INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: PRIVILEGE OR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT?

Whether parents are married, unmarried, separated, or divorced, they have rights and duties for their children unless a court order states otherwise. For purposes of international travel with a child, a consent letter should be mandatory. This would demonstrate that children who travel with only one parent have permission to travel abroad from another parent who is not accompanying them.

Unfortunately, there is no DHS legal requirement for children to carry a consent letter. Even if the accompanying parent has sole custody of the child, it would be advisable to obtain a consent letter signed by a non-accompanying parent who only has access rights. A consent letter must include full names, passport information, residential address of each parent, passport and birth certificate information of the child, list of countries which the parent with child intends to visit, the term (including expiration date), along with contact information of each parent as given by email and phone number.

I recommend having the letter witnessed by a notary public and apostilled in appropriate cases to avoid questions about the authenticity of the letter. Outside of the United States, the signing of a consent letter may be witnessed by a foreign notary with an apostille or consular officer abroad. I also recommend having documents confirming kinship with the traveling parent. Alternatively, the parent could provide the court order or custody/visitation agreement.