Crossing the Border with Kids W/O Spouse?

[shaycamp21]

I am heading to WDW in two weeks with two dd's, my parents and niece and nephew (flying out of Buffalo)--Grandma and Grandpa's treat to the grandkids . Since I am travelling without Dh (he unfortunately has to work ) will I need a letter of permission to travel with dd's without him, I know divorced parents require such a letter but I am not sure how it works for married couples? If so does it need to be a legal document (drawn up by a lawyer)?

Now I know my parents will need a letter to take my sister's kids (she and BIL also cannot get out of work ). I am assuming that since they are not the parents the letter of permission will have to be a legal document. Is this correct?

I have tried google to try and find info on this but have not been able to find anything (I must be googling the wrong thing since I found info on crossing the border with horses ). Has anyone travelled with their kids without their spouse or with children who are not theirs without their parents?

Any info would be appreciated! Thanks

 

[MaMudduck]

I've crossed the border without my DH, with my daughter to fly out of BUF. At the border the guard asked the usual question, where you going,....how long etc and then asked for both of our ID's and then he asked "who's car is this?"
"Mine" I said "well actually my husband's"
"does he know where you're going?"- he asked
"yes" and then I handed him a HAND written letter from my husband stating in detail the full plans (date, airlines, WDW hotels & returning date) and that he had okayed it.
I didn't have it done by a lawyer or anything. This was before the whole passport thing for air travel, so I don't know if they've gotten better or worst.

When I travelled with my SIL and her son, me & my DD they never asked us about the husbands or fathers of the kids.
And once when DH was travelling with DD within the states (meeting me in WDW) I had given him a letter but he was never asked for it go figure! but I guess because he wasn't crossing the border he was ok.

So I guess a letter is enough, especially since your going with other family members, but you could always double check at customs canada web site.

 

[OntFamily]

So I guess a letter is enough, especially since your going with other family members, but you could always double check at customs canada web site.

One small point, I'd check the USA Customs web site -- it's USA law you need to be concerned about, not Canada's.

 

[purplepeg]

I have travelled by car across the border without my DH with my girls. I always have a notarized letter from a lawyer. I have never been asked for it entering the States but I have always been asked for it at Canadian Customs. We just returned from another car trip with my DH and we tookour niece with us this time and we had a letter(lawyer type) and were not asked coming or going..go figure. I would recommend getting a notarized letter because if you don't have it and need it it would ruin a great vacation.

 

[satman1962]

DW often travels without me. I always give her a note just in case. Sometimes the customs agent asks for it and sometimes they don't. Less now that the kids are older and can answer questions for themselves. One thing in particular the agent was pleased to see my phone number on the note where I could be reached.

 

[shaycamp21]

I have travelled by car across the border without my DH with my girls. I always have a notarized letter from a lawyer. I have never been asked for it entering the States but I have always been asked for it at Canadian Customs. We just returned from another car trip with my DH and we tookour niece with us this time and we had a letter(lawyer type) and were not asked coming or going..go figure. I would recommend getting a notarized letter because if you don't have it and need it it would ruin a great vacation.

Just wondering how much it costs to have a notarized letter? I did find this info on the US Border Site:

Adults traveling in or out of the U.S. with children under the age of 18 should be aware of the following: because of increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases and as possible victims of child pornography, Customs and Border Protection strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, the adult have a note from the child's other parent (or, in the case of a child traveling with grandparents, uncles or aunts, sisters or brothers, or friends, a note signed by both parents) stating "I acknowledge that my wife/husband/etc. is traveling out of the country with my son/daughter. He/She/They has my permission to do so."

CBP also suggests that this note be notarized. While CBP may not ask to see this documentation, if we do ask, and you do not have it, you may be detained until the circumstances of the child traveling without both parents can be fully assessed.

If there is no second parent with legal claims to the child (deceased, sole custody, etc.) any other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, birth certificate naming only one parent, death certificate, etc., would be useful.

Adults traveling with children should also be aware that, while the U.S. does not require this documentation, many other countries do, and failure to produce notarized permission letters and/or birth certificates could result in travelers being refused entry. (Canada has very strict requirements in this regard.)

You're right it is not worth risking the vacation by not having the letter notarized.

 

[debbiet1]

I go shopping across the border a few times a year. Sometimes I bring the kids by myself. You used to be able to get away with just a written note from the spouse. But now they want you to have a notarized document. I've been asked the past 3 times to show it even with my daughter being almost 15. I used to work for RCMP and there are just too many parental abductions now for them not to check for it.

 

[mommylo]

We just came back from WDW. DH and I had different flights because we were flying with points and couldn't get same flights coming back. We each have 1 DS with us. Cdn Immigration asked who I was traveling with and whether I had a note. I traveled without DH last year and was asked to produce a note as well. A friend of mine (father) traveling from overseas with DD without the note was detained for 1.5 hours, because he wasn't aware of note Better safe than sorry...

 

[101DalmFan]

It is very frustrating to think that a parent could cross the border with a child and not the other parent and not be asked for a notarized letter, as customs agents are not psychics or mind readers and how do they know that a parental kidnapping is not taking place? Asking for the notarized letter is protection for kids everywhere, which is a good thing

Now, having said that -- and it's something I feel strongly about, can you tell? -- twice I have gone to Florida, by car, with my girlfriend and her daughter (in 2005 and again last summer), but not her husband. Both times she had the proper notarized letter. But we never were asked for any kind of proof either going into the US or coming back into Canada. And, my girlfriend and her husband are different, ethnically, and the little girl looks more like her dad than her mom! We were glad we didn't have the delay but really, we should have been asked.

I don't know how much the notarized letter is, I just remember my girlfriend saying it didn't cost her much.

Just my two cents

 

[Tinkershelly]

The Canadian government website has some good information about travelling with children, including a form letter that you can download in various formats (including Word). You just fill in the blanks with your information, such as names, dates, passport information, etc. This is a document that has spaces for even the smallest detail.

Last September DH and I travelled with my niece and nephew to WDW. Their mother and I filled out this form and she took it to be notarized by someone in the community that she knows. He said that he wouldn't charge her for it since she had it all done and only needed his signature and stamp .

On a side note, I wasn't asked for this letter entering the US or returning to Canada, but it was worth the effort since we were flying and if we were detained by Immigration we may have missed our flights. I'd say just consider it one of the things that needs to be done along with packing and buying sunscreen. Oh, and have a good trip .

 

[drag n' fly]

This is the form I am using for our trip in November.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/consent_letter-en.asp

The first two kids I have sole custody of and the third I am travelling alone with to meet up with DH at a conference in Anaheim. It should be notarized.

 

[nosnobunny2006]

Two weeks ago, I crossed the border at Buffalo with two of my grandkids. We were catching a flight to WDW. When we arrived at the border, the customs officer asked who the children were and my relation to them, since our surnames were not the same. He also asked for my authorization to take them out of the country. I had a notarized letter with me - thankfully.

Beth

 

[Tinkershelly]

This is the form I am using for our trip in November.

http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/consent_letter-en.asp

This is the form I used last year. Just save it as a Word file, fill in the blanks and print. As I said before, since the form was filled in completely the notary didn't charge my sil to sign and stamp it. I think she bought him a coffee anyway

 

[shaycamp21]

I checked out a number of notary services in our area and then I thought why don't I just call our lawyer who did our house closing. He was the most reasonable with $25 while I saw up to $79 for the same letter of consent.

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I took my nephew to WDW in March (we flew). Going to the USA was not a problem, I don't believe we were asked once for a note or anything. It was coiming home that was the problem. In the Toronto airport, the agent looked at our passports and seeing different addresses, she asked how we were related and I told her. Then she asked for a note from the parents, so I produced both (my sister has since remarried). She then asked who my sister was since she had a different last name! I thankfully had a copy of my sisters marriage certificate and handed that over. I looked at my nephew and joked that we should have gone before his mother got married and moved out of the house! (They lived in the same house). I realize that she was just doing her job, and doing it well, but I found it odd that it was harder to get my nephew home than it was to take him out of the country!

I suggest getting the notarized letter as the previous posters also suggested. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[barkley]

def. better safe than sorry. my story of caution is the time we were boarding a disney cruise ship and overheard a passenger and her children denied boarding for lack of having this type of document in hand

don't know if it's the same in canada-but in the u.s. some of the major banks offer free notary services to their customers (or at least very reduced fees). might be worth a check.

 

[debbiet1]

What about your Dr. or if you have a friend in the Police Department. DH's cousin is a Sgt and he signed our paper for us and all it cost us was a bbq lol

 

[nosnobunny2006]

Guarantors like those who can sign your passport photo are not necessarily notaries public. Make sure they afix a raised seal to any letter they witness. Otherwise you could have a problem.

I work in a government office where we have commissioners for taking oaths. We are only allowed to witness documents for our own government purposes. But we are not notaries. In most cases, that would be a lawyer.

Beth

 

[debbiet1]

I know he put the PD's stamp on ours

 

[101DalmFan]

My hubby is a sergeant (Toronto Police). Police officers are NOT notary publics. Permission to take a child out of the country must be signed by a notary public and affixed with their seal -- and a border customs guard has the power to refuse anything less. Well, for that matter, they have the right to refuse you entry no matter what; it's their call