Don't make the mistake I did and assume your kid will be able to cruise through customs by your side because YOU have Global Entry. They need their own.
After Tristan was born, I thought for sure that once he received his passport, he’d be able to cruise through Global Entry alongside his mom and dad, since we both have Global Entry. But unfortunately that’s not the case. It wasn’t until my friend Lee of BaltThoughts.com mentioned it on Instagram that I realized we’d have to apply for a separate Global Entry card for Tristan. I’m happy I didn’t have to find out the hard way (going through customs in the Global Entry line, only to be told to get back in the other line because Tristan would need to go through the main line).
But there’s good news!! The process to apply for a baby is SOOO EASY!! It honestly took me only a few minutes, and was way shorter than when I applied for myself.
Here’s what you’ll need to do:
1. Get your kid an email
You can’t apply for your child’s Global Entry pass under your account. So you’ll need to either create an account for your child using a different email from the one you used to apply for your Global Entry pass, or just create an email for your child. I chose the latter since I figured it would be nice to have one anyway (and I’m going to use the opportunity to send him little notes here and there, so that once he’s old enough to read them, I can give him access to the account to read notes from his mom).
I just created Tristan his own Gmail account, which is free and easy. That took less than five minutes.
2. Create a Global Entry Account
Once I had Tristan’s new email, I created his own Global Entry account on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. That was as simple as putting in his email and choosing a password.
3. Apply Online
After I created his own Global Entry account, the process took less than 5 minutes. You of course need a passport for your child before applying for Global Entry, and the only thing they need for BOTH “Proof of Identification” and “Proof of Entry” is the information on your child’s passport. You don’t even need to upload a supporting document. You simply add in your child’s full name, date of birth, country of citizenship, place of birth, passport number, date of issuance and date of expiration.
After you input the name from your child’s passport TWICE (once for “Proof of Identification” and again for “Proof of Entry”), you choose “save and continue” and answer some questions on the following page. Since I’m assuming your child has never been convicted of a felony or encountered any customs issues, the answers to these questions will all be “no”. You then answer whether or not he or she has been to any countries outside of the U.S., Mexico or Canada, submit your application and pay. THAT’S IT!
And don’t forget to pay for your Global Entry application ($100) with one of your travel cards. Most airline cards and any travel-friendly cards (such as Chase Sapphire Rewards or Amex Platinum) will reimburse for one Global Entry application fee. I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard, and the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Amex, which all reimburse for Global Entry.
Apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and get 80,000 points: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6a/WLA4RVF9KA
Apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card and get 75,000 points: http://refer.amex.us/LAUREWJUnM?xl=cp01
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Be Well, Stay Safe!
xoxo
Lauren
