This may help you http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

If you are an American citizen, no. But it is recommended.

The bigger question is why would anyone who likes to travel not have one?? Easy trip to the drugstore to get a passport photo, swing by post office fill out form, mail it in and in 3-4 weeks you have the most reliable form of I.D. going. It is a painless and cheap process.

Hello Connie,

The answer depends on your nationality and where you are traveling from to get to St. Thomas.

If you are American and...

"traveling outside the United States or a U.S. territory, a passport or other secure document will be required. For example, a person may travel to and from the United States to the U.S. Virgin islands without a passport or other secure document, but under proposed regulations, a passport or other secure document would be required to re-enter the U.S. Virgin Islands from the British Virgin Islands or another country as of December 31, 2006." (Quoted from http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html)

Also, proof of citizenship is required when leaving St. Thomas to return to the US mainland. Accepted documents for Proof of Citizenship for Americans: 1. A passport issued under competent authority, 2. An Alien Registration Card (this applies to United States of America permanent residents only) 3. A certified copy of a birth certificate and government issued photo identification like a driver's license 4. A Certificate of Naturalization, issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Citizens of any country other than the United States should follow U.S. travel regulations and requirements for entry into the United States when visiting the USVI.

--Islander

i never pay attention to the regulations. I don't need to, because I have a passport. It makes travelling smoother in our post-9/11 world. When they expire, i just keep renewing them, even if there's no trip planned. It's a valuable document to have

Lol Lex
The same way I feel & it is good for 10 years. Never know when you will travel around the world if you win the lottery !

My husband and myself DO have passports, but I was wondering about the other 6 people who will be traveling with us.

Thanks for everybodies information.

I never thought about it that way, but it would be really irritating if I won a quadrillion dollars in the lottery, then had to wait to get a passport before I could take off for Tahiti and Bali and Bhutan. Gotta be prepared.

Does anyone know if just copy of the birth certificate is still adequate for a young child traveling from the US to the USVI? What about the BVIs? March will be our first time returning to the Islands since our son was born and we just want to make sure things run as smoothly as possible with the new regulations.
Thanks.

Hi toasty.

No proof of citizenship is required to travel from the US mainland to the USVI. A raised seal birth certificate is still acceptable for a child leaving the USVI for the US mainland traveling with his/her parents. A raised seal birth certificate and a picture ID is still acceptable for an adult leaving the USVI for the US mainland. Presently these requirements also apply to the BVI but as of January 1, 2007, the BVI will require passports.