curious

The Washington Post recently had a small article suggesting that a parent travelling abroad with a child should take notorized documentation from the non-travelling parent giving his/her permission for the child to leave the country. The article cited agents and immigration officers in Mexico who refused folks entry and sent them home if they didn't have approprate proof.<BR><BR>Anyone ever encounter this type of situation in European travels?

will

Never heard of this from European countries, but's it is quite the case in Mexico. My wife is a notary &amp; has been called upon several times to notorize &quot;permission slips&quot; for one parent to take the child into Mexico for an extended visit.

Irene

The US and Canada also require it. Theoretically, it's supposed to prevent kidnapping a child from the custodial parent. I'm not sure if this is only done in North America, or in Europe as well. <BR><BR>Certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to carry a statement with you, just in case.

Mom

I've travelled with each of my children individually to France and never had a problem.<BR><BR>We travelled as a family (with hubby) to Mexico and noticed the immigration agents questioning our children in a very subtle way to be sure they belonged with us. <BR><BR>Maybe there are a lot more problems with Mexico in this regard.<BR><BR>There have been previous discussions on this issue on this website, particularly re Canada, and you might try running a search.

curious

Thanks, Mom and other for your insight. I've run some searches looking for the thread you mentioned (re: Canada) with no luck. Can you recommend any specific search words?<BR><BR>t hanks

Mom

Sorry curious. I did my best to run a search too, and couldn't come up with the right key words to get the thread I'm thinking of. Maybe someone else can give it a try.

Carolina

I travel frequently to Europe and back into the US with my children and have never had a problem. I was once asked a couple of questions when transiting through Toronto and was told that is is always a good idea to have written permission from the absent parent, although this is not required. My husband often returns to the US earlier than the rest of us, ironically, the only time I was questioned was when we were on our way back to him.<BR>