Taking minors out of the country
 

My 17 yr old daughter and I are going to Italy (from the US) in a few days and I'm trying to get all of the last minute things in order. My husband and I are married, but he will not be joining us on this trip. Of course, we have our passports already.

If I type up a letter stating that I have his permission to take my daughter out of the country and he signs it in the presence of a notary, will that be sufficient documentation?

Yes, that will be sufficient. Just be sure to note all flight details and be sure the document is notarized.

Thank you so much for posting this question. I wondered about this since he had to be present to get her passport, but wasn't sure. I guess I'll be typing up something for my husband to sign before my trip this summer with my 13yo daughter.

Wow, times sure have changed!! When my then 14 year old son and I went to Europe to meet up w/my husband who was already there, this would never have occurred to me. Does anyone now request such documentation? At that time--15 years ago--no one said a word about such things. I certainly would have been up a creek if they had!

This requirement is because of all the people who are disputing 'custody' of their children, and one or the other takes the kids out of the country, can't be found, and it's a horrendous situation...I have a friend whose divorced husband came in the dead of night and stole her three kids. It took her 8 years to get them back...as soon as she found them, he took them somewhere else., and by the time she retrived them, they hardly knew her, and vice versa...a tragic situation all around. Took the grandkids to Alaska and had the signed and notarized paper, although no one ever asked to see it.

Documentary requirements when a minor travels without a custodial parent vary by country. In Mexico, when a minor is accompanied by only one parent that parent must show proof of permission from the other parent. In cases where that parent is deceased, a death certificate may be required. Not sure what is done in the case of single parents, nor what are the regulations in other countries. The airline is required to verify that incoming visitors have the appropriate documents and can face a hefty fine if they fail to do so (and the minor and parent refused entry) so a good bet is to check with the airline.

This indeed is an interesting topic. I have taken groups of students aged 15 - 19 on trips from Canada to other countries for a number of years. We never used to worry about formal parent permission - as long as we had our school board form that parents had signed. Now we have a specific form recommended by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade that both parents must sign for all students under the age of 18. It details the countries we will visit and the dates of our trip. It also includes the names, addresses and passport numbers of the lead chaperones. Ideally this is signed and notarized. We have never been asked to produce these sheets at immigration counters, but it is a comforting thought to us that we have them with our travel documents.

The reasons parents travelling without their spouse need "permission" is to prevent the abductions that have already been mentioned.

When I recently took three of my children to the USA I took a notarized statement wherein my wife acknowledged our trip and "gave permission" for me to take them across the border without her being present.

It is a different world now.

This is due to the Hague Convention signed in the early 90's. Anyone crossing an internation border with a minor must have proof of permission from the other/both parents to travel with the child.

Before doing up a letter yourself, it might be a good idea to first speak to your passport office, or to a public notary who does these documents regularly. Often they are done in the form of an affidavit. It should definately include the dates of departure and return, the reason for the trip (ie vacation, visiting relatives) and list all of the countries included in your trip.

I never knew that! My son flew as an UM from Holland to LA to stay with his Godfather for three weeks. We never signed anything - just handed him over to the stewardess in change of UMs, and his God father did the same thing on the way back.
Maybe the Europeans are more relaxed about this -given that no-one checks passports when you cross borders here anymore.

Oftentimes you will not be asked for the document at all (we never have), but it's better to be safe than sorry since it does happen. I've heard stories where people had to postpone their trip when they didn't have this documentation available.

Yes, immigration officials are entitled to demand proof of permission, but in practice the request is not always made. It's obviously not worth the risk of not having the appropriate document.

In the case of an unaccompanied minor, it's also a good idea to include the fact that your child is flying unaccompanied with your permission.

Here is my recent story - When I drove into Canada in August 2006 with a rental car with Texas Plates, a California drivers lisence, my two young girls (with passports) and a surname different from the rest of my family ... the canadien border agent asked about their father and did he okay this trip. Me, not knowing that this would be an issue was a bit surprised - but glad that he was checking on folks taking kids across the border. So the agent asked several times in different ways about my car (I showed the rental agreement) and where I was from. He asked if my husband knew the girls were traveling and was okay with that. Wanted to know where my husband was and what number he could call him at to confirm what I said. I gave him the number. He said I should have had a note from my husband saying that it was okay to take the kids out of the country. He didnt' call my husband and he sent me on my way. Whew! Good thing my husband lives with his cell phone attached to his hip, just in case the agent called! So it's true - bring a note - and include a phone number!

I had such a form made when we moved overseas many years ago. I usually travel alone with my sons in the summer - with my husband joining us later and returning earlier.

I have never been asked for it, but it is a comfort having it. I think it is probably more of a problem with younger kids, not teens, but you never know. A friend of mine was detained for 2 hours (almost missing her flight) while her 5 year old daughter was questioned about where her father was, where she lived, where she was going, etc. Not a pleasant experience!

This past Christmas, my husband took a trip with our younger son (13) and I took a trip with our older son (15). I didn't have anything notarized, but I created documents for each of us - giving the other permission to travel with the child and to handle any medical or other emergencies. I included the exact dates of travel, the destinations, and contact numbers for both of us. I then attached a copy of my passport to the form for him and a copy of his passport to the form for me. Not really official, but I thought it would do the trick if needed.

Where we live, whenever the kids go out of the country on a school trip, we have to go to the local notorial office and have a certified document created giving the child permission to travel without parents. The document has to have the destination, the dates, and the names and passort numbers of the chaperones. It's an ordeal - but we've gotten used to it. As teacherCanada said - the documents have never been requested, but you need to be prepared just in case.

Last year my 13yr old was intensely questioned at Zurich airport on our way BACK home. I'm pretty sure some of the peculiarities of our family unit triggered some alarm with the check-in agent.

The proceedings took a good half hour. Anyone behind us that was interrogated must have missed their flight. I had all the necessary paperwork with me. The counter agent finally relented when I started taking the papers out. She never looked at them.

Happened to me, too, on a trip to Canada. My (12 year old) son was pulled aside and asked whether his father knew where he was, and did he see his father a lot; and I had to prove that we really were going where we said we were going. They finally let us go. We almost missed our connecting flight.

My impression is, if you are going to Canada, there is a very high probability you will be asked. If you are travelling to Europe, there is a low (but nonzero) probability.

As a parent, I have to say I find these stories quite comforting actually. There have been many cases where parents literally "stole" their children from the other parent and this little bit of vigilance on behalf of children is healthy in my opinion.

Too bad the State Department doesn't have a standard form that you could have signed and notarized to use. I'll start working on mine now though.

I must be the luckiest person! I have travelled all over the world with my daughter since she was about 5 without her father and never had an issue. She is 21 now.

Her father has also taken her to Germany at least 4 times I can think of and not a word!

Canada seems to be pretty strict. That is one of the reasons I asked this question. I took my daughter to the Canada side of Niagara Falls last spring break and had my mother with us.

The agent made her open the van door and asked her a bunch of questions about where she went to school, where she lived, where she was going, etc. I guess since it is so easy to drive across the border, they have to be vigilant. And like some of you other posters, I'd rather they err on the side of caution. I also have absolutely no problem when I am asked for an ID when I use my credit card.

Ask the notary what to write.

In addition to your travel information, there is an official statement by the notary saying that you presented satisfactory identification, that has to be signed. If you don't type that part, the notary has to write it out longhand -- in my state it is a 10-sentence paragraph (but I guess it varies from state to state).

we went to Canada with a french exchange student a few years back. We were all surprised when the border officials asked him to get out of our car and go inside for questioning. The poor kid was so scared, but they finally let him through. He had his passport, but no letter from his parents.

Last year I traveled with my 2 12 year olds to Europe and my husband took our 17 year old on a different flight. We had the notarized letters and were never asked for them.

I'd say better safe than sorry. It's like the weather - if you have an umbrella, it won't rain, but the day you leave without it...a downpour!