Dad not on birth certificate-does he need to complete consent for minors?

Obviously Steve has no firsthand experience with this topic. Once your grandson gets his passport there will be no need to "convince the authorities at the airport" of anything. There may be some additional explanations necessary for why there is no father listed on the birth certificate, but that will be done at the time of the passport application. A notarized letter from the mother giving you permission to take the child out of the country is recommended, but most likely no one will want to see it. You will also want to have permission to obtain medical treatment for him should it become necessary. Your son won't have to fill out anything.

Despite the "excellent" advice you are getting so far, I will only add:

The issues you may have at passport control are more a situation of chance and the discretion of the agent. It is always best to assure that you comply with all requirements, then some.

Do not rely on personal experiences, particularly those that say "no problem", chance and luck in a previous experience do you no good if a question is raised.

For the best information, please start with the State Department, look on the website, inquire, get what the formal requirements are. A passport for a minor is not the only and ample requirement. As a parent, even travelling with my wife, and never having an issue, we still carried our minors birth certificates when we traveled.

Figure on exceeding requirements to avoid any issues. In your case, I assume since the custodial mother is willing to complete the form, and you seem to have a birth certificate, that your own Son completing the form is only a prudent safeguard, it certainly can't hurt.

Please listen to Paul and contact not only our State Department but any consulate in the U.S. of the countries you plan to visit.

While having a notarized letter from the mother and a release form allowing you to make medical decisions is probably all you will need...it's better to be safe than sorry.

Hi, Dawn.

The UK does require some paper work, I'll go into that at the end. For now...

Steve, Paul, and Frank II are absolutely spot on. Best to get the advice direct from the embassies/consulates, and to over document rather than under document. (Though Nancy's right - you may never be asked for it!)

Paul mentions "discretion", and you will actually see this all over US and UK customs laws, "at the sole discretion of the _____ agent". Bring all the documentation you think you might need. Don't give the agent the opportunity to use that "discretion".

Message boards are a great source to find the official Govt sites you need, but I like to get the answers directly from the Govt source. In the US .gov are Govt sites, in the UK, .gov.uk, in Ireland .gov.ie are the official sites. Though Ireland is known to use just .ie and even .com for official Govt sites as well.

(cont)

There ARE documentations requirements you'll need to meet. For Example, for the UK from the official Govt source:

"The Immigration Rules updated in September, 2009
Part 2: Persons seeking to enter or remain in the United Kingdom for visits
Subsection 46A - Requirements for leave to enter as a child visitor
(v) has a parent or guardian in their home country or country of habitual residence who is responsible for their care and who confirms that they consent to the arrangements for the applicant's travel, reception and care in the United Kingdom..."

The key phrase there being, "has a parent or guardian in their home country.. who confirms that they consent to the... travel"

In other words - yes, a letter of consent is required, officially by the British Govt at passport control.

Quite often, you're never asked for it, but it's best to have.

Here's the official source sites for those quotes:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/part2/
(First one is the full legal mumbo jumbo, same source, but this one's easier to read.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/visitingtheuk/childvisitors/eligibility/

I used to do this end of travel for a living, and still took me 2 hours to find just one country for you. Don't feel bad! =)

Ireland has something similar in their Visa requirements, so best to play it safe:

"Where a child under the age of 18 is travelling alone, the consent of both parents/guardians is required. If the child is travelling with one parent, the consent of the other parent is required. Where only one parent has total custody and access rights, official evidence of this must be provided."

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Documents%20Required%20for%20Visa%20to%20Ireland

Speaking of discretion - from the top of that page: "These requirements are intended to act as a guideline only and do not limit the discretion of the visa officer" OYE!

So it's best to call the embassy and ask.

SUMMATION - What will you need?
Will you need your son's signature? Probably not. Most accept proof of sole custody such as the court order. You can check with the embassies.

Will you need a letter of permission from the Mother(custodian).
Yes.

What should that include?
Your name, her names, both your contact info, verification of your relationship, explicit permission for the child to travel with you, and the details of the trip (general dates and locations). Double check with the Embassies if you can. - You can find lots of sample letters online.

Sorry to blather on. Would rather you have the right info!

Many thanks to all who responded to my question. I appreciate the advice and will follow-up with each country's consulate that I plan to visit. I went to a local travel agent and was told a passport was all I needed. When I questioned a letter of permission (which I always have when I travel domestically or to Canada with my grandson) she said it wasn't necessary!!!

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. Safe travels-Dawn

Just an update based on a New York Times article today (Jan. 17, 2010): www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/travel/17prackidnap.html?ref=travel.

Note the stories of some travelers who were asked for the statement from the missing parent.

No one has disputed that you may be asked for it. But as the article you quote further states "There are plenty of parents who pass through immigration without ever being asked for any of it."

Both of my children have different names than I do. I have never been asked anything at all in either America nor anyplace here in Europe that I have traveled to or from, and their fathers were never with us.

I have certainly never been asked for a birth certificate. I have their passports and that is all you need when you travel. Back in the old days, kids could travel on their parents passport, so some of these ideas may relate back to that. Even babies need their own passports today. If you have a passport, you do not need to carry around a birth certificate.

No one has ever asked me if I had custody either. Having a notarized letter that states you may take the child out of the country is advised and I have had these, but I have never been asked for it.

Information from consulates and embassys is always the best to have.