport
The standard production time for foreign passports in the Russian Federation is 1 month. But in some cities, a baby under one year old can get a foreign passport within a few days - this is indicated on the website of the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Even if there is no information on the website about urgent production of a document, most likely it will be ready in 1-1.5 weeks . This is due to the ease of checking information about the baby.
You can check your readiness through the migration service website.
Crossing the border with young children
When crossing the border with infants, the following rules apply:
- if the baby travels with one of the parents, the consent of the second is not required;
- for the removal of children by one of the relatives (or as part of a tour group with a teacher), the notarized consent of both parents is required;
- the parent must have with him a document confirming his family ties.
In the latter case, depending on the situation, this may be a birth/adoption certificate or a document establishing guardianship.
When it comes to obtaining a passport for very young children. The most convenient way is to use the State Services portal.
This will save time, which is always missing with babies. In addition, the parent will be able to receive a discount on the state fee when paying through the portal.
What nuances are you worth knowing about?
It is worth knowing that in some cases, issuing a passport for an infant may be refused for a number of reasons. Among them:
- One of the parents disagrees with the child leaving the country. A refusal may provoke a corresponding application from the disagreeing party submitted to the migration services.
- Not a complete package of papers was provided.
- When verifying the data, the verifying party found inaccurate information.
- It has not been documented that the baby is a citizen of the Russian Federation.
To avoid refusal, you should very carefully check all provided data for correctness. In addition to the international passport, you will also need to present the child’s birth certificate at the border to confirm the relationship. This point is especially relevant if the parent and child have different last names.
Summarizing all of the above, it can be argued that a foreign passport for a child under one year of age is not only needed, but also necessary if a trip abroad is planned.
