mre5765

What carrier?

IME, if my first segment is on a US airline, the US airline wants to see that I have a return flight.

But if it is LH, LH never asks (and I never book round trip award tickets).

Anyway, what airline or travel website refuses to sell a one-way ticket on line?

I can certainly believe that if you call the reservation agent you will get push back. So don't do that.

At any rate, the fully refundable ticket idea might be necessary to get you to board the plane to Italy. If OP is an elite on some frequent flyer program such that cancelation fees are waived, that might be the best approach.

The hold option for an AA ticket is a good idea. In theory it is 24 hours to ticket. In practice it is end of next day, so as much as 48 hours. Book one of those, and if asked a check in, show the itin. If they notice it isn't ticketed, get it ticketed and come back a half hour later. Otherwise, just let it expire by itself.

GUWonder

Not like the US "requires" it for US citizens to enter the US. If there is an Italian statutory requirement, the question would still be whether or not there is a penalty and if the penalty is even lawfully applicable. Given Italy's relatively open approach to dual-citizenship and citizenship acquisition even through long-dead grandparents, I would be surprised if there is a penalty that applies. That Italy is part of the Schengen Zone also would make any such US-style "requirement" about this a sort of joke in practical terms at least.

Doubtful that there would be such a problem arising merely because of circumstances like the OP's. Lots of US-born natural born US citizens have two foreign citizen parents who are permanent residents of the US. Such children fly back to the US with a US passport while the parents use non-US passports. In my extended family, it's rather routine for children to have citizenships different than their parent or parents; and we've seen more problems with CBP and CBSA when the citizenship of the whole family is the same than when parents and children had different citizenships.

Xyzzy

Thanks for the info! Yu always know a lot more of the intricate details of this kind of thing.

FlyingHoustonian

I have had multiple Italian Consulate officials tell me point blank to have dual citizen children "just enter Italy" on the American passport in similar situations. Both at the Houston Italian Consulate and the Miami Italian Consulate for example when they would not or could not issue passport renewals.

Unlike US consulates, Italian Consulates do not always make passports while you wait. If the Italians are not registered in the AIRE system most consulates will not issue passports until the home commune can be reached and the consulate gets "permission" from them to issue the passport (could take weeks and weeks).

The Italian version is more in depth but here is some English info:
http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Minister...o/CoseAIRE.htm

You cannot look at Italian government through US eyes in these cases. Certain Italian government processes make the State DMV look slick and helpful...

As for US immigration "having questions", they will not bat an eye most likely. This scenario happens everyday at multiple ports of entry. The US uses jus soli, among others, to confer citizenship so plenty of non-US citizens have US citizen children.

As for the OP, I presume you are trying to pay for the lap child fee and not buy a full ticket, correct? Under two years old and one can just pay the lap child fee which is per flight.

The airline is being overprotective, you could keep trying with other agents, or see if your commune will send you a birth certificate, if you the child is registered already, and just tell them that works. As others have noted with different examples, the airlines are paranoid about fines and are often more strict than the actual rules.

Xyzzy

...I wasn't. I believe that at least some EU nations (other than Italy) have rules similar to the US, though they do nt seem to be enforced the way the US enforces them. There are other considerations when entering a country of which you are a citizen on another country's passport, but those are not really relevant here.

Blogndog

It's not a question of what is "legal", the issue is that the airlines can be penalised for boarding a passenger that does not meet entry requirements. Often this includes a return or onward ticket.

In practice, however, I have often flown into the Schengen zone on a US passport and a one-way ticket -- on a few occaisions, they wanted proof that I had the means to buy an onward ticket; a working credit card is adequate.

So I am a bit baffled by this info. I did have one occasion on which the airline check in agent refused to accept my very worn but nonetheless perfectly valid passport, and it was a huge battle to get checked in.

I also know from experience that issuance of first Italian passport overseas is a huge hassle, although renewals are done very efficiently.

Blogndog

In the future, it might be worthwhile seeing if you can organise your travel so that your wife gives birth in flight, although your child may miss out on some mileage earning opportunities.

GUWonder

The airline wouldn't be hit by an Italian fine for transporting this child of Italian parents to Italy -- not that all airline reps would necessarily understand that.

ffsim

This is naturally the easiest workaround, but also the most expensive.

As a dual Canadian-Italian citizen with a 6-month old, this is exactly what we did -- get the passport, it couldn't be easier.

No, I entered with my Canadian passport many times before getting my Italian passport. In the days of conscription, it was simply sufficient to ensure you were registered with the Italian consulate before traveling to Italy. You know, so they wouldn't arrest you at passport control

Interesting and informative post. I was already registered in the AIRE system so getting the passport was painless. I submitted my application via email and received a call the next day to schedule an appointment at the consulate. At that appointment, I handed over the required documents and walked out with my passport about 20 minutes later.

alaskamatt

This is simply a case of an uninformed airline representative! The person you spoke with had no idea what they were talking about.

The simplest solution: buy your ticket online!
Use your child's US passport at check-in.

The Schengen area has NO return ticket requirement for US citizens (unlike people entering the USA under the visa waiver program). This can be verified in Timatic. I frequently travel to and from Europe on one-way tickets and I've never encountered any trouble whatsoever. Many other countries (many Caribbean islands, Australia, NZ) do have such a requirement.

I believe the agent may have confused the rules for entering the USA with the rules for entering Europe.

That being said, it would be a good idea to bring your child's birth certificate with you to assuage any fears that Italian immigration might have about international child abduction.

(pro tip: before you go, get a duplicate copy -- or two -- of the child's birth certificate and submit it to the appropriate office in the birth state for an apostille certificate. Bring it with you. Trust me...)

You can start the Italian documentation process once you get there.

-------

Hypothetical tangent: Technically, Schengen visas "should" even be issued at the border for immediate family members of Schengen citizens who would otherwise require visas if they are traveling together. That being said, I wouldn't rely on this provision in convincing an airline to board a person who would otherwise need a visa. This doesn't apply to your sitaution, since US citizens don't require short-stay entry visas anyway.

Citation: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...y/index_en.htm

"Arriving at the border without an entry visa
It is always best for your non-EU family members to be well informed in advance and have all the necessary documents before starting their journey.

However, if they arrive at the border without an entry visa, the border authorities should give them the opportunity to prove by other means that they are your family members. If they manage to prove it, they should be issued with an entry visa on the spot."

uwr

Actually a short-form birth certificate is also acceptable. That's all I have for my children have. I have read that some others (including one person in particular) only have that form.

m44

alaskaman - ditto
This IS a case of incompetent airline agent - probably the "know-it-all" type.
The rules in general are:
(1) any newborn in the USA must have USA passport to depart;
(2) the airline has no clue who has what citizenship except based on the passport presented -- so the airline employee has no facts to speculate on;
(3) most EU countries, and in particular Italy, have agreements with USA that the passport presented at the entry point determines citizenship of multi-citizenship person for 90-day period; although state judges in USA often totally ignore USA obligations under USA laws and always recognize only US citizenship despite any claims to the contrary (e.g. TX and AZ cases involving dual-citizens);
(4) non-Shengen members of EU citizen's immediate family must have proper visas after the initial 90-day period;
(5) under-educated ignoramus can spoil anybody's travel and life without impunity.

chuichi

Which airline was this?

We did the same thing in 2013, flew from London to Hong Kong, had our son in Hong Kong, and got a one-way ticket back to London on Virgin Atlantic. No problem there at all!

:D!

If your son is a British citizen, then that is not the same situation at all.

If you and your son are Hong Kong "citizens", then you would have needed to get a visa for your son before he could enter the UK. There is no problem with one-way tickets once a visa is held.

Because Hong Kong does not award "citizenship" by birth (although it sort of does internally within China), it is hard to come up with a comparable scenario without sounding very contrived.

For example, you could both be Australians with right of abode in the UK, in which case your son born in HK would be Australian without right of abode in the UK, but would be eligible for it after 3 (or 10?) years of UK residence.

But as in this case, in the eyes of the airline, the infant would be entering Italy / the UK as a tourist - in which case a return (or onward) flight is required.

GUWonder

The UK has a general return/onward flight requirement for citizens of Australia and the US? That would be sort of a surprise. Ability to meet the costs for onward/return travel need not include having an actual ticket for such at time of arrival and seeking admission into the UK. It certainly doesn't mean it has to be an onward/return flight.