Traveling abroad with minor son?

Its my understanding that both parents must appear in person to sign the passport application at the post office.
You might check with your local PO to see what documentation you might require.
Good Luck - let us know.

I would think that your court papers would be sufficient. There are lots of situations where a second parent might not be around. The other parent could be deceased, for one thing. Perhaps one is incarcerated, or disabled and can't appear in person to sign anything. Or, as in the case of someone I know very well, she is unmarried and her son was born via a sperm donor. The boy has had a passport since he was 18 months old and they have traveled quite a bit, with never a problem.

If he has a passport it means that both parents signed for him to have it, which means they are allowing him to leave the country.
I travel once a year with my two children internationally without their father and have never been asked for a letter or a notorized declaration. The passports are enough.

I think in your case I would travel with two notarized or certified copies of the court order showing you have full custody. Keep one handy with your passports and another as a backup with your copies of credit cards and passports.

Ultimately you need to prove to an inspector's satisfaction that you are authorized to cross borders with your son. The court order should do it.

Claire - that's not necessarily true. Passports last for 5-10 years and a lot can happen in that time. Parents could be divorced etc.

So, it's always a good idea to carry a notarized document giving you permission to take minors out of the country. You may never be asked for it, but given the increased attention to people and child smuggling, it's better safe than sorry.

Also, incarceration does not automatically terminate parental rights. However in this case, legal proof of full custody is probably sufficient documentation to avoid any issues.

Kate

Just a short comment on child with Passport: Check the expiration date to be sure its 6 mos + beyond your return date. And be aware that depending on when the initial passport was issued, documentation for renewal requirements might be different/ even more stringent than they were when obtaining the original passport, which is something we ran into when renewing our sons passport.The government has put more controls in place to stop people spiriting children out without parental consent, which I suppose is a good thing and the law had changed in the interim. If it needs to be renewed, I believe BOTH parents have to sign and or be PRESENT ( or I imagine some legal permission instrument) - even for a mundane renewal.

I often travel alone with my kids to visit family in Europe as dh doesn't have enough vacation time to spend it entirely on visiting inlaws whose language he doesn't understand ... Never had any issues whatsoever. Passport and your court paperwork (copy, I wouldn't risk taking the originals along) should be ok.

If you have full legal custody, you don't need to have your son's father sign anything to get a passport, you just need to provide the original court documents stating that you have full legal and physical custody when you apply for the passport. And when you actually travel, you could just keep a copy in your bag, though I've never had anyone question me when I've taken just one or two of my children on trips without my husband.