Anyone know who I would contact to find out if and when Americans would need a passport vs birth cert. and ID? I have posted a message about this before, but I do not plan on getting a passport unless needed. I live a sheltered life and only visit Jamaica!
I am planning my trip for the end of January.

HERE'S WHAT WE TELL OUR GUESTS: Though the date is still to be announced, Jamaica will start to require passports only for entry sometime in 2005; new inspection machines are now in place and tested in both airports.

Until the new law is announced -- which, given Jamaica, could be anytime soon -- US citizens, in lieu of a valid passport, MAY use BOTH of the following:a) a valid US driver's license or other government-issued photo id and b) an original or notarized copy of your birth certificate, with the REQUIRED blindstamp seal. Your bank can provide usually same-day no/nominal fee notary public services.

Children under 15 need (b) only.

If you are a naturalized citizen, bring ALSO your original naturalization papers.
If you are a US resident non-citizen, please contact your home country foreign ministry -- or better yet, embassy in Washington D.c. for current Jamaica entry/exit requirements -- and more importantly, US EXIT/RE-ENTRY requirements.
Non US citizens generally need a valid passport, no visa for a tourist 3 month max visit.

Customs is a stickler at every borderpoint these days and proper paperwork is a must.

NEW LAST YEAR: Jamaica now also requires -- and inspectors have come all the way out to TB from MoBay to check up on guests who fell into this category -- that if you've travelled to the Far East (Pakistan all the way to Australia/Japan), or Africa within one year of arrival on island, you must also have a 'certificate of good health from your doctor--an ink-signed letter attesting to your a-ok health status on his/her letterhead. This was made compulsory last year due to the incidence of SARS and bird flu and other epidemics world-wide -- against which Jamaica tries well to protect her citizens and visitors.

So they could,perhaps, annouonce on, lets say, Jamnuary 15th that a passport would be required beginning February 1st. And in that scenario, anyone with tickets/reservations would not have enough time to obtain a passport. I am not sure if the government will take that in to consideration when announcing the date.

If you'd applied the first time you posted this question, you'd have your passport by now.

So they could,perhaps, annouonce on, lets say, Jamnuary 15th that a passport would be required beginning February 1st. And in that scenario, anyone with tickets/reservations would not have enough time to obtain a passport. I am not sure if the government will take that in to consideration when announcing the date.

International security pressures, not visitor inconvenience, unfortunately takes the stronger hand here. AND the new passport only law will apply in 2005 to an increasing number of Caribbean countries.

Why vex yourself -- go get a passport;it's good for 10 years.

Since it's the holidays when the post offices will be busy and the delays long, get the forms at the local post office, get the requisite photos, your birth certificate/and a copy, both
with the raised/blindstamp seal -- and go through an EXPEDITING SERVICE. You'll pay a premium -- but you'll get your passport in time to travel 15 Jan.

PASSPORT PLUS (1.800.367.1818) in N.Y. and
NEW HAMPSHIRE PASSPORT EXRESS (1.800.841.6778) as well as your local travel agent's sources are good starting points.

Bite the bullet -- and you're ready to travel to Jamaica and to most other countries in the world without an additional visa -- without hitch for the next 10 years.

Well, I solved this problem for myself, at least for this year. I made reservations for 12/28!
I would like to meet Rebecca while I am there. Where are you located?
I bet I could find you at Jack Spratt on 12/31!

Anyone in TB can tell you how to contact me. See ya soon!

I heard it through the grapevine that December 31, 2005 will be the end of our "birth certificate and ID" days. Passports will be required. Any official word Tiv?

Not certain when this regulation will go into effect in Jamaica. However, for all those who travel with documents other than valid passports, the extra wait in the already ultra-slow immigration line that occurs when the immigration officers try to figure out if it's okay for you to enter Jamaica is not particularly appreciated by the scores in line behind you. And, with the AJ flights arriving so terribly late too much of the time, a lot of travelers are exceedingly frustrated and exhausted before they even hit those lines. (I'm not trying to pick on anyone, but it needed to be said.)

More importantly, you definitely will not be able to get back into the US after 12/31/05 without a valid US passport.

Also, some countries will not let you enter unless your passport has a minimum of six more months left before expiration, so don't travel with one that's about to expire.

Word to the wise: If you don't have one, get a passport. Now.

http://www.thewmurchannel.com/travelgetaways/4420367/detail.html

New U.S. Passport Rule Could Hurt Caribbean Tourism

POSTED: 7:59 am EDT April 27, 2005

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- A new U.S. travel rule intended to keep dangerous militants out of the country could end up hurting the Caribbean's tourism industry.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced this month that Americans traveling to the islands will need a passport.

Previously, Americans could go to the Caribbean with just a driver's license or birth certificate.

The head of the tourism board of Jamaica said the policy "will definitely impede visitor flows." More than half of U.S. tourists enter Jamaica without a passport.

The policy kicks in Dec. 31 for Americans returning from the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central and South America. A rule requiring passports for travelers returning from Canada and Mexico kicks in a year later.

I read that more than half of the American tourists that go to Jamaica use the ole' birth certificate / drivers license method of entry. I wonder, of that "more than half;" how many will actually get passports.

The cost went up from $80 to $97, and for children up to 16 yrs old the cost is $82. Stiff fee's if ya have a big family.

I really do understand the how's and the why's of having a passport, but I think this is going to be a horrible thing down the road.

If only half, of that "more than half" actually get passports, that's a big chunk of missing tourism dollars that's not being spent.

How do you think this will effect Jamaica. (or the Caribbean in general)

Not only will we be required to passport up for Jamaica, but Canada and Mexico as well. (Dec. 31, 2007)

I think it will affect tourism in the Caribbean, and any other places that have allowed temporary immigration without passports. But it is not only Americans who visit the Caribbean. Tourists have been coming from countries in Europe and will continue to do so. Their numbers may even increase as the islands learn to appreciate different nationalities. I love Treasure Beach and have been six times but I do resent being quoted prices in American dollars in Jamaica. I always have to say "where am I going to get American money from?" The issue of homeland security is bigger than tourism I'm afraid as my country knows having suffered for years from the IRA

re: but I do resent being quoted prices in American dollars in Jamaica.

Why is that anyhow? I sort of wondered why things are quoted in USD myself, especially since most of the visitors to TB are from everywhere else. My last visit, I was the only American at Shakespeare Cottage among visitors from Italy, Sweden, Canada, Spain and England.

As for homeland security, I agree - things are going to change, and we'd best get used to it.

As for the quoting of the US dollar, I'd say it has a lot to do with:

a) the relative stability of the US$ vs. the JA$. You don't have to change the price as much if you go with US$

b) the fact that a majority of the visitors are from the US, being so close. I don't think its meant to offend anyone, just making it a bit easier for the majority

c) since a lot of products are imported from the US, their price is directly related to the US$

Having said that, I tend to bristle when I (an American) hear the price quoted in US. To me, it usually means the price is too high!

As for homeland security...Ben Franklin had a great quote (to paraphrase) "those who give up personal liberty in the pursuit of security deserve (and will get) neither".