Travel Consent Letters
As holidays draw near, often so do travel plans. In today’s hectic world, we can’t always coordinate the entire family to travel at the same time. Maybe Mom or Dad has a last-minute project at work and can’t get the travel day off. Or maybe the children are going to see Grandma on their own.
Whatever the reason, it is more common for children to be traveling without one or both parents. In those circumstances, officials at the border may ask if the accompanying parent or adult has a consent letter from the absent parent(s). It is recommended that these letters be notarized, providing assurance to the border official that the named parent (or parents) did indeed sign the letter. Yes, it will cost you some money to get the letter notarized, but why risk extra hassles at the border?
At Red Seal Notary, we want to make this as easy as possible for you. We provide free template letters that you can modify to fit your travel plans:
Consent to Travel other parent
Consent to Travel other adult
Consent to Travel unaccompanied
There are also free templates provided by the Government of Canada if you prefer:
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/consent-letter
The Government website provides related information about travel advisories and alternative sources of information, such as foreign Consulates. At the time of this writing, the Government of Canada’s consent letter is designed for printing on legal-size paper. Be sure when printing that your letter does not get cut off at the end.
If you prefer not to create the letter using one of the free templates, we can do it for you. Just complete the required information on our online form for the purpose at the bottom of our Consent to Travel Service page.
We often are asked about situations where one parent has sole custody, especially when the other parent is unreachable. It is recommended in these situations that you include copies of documents showing that you have sole custody, and/or that the other parent’s consent is either not required or not possible to obtain (for example if the other parent is deceased, incapacitated, or his/her whereabouts are unknown). If your situation is complicated, all the more reason to check with officials from the country(ies) where the children will be traveling. Each country has its own rules, and it is its border officials that will have to be satisfied.
Once everything is ready, just book an appointment using the Book Online button, or call and speak with one of our customer service staff toll-free at (888) 922-7325. Once you get the paperwork cleared away, you can concentrate on enjoying your holiday!
