Solo Parents, Grandparents and Guardians can satisfy legal requirements before crossing international borders with minor children by using these Permission to Travel Letter and Children’s Consent forms.
The Family Travel Forum community has learned the hard way that you need this paperwork: in the special FTF report “Permission To Travel Letters And Why You Need Them,” we interview consular officers, immigration agents and tourism officials to explain why.
Learn more:
• Permission to Travel or Consent to Travel Letter
Whether you’re married and leaving a spouse behind to work; grandparents taking grandchildren on vacation; same sex couples with adopted children; a divorced parent on a road trip to Canada -– even a military family trying to reunite for a holiday — you should be carrying notarized copies of the proper Children’s Consent Forms or Permission to Travel documentation. This is the form to use if you’re friends and family traveling with a minor child.
• Minor Consent to Travel Form
The same regulations apply to minors under 18 who are leaving the United States with school groups, teen tours, or friends on a vacation. If the supervisors of your child’s tour have not provided their own, you can use the email request form below to obtain a sample one. This is the form used for school / tour groups who are supervising travel with your minor child.
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
Additionally, FTF recommends that travelers vacationing with children other than their own carry a Medical Treatment Authorization Letter assigning them responsibility for a child’s care in case of medical emergency. This optional affidavit does not have to be notarized but we strongly recommend you also carry a copy of the minor child’s health insurance information..
Obtain the Necessary Forms Now
A sample of each of these forms may be requested via the email form below. Please note that new Canada regulations request adults entering the country with minors carry a photocopy of the signature page of the passport belonging to the guardian whose signature is on the permission letter.
Note that South Africa, which used to require much more stringent paperwork for foreign minors arriving by air, sea or land, has waived all document requirements except a valid passport. See a full list of Requirements for Children Travelling Through South African Ports of Entry.
Before you head out on a family vacation, protect your loved ones with much-needed travel insurance. Kids traveling with parents or grandparents are also insured free through Allianz when traveling on a family vacation.
Get Blank Consent Forms & Required Documents Now
Crossing borders with children is serious business, and Permission to Travel, Medical Treatment Authorization and Consent for Minor Travel Letters could save your next vacation. To obtain them, please complete the following request, then check your email inbox and/or spam filter. Your reply email includes instructions to download three forms that you can fill out and use. Remember that Permission to Travel Letters and Consent Forms for Minor Travel should be signed and notarized. Keep blank copies to use on future trips.
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And most importantly, safe there and safe home!
Don’t Forget! A Few More Tips!
Be sure your child carries two copies of every notarized document (even a photocopy may work) in case an immigration or border official decides they need to keep one for their files.
• Additional Travel Documentation and ID
Regardless of where you travel outside the United States, when you are crossing a border by land, sea or air you will need to have proper identification documents for each traveler in addition to the above letters. Please see the Customs & Border Protection Site if you are unsure about the type of ID documents you and your family need.
• Additional Useful Papers
A March 2019 report by Scott McCartney in the Wall St. Journal noted some other documents which might prove essential, depending on the destination. These include an original, raised stamp birth certificate for each minor in your party, extra passport photos on white backgrounds, plus about US$50 in small bills so that you can purchase entry visas on the spot. Be sure to assign a neighbor or relative back home the responsibility of retrieving some of these documents and sending them, if you need them after departure.
• Travel Insurance Really Works!
If you’re prepaying a big vacation with flights, hotels, cruises or any other non-refundable fee — or just worried about a “what if” moment when traveling with someone else’s child — getting a family travel insurance policy is a good investment, and costs less than you think.
If you have any questions or would like to read more about why these papers are requirements and how rules are enforced, read “Permission To Travel Letters And Why You Need Them.”
If you’re still unsure, feel free to get in touch with our office and we’ll do our best to help out. Thanks for your attention to this critical matter!
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It is very necessary to know the formalities when you are traveling abroad with your minor children and now that we have this article which goes into all the details that you should know when you cross borders with your minor children, it will be very helpful in planning our holiday or other trips without any hassle! With even the facility to email them for the required forms you need, this is going to make things real easy for us!!
Thanks for the tips. They surely will be handy the next time I go to a vacation with my family
No, medical treatment authorization letters are optional. If you are concerned that something might happen to your nephew under 18 (like breaking a leg that might require a cast), you should ask his parents/guardians to give you a letter authorizing you to act on their behalf if he's hurt, with a copy of the medical insurance card.
Otherwise, most doctors/hospitals won't treat a child without parental consent unless it's a life threatening situation. That letter does not need to be notarized.
Hello, I'm planning a trip with my nephew. Do I need Medical Treatment Authorization Letter? If yes, where can I get it arranged in a proper way?
You will have to check with a lawyer to determine what legal actions, if any, can be taken. As said in the story, the carrier — airlines or cruise company, train or bus — that transports minors without the proper paperwork is the responsible party.
What legal actions can you take if your child have travel out of the country without the other parent consent when both parent have joint legal custody? The other parent was not aware that a consent form has to be notorized in order for the child to travel to another country and somehow the other parent took him out of the country on several accassions.
GDFG
Sole custodians — whether by divorce, death or another reason — must be able to present a legal document to verify their sole guardianship of the minor who is traveling. If you have that, only passports are needed (and visas depending on the country).
Hi I will traveling with my 8 year old daughter to Mexico. She has a passport. What other documents are needed to enter/exit Mexico? I have sole custody and have no contact with my former spouse.
Gloria – it sounds like your friend will need some documents that verify she has sole custody of the children. Maybe the local legal aid group can help her with this. Then she will not need to have a permission letter, but she will need to carry her sole custody papers with her while traveling.
very good side
Please send link to travel permission form
She will need a Permission to Travel Letter as specified in this article; please read it and use the link at the end to request sample letters.
My 16 year old daughter will be traveling with another family to
Atlantic, Bahamas. Besides her passport
what other documents will she need for traveling.
Hi Shana,
Yes, in addition to your passport, you will need a notarized letter from both birth parents or guardians allowing you to travel outside the U.S., whether with friends, school group, grandparents, etc. You should also take a copy of the Medical Authorization form unless you are covered by your own health insurance policy.
We posted a "Travel Authorization for Minors Letter" on the site, so you can fill out the email form at the end of this story, and get a link by email to a PDF to download it. Have a great time, the DR is beautiful!
Hi. I'm 17 and i am trying to go to Dominican Republic in January 2011, & I am going to be going without my parents but i'm going with 3 people ages: 18,19,20. What documents would I need in order to go? and would there be any situations that i would need other documents because im not legally an adult?
alexis,
Are you a Canadian citizen? If so, a passport and letter of permission from parents is great to have; however, a notarized letter is better as that's what the Canadian government recommends.
Make sure to have some extra copies in case border officials want to keep a copy when you cross over both ways.
Have fun and happy birthday to your boyfriend!
This is a great resource!
I will never forget as a child I was on my Dads passport and one year something changed and we had real trouble travelling.
What caused all the confusion was my age at the time. We needed a great site like this to help us!
Vanessa and marsu,
From our experience, it sounds like you both have enough documentation already to travel with these children out of the country.
Remember, these papers are not meant to challenge you, they are meant to protect the minors and give Border and Immigration agents some legal tools if they suspect the child is being kidnapped.
However, contact the airline you are flying with and see if they will be satisfied with these papers — it's the carrier who is responsible for checking on these documents before allowing you to leave with the minor.
My 17 year old son is going to Canada for a basketball camp with his coach. He has an enhanced Id. What else do I need to have with them.
<a href="http://www.thespencer.com/">Thats</a>crazy, all the things they make us do just to travel
I am traveling to VietNam to visit my family with my stepson. I am not US citizen but I have a green card. My stepson is US citizen. what documents should I complete? My stepson passport and the notarized authorization from my husband and his exwife, is that enough?
Hello, my USA citizen minor child is traveling to Ecuador with me and my mother. I have a general (no dates) consent notarized paper signed by his father which states “hereby authorize my minor child ………travel freely without restrain, in my absence, and without any additional written consent or authorization required from me†Is this enough to take him out the country? He has child support and we shared custody. My second question is: My son is coming back from Ecuador to the USA with my mother (I will fly back a week before) does she need a consent document from me and him to bring back my son? Can it be just from me and use the same consent notarized paper I used to take him out? Thank you for your advice and help.
Hello, my USA citizen minor child is traveling to Ecuador with me and my mother. I have a general (no dates) consent notarized paper signed by his father which states “hereby authorize my minor child ………travel freely without restrain, in my absence, and without any additional written consent or authorization required from me†Is this enough to take him out the country? He has child support and we shared custody. My second question is: My son is coming back from Ecuador to the USA with my mother (I will fly back a week before) does she need a consent document from me and him to bring him back? Can it be just from me and use the same consent notarized paper I used to take him out? Thank you for your advice and help.
Thanks for your questions. Unless both birth parents or legal guardians of a child under 18 are flying into or out of the United States and most other countries with that child, the accompanying adult should have written permission from the parents/guardians of the traveling child.
It can be a simple permission letter stating where, dates of travel, who will be temporary guardian and how to reach fulltime guardian. Many countries want this letter notarized so that the signatures have been verified.
Having another letter saying that full time guardians give permission to temporary guardian to authorize medical care in case of emergency is a good thing to have to. This does not have to be notarized but it sometimes helps to have a copy of the child's medical insuurance.
Safe trip, safe home
I am traveling to VietNam to visit my family with my stepson. I am not US citizen but I have a green card. My stepson is US citizen. what documents should I complete? My stepson passport and the notarized authorization from my husband and his exwife, is that enough?
4 yr old grandson traveling with grandma from st thomas, virgin islands what will i need?
fantastic informations
jackie – depends on if you're coming from Canada or Mexico. Nephew will definitely need written permission letter from birth parents to travel with you to U.S. Check with your home country whether he can come to U.s. with birth certificate or if he needs passport. Safe trip –
I will be travelling with my nephew to the US by car in July he is 15yrs. what document form to I need
It's best to have a notarized consent letter for travel with your daughter to any country; what country are you coming from?
I`ll travel with my douther to USA, do I need notaraized permisson leter from my husband .
Information on the documents required to travel as a single parent with children can be found at http://www.thailand4kids.com/pages/freestuff.html
The download explains the requirement and gives advice on obtaining permission to travel and things for the non travelling parent to consider when giving permission.
I'm having trouble requesting the permission forms through this site.There is a message for a list request? Anyone know where else we can get these forms?
Thanx
I think so but not sure if it is too late to reply back to it.
Require sample letter to grant grandmother authorization to travel from Canada to the US with minor grand som.
im a little confused on what the letter should say and its such a head ache because ex are so non helpful please advice me on what should the letter say!
Hi Mariya,
This paperwork is not an American requirement; many governments expect to see a Permission to Travel Letter or proper custodial documents from any visitor entering or leaving their country with a minor under 18. You should do it.
Both my daughter and I are U.S. citizens but my husband is here on Green Card. M daughter and I are traveling to ukraine this summer without my husband. DO I need these forms from him allowing me to take her accross the border?
Mary,
you can find the form you need at the end of this story. Please fill out the form and it will be emailed to you.
Looking for a Parental Form to take my daughter to US without husband/dad
well this is really nice site.This may very much helpful in making vacation plans……..
========
Shelly
<a href="http://www.easybooktravel.com"
rel="dofollow">Easy Travelling</a>
Tiffany-
In the U.S., each state has its own laws about "transporting minors" over state lines, so it's recommended that the parent in charge (say, of a sports team), have written permission from all guardians, as well as a medical permission letter in the event the minor child needs medical treatment.
I would assume the same applies in Canada, but you could check with the airline your child is flying on.
Do you need a letter if your child is travelling with a friend within Canada by air?
I think you might need it.
My husband and I are leaving together to France with our 2 kids, but he is coming back on his own and I stay another 3 weeks with the kids. Does he still need to sign a letter for me?
Hi Jose,
No there is no limit on the number of minors that their legal guardian can travel with. Just be sure that you have all the minors' names and passport numbers noted on the Travel Permission Letter. Have a good trip!
Hi. My wife is planning on a trip to her native country with our 2 kids (ages 9 & 6). I won't be accompanying them. Can she travel with 2 minors with my consent? Or, is there a limit as to how many minors can an adult person can travel with (1 adult and 1 child only)? Please advise. Thanks.
great tips thanks
thanks for the tips its help me much.