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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

DM passport dilemma for surprise holiday

42 replies

Angrybittertwisted · 15/03/2018 15:20

Hi all,
Not really AIBU but need to book holiday ASAP as I’ve been looking at it the past few days and don’t want the cookies to put the price up. But it’s a surprise for my DM who I’ll tell on Christmas this year (going Jan 2019) I need her passport to book it but I can’t find it anywhere.

What excuse can I say to ask for her passport?

OP posts:

TamaraDrankMyMilk · 15/03/2018 15:54

Questions you will be asked on the ESTA www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/ESTA-Electronic-System-for-Travel-Authorisation-p-82.html

and the official ESTA website esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html

Check the questions needed above, if you are answering no to all of them then you should be granted an ESTA if you have to answer yes then it is a Visa application which can take 6 months to process.

But what a lovely thing to do for your Mum. I can't think of an excuse of why you need her passport but just wanted to steer you in the right direction esta wise.

MrsFezziwig · 15/03/2018 16:00

If you are a British citizen you don’t need a visa as you can travel on the visa waiver scheme (though I’m sure you would check this out yourself rather than relying on random MN opinions) 😁 You do need an ESTA though, and I guess you can apply for it on her behalf online although you do have to answer more questions than previously (probably you will know the answers though). Once you have worked out how to get your hands on her passport it’s also advisable to make sure that it has at least 6 months to run.

MrsFezziwig · 15/03/2018 16:01

Beat me to it Tamara!

ReasonableLlama · 15/03/2018 16:04

Could you say "oh my passport has a . Is that normal? What's it say/look like on yours? Let me see"

Crunched · 15/03/2018 16:14

When I did a similar thing for my sister, I told her that I needed her passport details to identify her officially as I was making her an executor for my will. She totally fell for it.

BlossomCat · 15/03/2018 16:18

YABU to book a surprise holiday for anyone.
What utter bollox.
I was gifted a surprise trip abroad from my family for a significant birthday. The absolute utter joy, shock, surprise and love I felt on opening the card will stay with me forever. The weekend away was fantastic, too, but the tears of joy I shed in finding out the surprise is a very fond memory indeed.

My family asked my dh to give them the details of my passport

KatharinaRosalie · 15/03/2018 16:24

I think the 'I've lost my passport and now they want yours to prove I'm a citizen' line could work

totorostoes · 15/03/2018 16:24

Tell her that you can't find your passport in your house and cannot for the life of you think where you may have put it. Maybe she will offer up some places to look and hopefully one of them will be where hers are stored!

CoffeAndCream · 15/03/2018 16:25

Can I just chip in and say BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE at the same time as you book the holiday!!! So much can change when you book this far in advance. There was a thread recently where the op had booked a family holiday and not bought insurance, one of the party developed a medical condition and they had to cancel. If they had bought insurance at the time they could have claimed their money back.

BevBrook · 15/03/2018 16:32

I booked a holiday to New York for a parent’s birthday. Despite me checking with their partner it turned out they couldn’t make the date it was on, because of a commitment they hadn’t shared. We had to rebook which was a lot of hassle. Just check your mum knows to keep those dates free even if she doesn’t know where she is going!

sonjadog · 15/03/2018 16:35

Say that your work is registering next of kin and they need the nationality and passport number. Why, you don't know, but that's just what they said.

popcorntime · 15/03/2018 16:44

Where are you booking through?
I've joined flights through virgin for me and a friend and we won't need to give our passport details until check in.

You will need it for the esta application though, but if you're not going until a month after you give her the gift then you'll have time to do it once she knows?

allinclusive · 15/03/2018 17:38

Tell her you'd like to keep a copy for safe keeping as you've just read on mumsnet that you really should.

Hissy · 15/03/2018 17:41

My gran completely blew off an all expenses paid holiday to see her sister in Canada

Cost my mum and her siblings thousands!!

Tell her your taking her away, but keep the venue a secret...

Knittedfairies · 15/03/2018 17:43

Can you tell her that you're photocopying your passport (maybe to keep a record, in case it’s lost) and would she like you to do hers as well?

Original poster

Angrybittertwisted · 15/03/2018 18:25

Okay so..

I’ve spoke to her & her work to arrange she’s definitely got the time off.

BUT she has lost her passport apparently over a year ago

OP posts:

MrsFezziwig · 15/03/2018 22:07

So how much of a surprise do you intend it to be? Presumably you’re going to have to tell her that she needs a passport, otherwise she might not bother to get a new one. And getting a new passport when you’ve lost the old one is slightly more complicated than just renewing one, so although you have plenty of time to sort it I’d get on the case pretty soon.

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