Alexander Anolik last year was enjoying a
carefree early morning jaunt before leaving Monaco, driving his rental car
down streets used in that seaside principality's renowned Grand Prix motor
races.
The
good times came to a halt after he arrived at the airport in Nice,
France, and discovered that
his passport was missing.
Fortunately, Anolik, a San Francisco travel attorney, had a photocopy,
which he showed to airline personnel. A quick call to border authorities in
the States, and he was on his way home.
Having the right documents can be critical when you travel, saving you
hours or days of hassles. Most of us know enough to carry passports abroad
and a driver's license (or other identification) and e-ticket itineraries,
along with printouts of hotel and car reservations.
But other papers can prove handy too, especially if you have a chronic
health problem or are traveling with minor children or a domestic partner.
After talking with experts, I've developed this list of papers to
consider taking on the road or, if flying, in my carry-on bag.
• Photocopies of your passport information
page. The U.S. State Department also suggests carrying an extra set of
passport photos to speed the replacement of this vital piece of
identification.
• Contact phones and e-mails for relatives
and friends who might be helpful in an emergency.
• Paper airline tickets or receipts. These
rarely are needed in the United States, where most airlines use electronic
tickets. But if you're scheduled to fly through a less developed country,
especially on an unfamiliar airline, "We would always recommend erring on
the side of caution," said Kevin Morris, vice president of marketing at the
Americas headquarters in Philadelphia for International SOS, a worldwide
company that provides travel assistance.
• Medical information. This might include
your physician's phone number, prescriptions for drugs and eyeglasses,
inoculation history, lists of allergies and proof of health insurance
coverage. (Insurance coverage might be limited abroad. Check with your
insurer.)
If you have a serious medical condition, said Paul Ruden, senior vice
president for legal and industry affairs for the American Society of Travel
Agents, consider getting these papers translated into the language of the
country or countries you'll be visiting.
• Living wills. These typically include
do-not-resuscitate requests and other instructions in case you are unable to
direct your own medical care. In California, a form called an "advance
health care directive" combines a living will with power of attorney, which
allows you to designate someone to make healthcare decisions if you are
incapacitated.
Some experts advise that you take a copy of these documents, plus an
organ-donor card, if you have one, and leave the originals with a friend or
relative back home.
If you're overseas, however, these papers might not help you because
"nobody in other countries is bound by American legal documents," Ruden
said. "They are not obligated to follow it. They may not understand it. It
may even conflict with local laws."
That's one reason it's so important to have contact numbers for friends
and relatives who can intervene.
• Parental consent form. Minors traveling
alone, with one parent or with a third party might need to carry written,
notarized authorization from the absent parent or guardian to enter another
nation, including Mexico and several others in Latin America.
The purpose is to discourage kidnapping. Rules and the definition of
"minor" vary.
Canada, for instance, requires notarized letters for people younger than
16 who are traveling alone or in custody of someone other than their
parents.
Although no consent form is required for one parent to travel with a
minor, you might want to take one anyway "to err on the cautious side," said
Chris Kealey, spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency in Ottawa, the
capital.
If the parents are divorced or separated, he added, taking a copy of the
custody arrangements is "highly advisable."
A nation-by-nation round-up of these and other entry requirements is
posted at
www.travel.state.gov/visa/americans1.html. For details, check with the
consulate of the country you plan to visit.
• Domestic partner documents. These papers
don't travel well, so don't rely on them to protect rights to visit your
hospitalized partner or make medical decisions for them.
That's because only a few states recognize civil unions or domestic
partnerships between same-sex or opposite-sex couples, said Jennifer Pizer,
senior counsel in Los Angeles for Lambda Legal, a nonprofit national lesbian
and gay civil rights firm.
Although it doesn't hurt to travel with a copy of your partner
registration form or the certificate that the state sent you, she said,
domestic partners also should carry copies of powers of attorney and living
wills, which are recognized throughout the United States.
If carrying all these papers seems burdensome -- you'll need to put some
toiletries in that carry-on too, right? --there's an electronic alternative.
You can scan documents into an e-mail and send them to yourself.
There are even companies that will do this for you. As part of its "SOS
Global Traveler" package of medical referral, evacuation, concierge and
other travel assistance, International SOS,
www.internationalsos.com, will
develop an "emergency record" of documents that clients can print out at
Internet cafes and business centers or request by phone.
For a 10-day trip, executive Morris said, charges start at $80 per person
or $110 per couple for the package of services.
Paranoid or prudent? You'll never know until you face an emergency. And
then it might be too late.
