Baby's First Passport

Congratulations on your child's birth!

Your new baby needs a first passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (similar to a birth certificate), and a Social Security number. On this page we'll tell you what you need to do to get all three items.

It is important to start this process as soon as possible after your child is born. In the case of urgent, unexpected travel, your child will need a passport.

Once you have assembled all the necessary items, you'll need to come by our office with your child. We are open for American Citizen Services on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  No appointment is necessary.  Please call the consular section on (675) 321-1455 if you are coming from outside of Port Moresby and require an appointment outside of our normal hours. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

How Long Does it Take?

Once we have everything we need, processing time is normally about two to three weeks, as all passport printing must now be done in the U.S. However, please don't make any unchangeable travel plans until you have the new passport in hand. We'll mail the completed passport and Report of Birth to you at your provided return address.

Your child's Social Security card will be sent to you directly by the Social Security Head Office. Please allow three to six months for the card to arrive.

What do you need?

All birth, adoption, marriage, death or divorce certificates must bear the original seal, stamp or signature of the Official Custodian of the document. Notarized copies, church records and uncertified photocopies are not official documents and may be invalid as primary evidence. All documents must be originals. We will return the original documents to you as soon as processing is complete. All documents not in English must be translated; you may do the translation yourself.

• Application for a Passport, Following the Regulations for Minors Under 16
• Application for a Consular Report of Birth:
• Application for a Passport, Following the Regulations for Minors Under 16 
• Application for a Consular Report of Birth;
• Complete (but not signed) CRBA application Form DS-2029, all questions must be answered;
• Complete (but not signed) Affidavit of Physical Present and Parentage;
• Child's Birth Certificate; Parents' registered marriage certificate(if applicable); Evidence of termination of any previous marriages (if applicable); American Citizen Parent(s)' evidence of U.S. Citizenship(U.S. passport or naturalization certificate, passport);Applicable fee.

Social Security Number Application (SS-5): Please download and complete form SS-5-FS (PDF 164KB). Don't send it to Social Security; instead, submit the completed form to the Embassy along with the other forms and documents needed for your child's report of birth and first U.S. passport.

Other Necessary Items

• Personal Appearance by Your Child
• Your child, even a newborn, must appear in person at our offices at the time you make the application. There are no exceptions or waivers possible for this requirement.

Fee

• The fees are US$100 for the Consular Report of Birth, US$105 for the passport, for a total of US$205. We accept cash, US Dollars or PNG Kina and credit cards.

Some Other Things We Might Ask For

• Evidence of U.S. Citizen Parent's Physical Presence in the U.S.
• In some situations, how long one or both American parents lived in the U.S. can affect your child's acquisition of citizenship. If we have questions about this, you may be asked to bring in work, social security, tax, school or records to demonstrate the parent's period of physical presence in the U.S.
• Evidence of U.S. Citizen Parent's Physical Presence Together at Conception: In some situations, such as if your child was conceived out-of-wedlock, we may ask for evidence of the biological parents' physical presence at the time of conception. Such evidence might include passports, military travel orders, leases, etc. In some complex cases, we may need to request a blood or DNA test.