For more information about travelling with children, consult the Children and travel page, the publication Travelling With Children, or seek advice from a lawyer. If you need help finding legal services in your province or territory, contact a lawyer referral service.
For additional information about entry and exit requirements for Canadian children travelling alone, with only one parent or with another accompanying person, see our country-specific travel advice and advisories or contact the nearest embassy or consulate of the destination country.
Note that all references to parents on this page apply also to legal guardians.
Note that Global Affairs Canada cannot provide you with advice about the Consent Letter for Children Travelling Abroad beyond what is offered on this website.
Court orders or agreements sometimes specify who is or is not required to sign a consent letter for children travelling abroad. If in doubt about who should sign the letter, consult with a lawyer.
The signing of the letter may be witnessed by anyone who has attained the age of majority (18 or 19, depending on the province or territory of residence). However, we strongly recommend having the letter witnessed by a notary public, as border officials will be less likely to question the authenticity of the letter.
We recommend that a child who is travelling with only one parent for even a small portion of a trip (e.g. when returning to Canada with only one parent) carry a consent letter signed by the non-accompanying parent.
Either separate letters or a single letter may be acceptable. However, if the children will not be together for the entire trip (e.g. when returning to Canada), we recommend that they carry separate letters.
The consent letter offered on this website may or may not be considered sufficient by a country’s immigration authorities, as some countries impose their own entry/exit requirements on minor citizens.
For example, a child with Costa Rican-Canadian citizenship requires a legally certified consent letter, translated into Spanish and signed by one or both parents, plus a special permit issued by Costa Rican authorities, in order to depart from Costa Rica.
Be aware that a foreign country may automatically deem a child born in Canada to be one of its citizens if one or both parents are citizens of that country. As a “deemed citizen,” the child may be subject to the same entry/exit requirements as other citizens of that country.
We strongly recommend that parents consult with an embassy or consulate of any country where their child may be a “deemed citizen” and enquire about travel documentation and other entry/exit requirements before travelling to that country with their child.
Alternatively, family justice services (e.g. mediation) may help. For a list of services available in each province and territory, see the Department of Justice’s Inventory of Government-based Family Justice Services.
We recommend carrying a letter with specific travel dates (as in the sample consent letter on our website). Doing so may help minimize complications when entering or exiting another country.
If there is a court order stating that the whereabouts of the other parent are unknown and granting the accompanying parent full/sole custody, we recommend carrying a copy of that document.
If a court order has not been issued, we recommend consulting with a lawyer to consider taking legal action.
If the other parent was granted access rights by a previous court order, but has not exercised those rights in a long time and is now unreachable, we recommend consulting with a lawyer to consider obtaining an up-to-date court order.
In either case, we recommend carrying a copy of the court order.
Since parents are not identified on a child’s passport, we recommend that the child carry a copy of the long-form (or parental information) birth certificate, which clearly indicates the parents’ names. The long-form birth certificate is not a mandatory travel document, but it may help to establish the relationship between the child and the accompanying parent and/or the parent signing the consent letter.
For more information on the long-form birth certificate, contact the government of the province or territory where the child was born.
A consent letter is not needed in this case. However, we recommend carrying a copy of the child’s long-form (or parental information) birth certificate when travelling abroad with the custodial parent.
We recommend carrying a consent letter signed by the parent who lives abroad. The signing of the consent letter may be witnessed by anyone who has attained the age of majority (18 or 19, depending on the province or territory of residence), including a consular officer at any Canadian government office abroad (fees apply).
If it is impossible to obtain a consent letter from the parent who lives abroad, we recommend carrying a copy of a court order granting full custody to the parent in Canada and stating that the other parent has no rights over the child.
We have revised our consent letter resources to serve you better.
We welcome your feedback on the new versions at consentletterfeedback@international.gc.ca. Please note that this address is to receive your comments and suggestions only.