Travel consent letters: what you need when a child travels with one parent

This is one of the most common calls I get, and it is almost always urgent — a flight is days away and someone at the airline or a border service has asked for a letter nobody knew about. Here is the situation, calmly.

Why the letter exists

When a child crosses an international border without both parents present, border officers have a duty to check that the child is not being removed from the country improperly. A consent letter is the document that answers that question quickly. The Government of Canada recommends that a Canadian child travelling abroad carry one whenever they are travelling alone, with only one parent, with friends or relatives, or with a group.

It is a recommendation, not a statute — but that distinction is cold comfort at 5am at a check-in desk. Officers in Canada and in the destination country can and do ask for it, and the practical consequence of not having one is delay or refusal to board.

Who signs it

Every parent or legal guardian who is not travelling with the child should sign. That includes a parent who does not have custody but retains access or decision-making rights. If one parent has sole custody, or the other parent is deceased, the letter should say so and be supported by the relevant document — a custody order or a death certificate.

Does it have to be notarized?

Not as a matter of law. But the Government of Canada recommends that the letter be witnessed by a notary public, and the reason is straightforward: a border officer looking at an unwitnessed letter has no way to know the absent parent actually signed it. A notarial seal tells them a commissioned officer verified that person's identity and watched them sign. It converts a piece of paper into evidence.

In my experience, letters that are notarized get waved through and letters that are not sometimes generate questions. For a $35 document ahead of a family holiday, most people decide the certainty is worth it.

What to bring

• The completed consent letter — printed, not signed
• Government-issued photo ID for each signing parent or guardian
• The child's birth certificate, if you have it
• Any custody order, separation agreement or death certificate the letter refers to

A note on timing

The signing parent has to be physically present in front of me. If they live in another city or country, that takes planning — they will need to find a notary where they are. Start this two weeks before the flight, not two days.