As of April 1st, 2015 children younger than 12 years should also have their own passports. Everyone who wants to travel will then need a passport. So it is no longer possible to let children travel on the passports of their parents, not even when they have been included on the passports of their parents.
As of the transition (10-10-2010) the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary (KMar) has allowed Dutch citizens from the Caribbean Netherlands to travel with their children to other countries within the Caribbean without the children having a valid travel document (passport or ID). Because of international obligations and the Wet toelating en uitzetting BES (BES Admittance and Deportation Act) all travellers need to have a valid travel document with them. Also due to the increase in the issue of emergency passports for travel outside the former Netherlands Antilles it has been decided to abolish the policy of tolerance as per April 1st 2015. Exception to the Wet toelating en uitzetting BES is that Dutch citizens from the Caribbean Netherlands are allowed to travel with a ID within the Caribbean Netherlands. However, the Wet identiteitskaarten BES (BES Law on Identity Cards) stipulates that a ID is only granted to persons older than 12 years. In practice this means that everyone needs a valid passport as per April 1st 2015, so this also includes children younger than 12 years.
Since a passport is relatively expensive and on account of the current financial situation in the Caribbean Netherlands, the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations, IND-CN and the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary (K-Mar) have joined forces and have decided to grant minors who were younger than twelve years until January 2015 an exemption of fees for the acquisition of the 1st passport.