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I live in the USA. I’m an active SCUBA diver and have heard the Caymans have some amazing dive sites all around the islands.

I’ve been thinking about booking a trip down next year. Do I need a visa or passport to visit the islands?

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    What is your citizenship?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Jun 28 '20 at 0:23
  • @NateEldredge American by birth
    – MissouriSpartan
    Jun 28 '20 at 0:51
  • Just to clarify, you don't need a visa OR a passport. If you needed a visa, you would also need a passport.
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Jun 28 '20 at 18:31
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US Citizens don't need a visa and can enter without a passport provided they can show an original or notarised birth certificate to prove their citizenship, and that they have a return or through ticket to a country that will accept them. (Source)

Whilst it might be technically possible to fly without a passport, returning to the US with just a birth certificate might lead to delays at US immigration.

A passport is the way to go.

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    Timatic requires a US citizen to be holding a valid US passport to fly to the Caymans or to return to the US, so "A passport is the way to go" is correct. That means a US citizen, in the Caymans with only a birth certificate, would be refused boarding for any flight back to the US.
    – DavidSupportsMonica
    Jun 28 '20 at 1:55
  • So it’s best, that if I go next year (hopefully the craziness has started to die down by then), it’s best to bring my passport to RETURN to the USA?
    – MissouriSpartan
    Jun 28 '20 at 18:46
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    Do you have a passport? If so, why consider travelling without one? If not, get one. It's the document for international travel. You'll find using it easier than trying to persuade an airline clerk that your birth certificate is enough.
    – user105640
    Jun 28 '20 at 22:34
  • If you are not planning to travel outside the Western hemisphere in the near future, a Passport Card might be more convenient.
    – Mark Johnson
    Jun 29 '20 at 7:53
  • Correction: A Passport Card cannot be used for International Air Travel, only for Land or Sea borders in North America.
    – Mark Johnson
    Jun 29 '20 at 8:24
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As you are presumably a US resident, you can stay for up to 30 days:

Residents of the United States of America

A person resident in the United States of America who:

  • arrives in the Cayman Islands directly from that country;
  • on landing, produces a valid United States Alien Registration Card; and
  • produces a return or round trip ticket to that country,

may be permitted to enter and remain in the Islands for a period not exceeding thirty days.

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    FYI: The "Alien Registration Card" is the so-called green card, issued to permanent residents.
    – Michael Hampton
    Jun 27 '20 at 23:51
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    Someone who lives in the US and asking about needing a passport is probably a US citizen, and won't have a Green Card. See my answer.
    – user105640
    Jun 28 '20 at 0:13

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