Need passport to travel abroad

[Francisco]

I just red on AOPA that starting in January private pilots flying to The Caribean, South America, And Canada will need a Passport.

Any Comments?

[Ernie Martin]

Those of us who often fly overseas in our Skymasters know this, but others don't. You should note that we spelled this out in the SOAPA web page covering the 2007 Fly-in meeting in Lucaya, Bahamas; it says: "you will need whatever documents are necessary to re-enter the U.S. (specifically, an unexpired passport for U.S. citizens)".

In essence, all U.S. citizens returning to the U.S. will now be treated the same. So whether you're coming back from France or Canada, you'll need a valid passport. Most travelers already have a passport and I don't think the new requirement to get a passport is an unreasonable burden on those who don't, especially in light of the terrorism and immigration challenges we face.

BTW, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that failure to comply probably won't block your entry into the U.S. If you can prove (via an expired U.S. passport or an original birth or naturalization certificate) that you are a U.S. citizen, I don't think that by law you can be denied entry. They'll probably make your life miserable at the arriving airport, with threats of huge penalties and many hours of delays*, and you might even face an administrative proceeding and fine, but I think they'll let you in. I, for one, wouldn't want to test this, so get a passport.

Ernie

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* I know this first hand. As a favor I once gave a ride in my Skymaster to a Bahamian contractor coming to Miami with his wife, principally for him to buy some construction equipment. I knew them to be honorable people, so I wasn't concerned about drugs or smuggling, and I had checked their passpots and U.S. visas. Regrettably, he was carrying a bit over $10,000 and to avoid the paperwork necessary when you exceed $10,000, he had $8,000 with him and had given his wife $4,000. But the Customs guys are good. They figured it out after questioning them separately and promising his wife that she wouldn't be in trouble if she told the truth. And, even though the Customs people knew me well and knew that I was just a good samaritan, I was kept at the Customs facilities for about 3 hours until a supervisor officer came from another facility to deal with the matter.