Coming from the states you should not need a passport. Your original birth certificate and Driver License will do. If you have children, it's probably a good idea to get them an ID-Card at your local DMV. This will save a lot of troble at airports.

Coming from the States, you need nothing...it's getting BACK to the States where you will need BC or passport! Haha! Also, if you plan on going into the BVI while here, you will need a passport or BC w/ photo ID. The regs are changing, so a passport will be required soon. December is it? Islander? You know?

Yes, Marty... by Dec 31 2005, passports will be required to get into the British Virgin Islands, but according to the National Passport Center (I got email from them), U.S. citizens do not need to have a passport, but they will need original or sealed birth certificates plus picture ID issued by the government. Most folks use driver licenses.

The respondent did tell me that (after Dec 31 2005) travelers will need to verify boarding requirements with their carriers (airlines or cruise ships), which MAY be different. If I had my druthers, everyone should move to get a passport, since not all airline employees seem to know that the U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark by the United States of America in 1917...

Thanks for the information. We have original birth certificates. I don't care if I don't get back to the States! Ha, Ha !

When I go on my next Caribbean vacation, I will definitely get a passport, just to be on the safe side.

We are leaving in 11 days!

Dear Terri: Birth certs and government picture ID - that should be just fine for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and even the British Virgin Islands up until Dec 31 2005...

So have fun, fun, fun!!!

Interesting information in case you're interested. Official posting at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html.

US processed 8.8 million passports in 2004; projecting about ten and a half million in 2005. And then those projections naturally escalate over the next several years, perhaps as many as 12 million 2006, 14 million in 2007, 17 million in 2008.

New Requirements for Travelers Between the United States and the Western Hemisphere

Travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada will be required to have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows:

December 31, 2005 – Passport or other accepted document required for all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.

Other than a passport, what types of documents will be acceptable under this initiative?

The passport is the document of choice because of the incorporated advanced security features. Individuals traveling to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico or Canada are encouraged to obtain a passport.

Just got back from St John yesterday. We only used our birth certificates and driver's license. We also used them on our trip to the British Virgin Isles and had no problems at all.

Just got back Thursday, never went to the BVI's just the USVI's. ONLY needed our drivers license, we had the birth certs with us but they were not asked for. I'd bring them anyway.

We are planning a trip to the USVI but my friend who is going with us has been waiting on a birth cirt to come from Louisana for months now and the state says its backlogged and it will be a while. Is it possible for someone who is 18 years old to enter the USVI without a driver's liscense and birth cirtificate?

Though my wife and I brought our BC's, we were never asked for them when deperting from STX. All we were asked for was our DL's. Going through customs was simple and almost too easy. I had nighmares about packing all our bags to leave and them having them all dumped out and rummaged through before we boarded our plane. That was not the case. They simply opened our bags and swabbed a cloth down around the edges of our items. Apparently this cloth detects explosives or something.
I was, however, disapointed with the horrid negative attitude of the customs people who work at the airport. After one lady was done 'swabbing' my bag I went to help her re-zip the bag and put the lock back on. She raised her voice to me, almost yelling, and said, quote, "Don't touch the bag!" with a big scowl on her face. She was a very bitter, angry person for some reason. Most of the other personel there also seemed to be distant and aloof, unhappy with either life or their jobs.

You do not need documentation to enter, but leaving will be the issue. If he does not have a drivers license either, I am fraid you will have a problem. Prior to homeland security, you may have gotten away with it but now you will need to get your papers in order.

I would bite the bullet and get a passport (pay the emrgency rush fee) assuming he has enough documentation to meet that criteria.

If you are a born US citizen, don't worry about the passport issue. I flew to Providence, RI from St. Croix in January and they took my driver's license. They even indicated it on the sign at the airport that a driver's license was acceptable. The Tourism Department even made sure that the new rule for travelers to the Caribbean did not apply to the US Virgin Islands so that US citizens can travel without passports/birth certificates. If you are the citizen of another country, however, you have to show evidence that you can legally enter the US.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require passports for travelers to the Caribbean, but the U.S. Virgin Islands are not subject to this regulation, which takes effect in 2006. We are part of the United States.

However, we advise our guests to verify boarding requirements with their carriers, always!

Passports WILL be the only acceptable documents if traveling to the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, or other countries in the Caribbean.

Please see this list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative available at Travel.State.gov: Click this link - http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html#.

When we went, we had our passports but we heard one woman trying to explain to the custom's person that she was told that a driver's license was sufficient. She didn't have her birth cert, and was being given a hard time. I can see that sometimes they may let people through, but better off just having it in case.