Necessary documentation for taking children to Paris
 

Hi,

I am a U.S. citizen and want to take my 14 year old daughther to Paris without my husband. We both have U.S. passports, but is there any other documentation I need for taking a child out of the country?

Thank you

Hi kt,

Assuming tht you are not trying to kidnap the child and that you are a custodial parent, a passport is all you need.

It wouldn't hurt to have a notarized letter from your husband stating that he has given his permission for this trip.

By all means, call your airline. I've heard that they are very suspicious when only ONE parent is trying to take a child out of the country. The airline can tell you everything you'll need.

A 14 year old can express herself clearly. I doubt that you would have problems leaving the States unless you are dragging her to Europe against her will.IMO, a passport is sufficient.

My daughter in law and I took my 11 yr old granddaughter to Paris last April. It was my understanding that both parents had to sign the passport forms, but that was all that was needed. No one even questioned us.

I have been taking my grandchildren to Europe since 1998. My grandaughter was only 7 at that time and despite that we have different last names , nobody questioned me about her . As a matter of fact, I have spent 5 weeks in Europe this past July with my 9 years old grandchild and the only thing that we have is his passport . Dont worry about and have a great time in Paris..

I researched this issue a few months ago for a friend of mine. According to the website for the Embassy of France, you will need an authorization signed by your husband, plus one copy.

Many countries have instituted these procedures in an attempt to stop child abductions in custody disputes. Although parents are often not asked for the documentation, if you are asked and don't have it, it could cause major problems for you when trying to cross international borders.

Please see links below for more information.

http://www.info-france-usa.org/visit...ce/usvisas.asp

http://www.cyberparent.com/trips/border.htm

http://www.gwvtravel.com/faq.html

As Walkabout says, bring a notarized letter from your husband saying it's OK for you to take the kids to Paris. Chances are, no one will ask, but if you get some stickler-for-details guy at the airline counter or at the Customs counter in France who asks for it, better to have it than not to. Do you want to be sent back home because you didn't bother to get it together ahead of time?

This is like that Do I Need An International Driver's License question that pops up here from time to time. Everybody says "no one ever asked me for it," yet it IS the law in certain countries and even though chances are you won't get asked for it, if you do, vacation ruined possibly.

So do yourself a favor and cover all the bases and get the documentation.

Greetings and thanks for your replies. A special thank you to walkabout and stcriq. Since your information and research were very recent it was the most helpful. Thanks again and if anyone else has anything they would like to add please feel free to do so.

Kathy

You don't need anything. I take my children all the time - with and without my husband. Today, when any child under the age of 14 gets a passport - both parents must sign an affidavit attached to the request allowing the child to have a passport. Parents do not need to sign the passport itself if the child can sign by themselves.