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As winter storms slam large parts of the US (again), one way to soothe yourself is to book a vacation someplace tropical. If you are planning a trip to the Virgin Islands, you may be wondering whether or not you need a passport to go. The answer depends on whether you are planning to go to the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n
The US Virgin Islands are part of the United States.\u00a0 So, if you’re going directly from the US to St. Thomas, St. Croix or\u00a0 St. John, you do not need a US passport. Check your itinerary carefully and confirm this with your airline, though, as you will need a passport if you have a layover in another Caribbean country.<\/p>\n
However, if you are going to the British Virgin Islands (Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Peter Island, Jost Van Dyke, Cooper Island, Salt Island, or Marina Cay),\u00a0 you will need a US passport as these islands are owned by the United Kingdom. You will also need a passport if you are staying on one of the US Virgin Islands and plan to hop on over to the British Virgin Islands for a day trip.<\/p>\n
Prior to June 1st, 2009, passports weren’t required to travel to the British Virgin Islands by land or by sea, as long as you had a driver’s license and a birth certificate (or a naturalization certificate or a certificate of citizenship). On June 1, the new requirements went into effect, and now you must have a passport to visit the British Virgin Islands.\u00a0 A passport book is required if you are flying, while sea travelers can also use a passport card, NEXUS card, FAST card or SENTRI card or an enhanced driver’s license.<\/p>\n
However, there are a few exceptions:<\/p>\n
If you need a passport in a hurry, RushMyPassport.com can help. We hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State for processing times as low as 24 hours. Apply for your passport with us today<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you are planning a trip to the Virgin Islands, you may be wondering whether or not you need a passport to go. The answer depends on whether you are planning to go to the US Virgin Islands or the British Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frequently-asked-questions","category-passport-processing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t