Travelling Abroad with a Child: The Consent Letter
Published by FlyingWith4 min readSources checked
Airline and government rules change. Check your airline's current rules before you travel.
FlyingWith editorial team
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If a child crosses a border without every parent or guardian, carry a signed original consent letter. Canada recommends one and strongly recommends having it notarized; destinations and airlines may have their own rules.
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Download the Government of Canada’s templates without signing up. Use Word to edit or print; the interactive PDF needs a compatible PDF reader. Complete the file on your device, sign it and check the destination’s requirements.
If a child is leaving the country without one or both of their parents or legal guardians, whether with one parent, grandparents, a school group or on their own, a signed consent letter can save a lot of questions at check-in or at the border. It takes little time to prepare, and it's far easier to sort out at home than at an airport counter.
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Part of: Flying with Kids, Flying with a Baby
What changes by airline
- Rules for children flying alone
General advice: applies wherever you fly
When to think about it
Consider a consent letter whenever a child crosses a border without every parent or guardian who shares decision-making responsibility for them. That includes one parent travelling alone with the children, separated or divorced parents, relatives or family friends taking a child on a trip, and minors travelling with a group or on their own.
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Official rules: Canada
What the Government of Canada recommends
Canada recommends that children travelling outside Canada without one or both parents or legal guardians carry a signed consent letter. It isn't legally required in Canada, but immigration authorities may ask for it when entering or leaving another country, and so may airline agents or Canadian officials when you return to Canada.
It should be signed by every parent, or other person with decision-making responsibility for the child, who isn't travelling with them. Having a notary public witness the signature isn't mandatory, but the Government of Canada strongly recommends it. Border officials may not accept photocopies or digital versions, so carry the signed original.
The Government of Canada offers a free consent letter template, as a fillable PDF or a Word document, that you can adapt to your situation.
General advice: applies wherever you fly
What the letter should include
Checklist
- The child's full name.
- The name and contact information of each parent or guardian who isn't travelling.
- The full name of the adult travelling with the child, and their relationship to the child.
- The travel details, including the destination and dates.
- The signature of each parent or guardian who isn't travelling, ideally witnessed by a notary.
General advice: applies wherever you fly
Plan ahead for complicated situations
If your family situation is less straightforward, with shared custody, a court order, or a parent who can't be reached, sort it out well before the trip. Check whether a custody agreement or court order says anything about travel, carry documents that explain the situation, and get legal advice if you're unsure whether the child can travel.
General advice: applies wherever you fly
Check the destination's own rules
A consent letter follows Canada's recommendation, but other countries set their own entry and exit requirements for minors, and some are stricter or ask for a specific format. Check the destination's official entry requirements (Canada's travel advice page for each country is a good starting point) and contact its embassy or consulate if anything is unclear. Airlines also have their own rules for children flying alone.
Official sources
Rules and amounts change. Before you rely on anything marked as an official rule, check the source. These are the official pages we used.
- Consent letter for children travelling outside Canada · Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca)
- Travel advice and advisories · Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca)
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