Border-crossing with children

If you’re traveling to Canada with your kids but without your spouse or partner, you need to bring a letter of consent.

My husband and I learned this the hard way earlier this summer during a family trip without me to British Columbia.

I was in Portland at the time attending a conference. While sitting in one of the sessions, I heard my cell phone ring and immediately turned it off. An hour later, during the break, I checked my messages and discovered that the Canada Border Services Agency was trying to reach me. One of the officials there had called three times.

Apparently, they had detained my husband and kids. They wanted to make sure that I knew he was taking the children to Canada before letting them through. When I called back, I got a stern lecture from the man who had left me several messages. First, I needed to answer my phone. Second, I should’ve written a notarized letter of consent.

If you’re planning to take your kids across a border any time soon, be sure to bring passports or birth certificates and other legal documents. This is especially important if you’re divorced (you need a letter from your ex) but it applies to all parents traveling across the border with their children.

Here’s some information from the Canada Border Services Agency :

Parents who share custody of their children should carry copies of the legal custody documents. It is also recommended that they have a letter of authorization from the other custodial parent to take the child on a trip out of the country. Such a letter will confirm that the child is not being abducted or taken against his/her will. The parents’ full name, address and telephone number should be Included in the letter of authorization.

When travelling with a group of vehicles, parents or guardians should arrive at the border in the same vehicle as the children.

Adults who are not parents or guardians should have written permission from the parents or guardians to supervise the children. The permission letter should include addresses and telephone numbers where the parents or guardian can be reached.

CBSA officers watch for missing children, and may ask detailed questions about the children who are travelling with you.

Several travel websites noted that even if you are not divorced, you still need written permission that includes contact information. “Immigration personnel will telephone that parent, so, as an added precaution, it can be helpful if the absent parent can be reachable at around the time of the expected arrival at the border,” according to www.visitcanada.com .

I think these rules generally apply whenever a minor is traveling outside the United States with only one parent.