Consent Letters for Travel
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada strongly recommends that children travelling abroad have a consent letter certified by a Notary Public from their parent(s) or guardian(s), if the parent/guardian is not accompanying the children on the trip. For example, children travelling alone, with groups, or with only one of their custodial parents should travel with a consent letter.
A consent letter should be obtained from each person or organization with:
- custodial rights;
- guardianship rights; or
- parental authority (in Quebec only)
A consent letter may facilitate entry of a Canadian child into another country. However, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada warns that carrying a consent letter cannot guarantee entry, as permission to enter another country is entirely the decision of that country. A consent letter may be required by foreign authorities, in addition to other country-specific entry requirements. You should contact the representatives of the country or countries to be visited by by the child to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information regarding specific entry requirements.
Your consent letter must be certified by an official who has the authority to administer an oath or solemn declaration (i.e., a notary public or a lawyer) so that the validity of the letter will not be questioned.
It is also recommend that you contact the transportation company (airline, train, bus, etc.) in order to observe any additional policies that they might have in place.
In order to prepare a consent letter, the following information is normally required:
- Your name, address, phone number
- Name and date of birth of your child
- Country or countries your child will be travelling to
- Name of the accompanying adult
- Date of travel