An adult passport is issued to adults by passport authorities, with different requirements and costs than child passports. Adults may use existing government-issued identification, while children must appear in person. Adult passports may be valid for up to ten years and have different types, such as the passport card or standard book passport.
An adult passport is a passport issued to adults by the passport authority in a particular country. The term adult passport is used to distinguish this type of passport from a child passport. It should be noted that the definition of adult used by a passport authority may be based on a chronological age limit which may be different from what is officially understood to be the age of majority in a particular jurisdiction. For example, US citizens over the age of 16 must apply for an adult passport, even though 16-year-olds are generally considered legal minors in other areas of law. The difference between adult and child passports varies by jurisdiction, but can include a different application process, different costs, and different validity periods.
Typically, when an individual applies for an adult passport, they are required to verify their identity and citizenship through the use of various documents, including birth certificates or government-issued ID cards. Since many adults already have government-issued identification in the form of driver’s licenses or identification cards for government or military employment, the process of obtaining an adult passport could be significantly easier, as the applicant may be able to send copies of these documents by post as part of the application process. In the United States, however, children generally do not have this type of photo identification and therefore must appear in person at a passport application agency along with their parent or guardian to complete the application process.
Holders of adult passports may only need to renew their passports every ten years or so, depending on the laws in their area. This is in contrast to a child’s passport, which can have a much shorter renewal period. The cost of an adult passport can also be higher than that charged for a child passport. In the United States, children, including very young infants, cannot travel on their parent’s passport, but must have their own passport. Adults who are US citizens can obtain several types of passport documents, including the passport card, which is valid for re-entry to the United States after land and sea travel to the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico. The other alternative is the standard book passport, which can be used to re-enter the United States after travel via any form of transportation and from any country.
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