5 Documents No Single Parent Should Travel Without
1: Travel Insurance Policy
Unless you’re an EU citizen travelling within EU countries which offer free healthcare to other EU citizens, travel insurance is one document no traveller should leave home without.
Medical costs alone, including evacuation if required, can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars: our insurers spent six figures extracting my son from Mongolia after he broke his arm. World Nomads lets you buy or extend cover no matter where you are in the world.
2: Children’s Birth Certificates
Even if a child shares your surname, has their own passport and is more than capable of speaking for themselves, there’s no proof they’re actually yours until you front up with a birth certificate.
While you’re unlikely to hit this problem on the average border, some governments which require visas in advance of arrival will require a birth certificate to prove you’re not abducting your child.
3: Permission Letter from your Co-Parent
Ever-tightening rules on trans-border child abductions and custody disputes mean that it’s wise to carry a signed letter from the other parent. This should give their permission for you to travel with their child or children, using full names as given on passports.
South Africa has the toughest child trafficking rules in the world. If a child’s travelling without the adult(s) named on the birth certificate, they won’t be allowed to board without a notarised affidavit signed by both parents: full details here.
4: Copy of Your Co-Parent’s Passport
Some embassies will require more than just a letter and a birth certificate to approve your visa. Some want your co-parent’s passport, too. Even though they’re not travelling with you.
Most people will travel for years without requiring this document. But when you need it, you really do, so take a copy before you leave.
Or 5: Legal Declaration of Sole Responsibility
In situations where your co-parent is no longer involved, or contactable, you should apply to the relevant family law authorities in your home state for a document stating that you hold sole responsibility for the child, or children, in your care.
Where you’ve been widowed, carry the death certificate in lieu of such a declaration.
And Finally…
Bring hard copies with you, in a waterproof, sealed, plastic document pouch, but make sure that you have scans available online in case of loss.
The birth certificate is a good idea. My husband and I are planning a long-term trip with our nine-year-old daughter, hopefully starting in May. Her birth certificate is already scanned in my computer, but you’re right, a hard copy might come in handy too.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Cheers!
Renee in BC
Yep, it’s no fun trying to find somewhere with an internet connection and a printer when a consulate suddenly decides they need to see a child’s birth certificate…
LOL. Hey, I didn’t notice that one’s latest blog post was automatically included in the comment. And all this time I’ve been wondering, “Who are all these pushy people who can’t leave a comment without linking back to themselves?”
Unchecking the box…And I’m done.
Cheers,
Renee in BC
It’s weird, actually. Since I installed this comments link plugin I’ve got more comments from bloggers, and fewer from “normal” readers. Maybe I should play around with it a little so that it doesn’t automatically link in.
Great suggestions. I would add take certified copies rather than originals, and don’t forget wedding certificates/deed poll documents if you have ever changed your name.
As someone with a ‘weird’ visa who often travels as a single parent, I can confirm that having supporting documentation is a must when crossing Borders. Though once coming back into the UK my then five year old was asked by the customs officer ‘who is this lady you are with?’ in a kind of check I was really his Mum. Said five year old thought it was some kind of joke and dissolved in to giggles; and I couldn’t tell him what to say in fear of looking like I was coaching him or something. Finally he stopped laughing long enough to say ‘She’s my mother of course!’ and we were allowed back in to the country. Before our next trip we had a discussion about appropriate responses at passport control …
Certified copies is definitely a good idea. And, yes, thanks for the reminder on name changes…
Having applied for one 60-day visa for Indonesia in Tawau, Malaysia, which was basically a case of showing up at the window, writing a letter, getting it copied, paying a fee and waiting 2 hours, I got a really nasty shock when I applied in Canberra for a second…
Z has my surname! But, nope, they wanted the birth certificate. And not just the letter from his dad. But his passport, too…
I think it’s only going to get tougher as the laws get tighter…
You’re right, an Internet connection/printer isn’t always available. Apart from shoving copies in every nook and cranny of our luggage, I still back it all up on the laptop, external drive and upload scanned docs to a storage website. Paranoid? No…but please tell them to stop following me 😉
That’s not paranoid at all! I tend to email scans to myself then go into a complete panic trying to find them. It’s about peace of mind, apart from anything else…
Good advice – I take hard copies and then also have a scanned copy of various other documents I can download/access remotely if needed (marriage certificate, vaccination records for kids,…)
Cheers
Andrew
Our vaccination records are in a terrible state, actually. Thanks for reminding me that I need to convert them to a legible form!
When I travel with my kids and my mom, I prepare a letter signed by me and my husband giving my mother permission to act as guardian if necessary — if something happened to me or I wasn’t available, I hope it would save her some hassles.
Wow! That’s preparation. I hope you never have to use it…
Can you please provide sample of Permission letter from your Co-Parent?
Have and of you, due to a long-term absent father (as in neither seen nor heard from him in about six years) not answering millions of requests to write a permission letter, had to go the route of applying for legal declaration of sole responsibility? Do you know what this entails? I’m having a hard time navigating how all of this works. I’ve contacted a couple of lawyers, but haven’t found one yet that seems to know much about issues pertaining to travel. Thanks!
Unfortunately, I haven’t had to do this (plus I’m British, and it seems more common in the UK than in North America). But it wouldn’t be a travel-specific query when it comes to Sole Parental Responsibility: a family law attorney can probably advise. The other thing you could try, if you have a family law attorney working with you who’s been trying to contact him for child support, is obtain a letter from them saying: “Despite repeated attempts to contact him, child’s father XYZ has been uncontactable for the last six years… Our attempts to contact him to receive permission to travel have been as unsuccessful as our attempts to persuade him to support his child…” I would guess that would work in the few occasions where you’ll need it, and will probably be cheaper than a lengthy court process. But, obviously, I’m not a lawyer.
hi thanks for the post. my kids ar travelling with my wife from india to USA. can you share a sample form or template which i can fill and sign for the single parent consent. pls mail me if you can
I’m not a lawyer. However, the one we used went something like this
I confirm that FULL NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, ADDRESS mother of FULL NAMES, DATES OF BIRTH, ADDRESS, will be travelling with them to the USA between X date and Y date. She has my full permission to do this and in case of any doubt I can be contacted on EMAIL, MOBILE NUMBER, LANDLINE NUMBER.
She should have birth certificates for the kids, passports for the kids if they have them and a photocopy of your passport just in case. Hope this helps…
Hi, thanks for your helpful post. I just wondering I want travel with my two children.Their age is 6 and 5years old.Their surname is same with mine and their photo, our government stamp on my passport too. They have a birth certificates too. But with father we separated (but marriage certificate is with me)3-4 years ago,we don’t know where is he even. With out permission letter could I travel with two kids?
Best regards,
Dora
Hi Dora, This depends on your nationality, and where you’re travelling to, and whether the children have their own passports, etc. In most cases, a legal letter stating that you have sole custody through abandonment should do it, assuming he’s not paying child support (you might want a notarised translation as well). If you’re only travelling to one country, it’s worth checking with the embassy what the situation is before spending money on the letter etc. Where are you from? I’m not a lawyer, but I may be able to help out with advice… Theodora
im treveling with my 2 kids to philippines my wife is not coming with us do i need a waiver letter consent from my wife and do i need to notarized that letter.
Hi, If you and your kids have different surnames, you’ll need something that proves the relationship, ie a birth certificate, but you shouldn’t need a notarized letter from your wife.
i am married to foreign husband , he is one taking care of me and my son since his dad abandoned his responsibility when i was pregnant of 2 month , his Dad is alive but he is not taking care of him , now i want to apply family reunion , what can do since i cant get the consent letter from his Dad , reason i don’t have any contact from him ,
advise
Could you let me know what nationality you are, what nationality your husband is, and where you’re trying to go to? I think your best bet would probably be for your husband to legally adopt your son in a court of law in your home country, depending how long it has been since his birth father abandoned him.
Hi, I am British and am taking my son travelling to Indonesia in Sep 2017. His dad walked out of his life when he was 4 weeks old however he does pay £20 per week through the Child Maintenance Service. I managed to get authorisation off him finally for him to agree to the name change for my sons passport so he now has the same surname as me (he was reluctant to do this though even though he does not see him). Do you think i will incur issues when trying to get into indonesia? I am yet to apply for the Visa as I am waiting on my sons passport coming back to me with the name change. I am now worried as have my flight booked. Any advice you can give me will be great :-).
Docs i was going to take was his birth certifcate, deed poll, passport and was thinking maybe a letter from my sons nursery saying something along the lines of since Rio (my son) has been there for the last 2 1/2 years no contact has ever been seen from Rios father. Not sure if that would help at all?
What is your experience with Canadian fathers taking their daughter to Thailand without a letter of consent?
Hi Jay,
I don’t have any experience of that – do you have full legal custody? Shared custody? Does your daughter share your surname? I’d say that given it’s a high-risk trafficking destination you would likely want the consent letter to be sure, and that’s in line with your government’s advice.
Cheers,
Theodora