One parent and child traveling

That is a common requirement, due to reality---custody disputes, child abduction, and other issues. It is easy to comply, so please do so. You know that everything is OK, but the immigration officials do not---their job is to be vigilant and protect children.

You may need to consult the specific requirements France.. When I went to Canada with my daughter-in-law and two grandchildren last summer ( my son had to work) she needed to have a letter from him, together with copies of his passport and of the children's birth certificates, showing the name of the father. This was on Canada's website for visitors.

As it turned out, she was never asked to show it. But you never know when it might be needed, and you do not want to be unable to provide the documents if asked.

Yep - when my daughter was young and I took her out of the country, I traveled with a notarized letter from her dad. It's easy to draft up something basic and it's nice to have if you need it and a huge hassle if you don't have it. There are basic forms available all over the internet.

I"ve done this.. we are a family of five.. so we decided it was cheaper and easier for us to do one on one trips with each child.. luckily since we have three kids I went first.. so took oldest son ( then 13) and the next summer hubby took our next son( then13) then I took our daughter ( then 11) so by going first I got two trips.. lol

I always brought a notarized letter giving me permission to travel with child.

Never once had to show it..

but for the 75 bucks it cost it was worth having.

We also all have same last name. .as part of a blended family now, I know that makes a difference.

Lots of my friends here have traveled to Europe individually with one or more of their kids and with grandkids sans parents and I've never heard them mention needing a letter.

I have heard it could be required on leaving the U.S. for the reasons Lola noted.

Better to be safe than sorry. And if your child should need medical attention, the notarized letter will allow you to authorize any treatment necessary.

Took my daughter to Mexico when she was 10 and to England when she was 12 and carried a notarized authorization from her father both times (although it may have been more necessary for Mexico.) But I don't remember any special authorization when she went by herself to a summer program in Ireland when she was 15 ....

Thank you all for you comments. We will definitely draw something up, better to have it and not need it. Luckily our neighbor is an attorney, lol.

I was traveling with friends about 10 years ago and the airline actually denied boarding for the youngest child — the dad wasn't traveling and the mom didn't have a letter. She sent the older (18+) kiddos with us on the plane, had to bump herself/youngest son to a later flight, track dad down and get him to drop everything to notarize and courier a letter to her at the airport. It was resolve-able, but the result was the mom and youngest son were 3/4-day behind the rest of us. So, while it sounds like that is the exception rather than the rule, it does happen... and can easily be avoided by jumping thru the hurdle as a precaution.

In May I'm taking my 17 year old niece to Paris, Amsterdam, and London. I want to be prepared with a letter from my brother. Does it need to be my brother AND sister in law? Does it depend on the countries we're going to? I have read the state department has a form/ template for this sort of travel but I can't seem to create the right search to find it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Christine

As strongly suggested by others, do this to protect yourself. I traveled frequently with my son and was only asked to show the permission once but I was glad I had it. The permission was important for medical treatment needed by a friend's young son

I just found this with a google. Maybe there are others

http://singleparenttravel.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Minor-Consent-Letter.pdf

Here is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection "strong recommendations" for children under 18 traveling with one parent:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/268/~/children---child-traveling-with-one-parent-or-someone-who-is-not-a-parent-or

What should a parental consent/permission letter look like? Is there a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) form? https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1254/kw/1254/sno/1

Christine while recommended , your niece is so close to 18 I doubt they will worry she is being kidnapped . Many kids travel at that age alone anyways . Perhaps parents of believe could accompany you to airport and wait for you to get through security , however I bet they do t even blink an eye at her

I know of at least one country where the documentation is required. So its not just US law you would have to worry about. What's it going to take you. 1 hour? Do it and don't worry about it, cause the people who tell you not to worry about it are not going to be the people sitting in the little room watching their flight taking off with out them; and because:

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, other countries may have a
requirement 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).

I agree - better safe than sorry, since the consequences of not having said letter are fairly steep.
My wife and I took our granddaughters to France 4 years ago, got those letters before we left, and were never asked for them despite the girls having different last names from us (and from one another).
It's possible that we weren't asked because we were traveling as a couple with children, but it would also seem pretty obvious that I was old enough to be beyond the reasonable range of Daddy-ness to those two young girls. (I'm not talking about biology, I'm just saying it could've raised eyebrows.)
Don't know why we were never asked to show permission for taking the girls out of the country, just thought I would add my experience.

I always had a brief letter from my daughter's father, but it was never notarized. I believe I was asked for it once. However, more importantly, IMO, if traveling with a grandchild, niece, nephew, friend's child, etc., make sure you have a proper medical authorization, as much treatment time could be lost if something happened. I know this was just about a child and posted a long time ago, but I think it should be stressed under this topic.