As the summer nears many parents are beginning to plan summer vacations with their school aged children. If you are a parent who is separated from your child’s other parent and you are planning to travel with your child outside of Canada some additional planning (and documentation) is required before you leave on vacation.
Foreign Affairs Canada strongly recommends that children travelling abroad carry a notarized Travel Consent Letter from every person who has the legal right to make major decisions on a minor child’s behalf if one or more of those persons is not accompanying the child on the trip. For example, if a minor child is travelling abroad by themselves, with only one parent, or with a group or club under another adult’s supervision a notarized Travel Consent Letter is highly recommended.
Without a notarized Travel Consent Letter your child may be prevented by customs and border officials from leaving Canada or from entering a foreign country.
If you are a parent who will be travelling alone with your minor child outside of Canada it is important you plan ahead. Sample Travel Consent Letters are available from Foreign Affairs Canada and can be easily completed by a child’s legal guardians and parents. It is also important that your child’s Travel Consent Letter be notarized by a lawyer or notary public.
Should you require assistance the Walsh LLP Family Law Group is able to assist parents with the notarization of Travel Consent Letters and has extensive experience advising individuals on a wide range of family law matters that arise upon separation and divorce.
