Myth Buster: "I need a passport to go to Hawaii"
Posted on Tue, Dec 9, 2008 by Sheila
Believe it or not one of the most frequently asked questions about visiting Hawaii is “Do I need a passport to visit Hawaii?” If you are a US citizen or legal resident, you don’t need a passport. Hawaii is one of the 50 states and therefore a passport is not required for US citizens and legal residents. For example, if you lawfully live in New York, you don’t need a passport to visit California or New Jersey, therefore you don’t need a passport to visit Hawaii.
If you are not a US citizen or lawful resident, you are required to present a valid passport. For example, if you are a citizen of Australia and you visit Hawaii, you are required to present a valid Australian passport. Here’s what the US Department of Homeland Security says:
All international visitors regardless of country of origin must present a passport or secure document when entering the United States by air.
You can read more about the requirements for international visitors here.
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Is it true that I will need to get vaccinated to protect the local Hawaii population?
I heard that there are about 50 shots in all which are administered in stomach and kidney areas of the body. Is this true?
Do I need to go to my bank to exchange my money for Hawaiian currency? I heard the current exchange rate is 3 Puka shells to 1 US Dollar.
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kalani kubota Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
what the fudge is wrong with you Hawaii is part of the USA!!!! We do NOT use “puka shells” as currency! You don’t even need a passport to come here. what did you learn in social studies? are you trying to be funny and act like a total idiot?!!! And what is up with the 50 shots in the kidney and stomach?! That is just not natural or even possible. as a person who lives in Hawaii, I am very offended!
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sheila Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Kalani- Dave is 100% KIDDING!
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@ Dave – hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha and hahahahahahahahahahahahah and hahahahahahahahahaha
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Certain minimum standards of knowledge are required to not be a harm to yourself and one of them is this knowledge concerning a passport.
Aloha,
Keahi
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Hawaii is part of the United States? People are way too friendly there, there’s no possible way.
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@ Keahi – your comment reminded me of a slogan my alma mater (NCSU) used to have: “Knowledge is the prey. We are the hunters.”
@ jim – haha…’tis true, I promise.
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The ONLY time you would need a passport when going to Hawaii is if you take a cruise that will stop off at a foreign country while coming or going to the isles. I’ve seen several cruises that make stops at Vancouver or Mexico.
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Dave- the current exchange rate is 10 puka shells to the dollar. But changes daily with today’s economy.
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kalani kubota Reply:
October 11th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
wow Hawaii is a part if the U.S and you don’t need puka shells to use as money here we use real money and not shells why would you even think that!!!
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@ Joanne – thanks for adding that point about needing a passport if you arrive in a cruise from a foreign country.
@ justin – Ha! That much, eh?
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I thought I’d add these comments from another post since they fit into this conversation.
“Can anyone tell me if you can travel into Hawaii with only one month left on your passport”
This was my response:
“I think the answer to your question depends on your country of residence. If you are a US citizen, you aren’t required to present a passport to visit Hawaii.
If you are visiting Hawaii from outside the US, the answer depends on your country of citizenship. To best answer your question, contact the US Embassy location nearest you. Here’s a link to find your nearest location: http://www.usembassy.gov/“
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