Traveling with children: consent letters and documents by country

A child who travels without both parents can be stopped for questions at a border, and the paper that answers them differs by country. No single consent form is the law everywhere. In most of the places covered here, a signed letter from the parent who is not traveling is advice from the authorities, and the documents that are mandatory belong to specific groups of children. The child's own passport, visa or travel authorization comes first, and no letter replaces it.

For each place it says what the official source requires, what it only recommends, and where it is silent, so you can decide how much paper to carry. It does not replace the embassy of the country you are entering, which the US government itself tells parents to ask. Every rule below was read on 2 October 2026, and each source carries its own date.

Three kinds of wording turn up on the official pages. "Must" means a document is required for a defined group of children. "Should" or "recommended" means border staff may ask, and arriving without the paper can mean delay or questions, with no legal duty behind it. Silence means the authority publishes nothing, and the practical answer is to ask the embassy or consulate. The sections below keep the three apart.

Schengen area and the EU

The Schengen rules give border guards a duty and leave the paperwork open. The European Commission's Practical Handbook for Border Guards, in the 2022 edition we read, says that for accompanied minors the guard must check that the adults with them have parental custody, especially when a child is with only one adult, and make the investigations needed to prevent abduction or unlawful removal. For a minor traveling alone, guards check the travel and supporting documents to make sure the child is not entering or leaving against the wishes of the person with custody. The handbook names no mandatory consent form, so what you show is shaped by national practice and by what satisfies the officer in front of you.

National rules sit on top of this, and they differ sharply. Germany's Federal Police publish a page on traveling with minors, dated 1 April 2025. It says every minor needs their own valid travel document, infants included, and that children's passports have not been issued since 1 January 2024, although older ones stay valid while the photo is still recognizable. For a child traveling with one guardian or alone, it recommends an informal written declaration from the absent guardians, their contact details and a copy of their ID page. Its word is "recommended". Where the surnames of child and adult differ, it advises birth certificates, adoption papers or proof of guardianship.

France is the clearest national requirement in the area. A minor who lives in France, French or foreign, needs an authorization to leave the territory (autorisation de sortie du territoire, AST) when traveling without a parent. A child with at least one parent does not need it, and neither does a child who lives abroad and is visiting France. A parent fills in the form online, signs it and attaches a clear photocopy of their ID, and the child carries the form, the copy and their own travel document. The parent sets the validity, with a maximum of one year.

France's rule is set out on the official service-public.gouv.fr page. Italy has a comparable rule for younger children. The Polizia di Stato page for the Rome questura says a child under 14 who travels abroad without a parent or legal guardian needs a declaration of accompaniment (dichiarazione di accompagnamento), completed by the parents with the name of the accompanying adult and presented to the questura, which issues it, and that it is not needed if at least one parent travels. We found no statement on that page about foreign children visiting Italy, so treat it as a rule for children leaving Italy and ask the consulate if your child is not Italian.

The other Schengen states set their own rules. Check the border police or foreign ministry page of the country you enter, and of the country you leave from, because the departure country can ask for papers too.

United Kingdom

The UK treats the letter as evidence and sets no condition of entry. GOV.UK's guidance for children traveling to the UK, updated 9 August 2023, says Border Force may ask questions when an adult travels with a child under 18 and is not the parent, or may appear not to be the parent, for example because of a different family name. It says such checks are done as quickly as possible and sensitively. The guidance does not state that any document is legally required. Every child also needs their own entry permission where one applies, covered in our UK ETA guide.

United States

The US government's page on travel documents for children says ports of entry in many countries have measures to prevent international child abduction, and that a child traveling alone or with one parent or guardian may need a letter of consent. A letter in English is preferred, and notarized if possible. If the child travels with one custodial parent, the letter should come from the other parent. If the child travels with a guardian or alone, both parents should sign. The page suggests this sentence: "I acknowledge that my child is traveling outside the country with [the name of the adult] with my permission."

For children who are not US citizens, the same page says all children, infants included, must have their own passport or visa to enter the US, and that a child entering alone, with one custodial parent or with a guardian should carry the documents their own country requires for leaving without both parents. Visa-exempt children also need their own approved authorization, as described in our ESTA guide. For organized groups of children under 19 arriving by land or sea from Canada or Mexico, CBP asks for a letter on the organization's letterhead listing each child with a parent's name and contact, plus a signed statement from the supervising adult that they hold parental or guardian consent for each child.

Canada

Canada's own page is the most detailed of those read. The consent letter page on Travel.gc.ca says plainly that a consent letter is not legally required in Canada, yet officials of other countries, airline agents and Canadian officers can ask for it, and failing to produce it on request can mean delays or refused entry or exit. It advises that any child under 19 carry one when traveling abroad without both parents or persons with decision-making responsibility, including on day trips across the US land border. The letter should be signed by every parent or other person with decision-making responsibility who is not traveling, which covers married, separated and divorced parents alike.

The page lists what the letter should contain: the child's name, the names and contact details of the parents or guardians, the full name, address, contact details and relationship of the accompanying adult, and the dates and destination, including the return date. It says any adult may witness the signing but strongly recommends a notary public, and that an original signed letter is preferred because photocopies may be questioned.

South Africa

South Africa is where the official pages disagree. The government's FAQ on traveling with children says all children under 18 need the correct documents, lists an unabridged birth certificate or equivalent parentage document "in most cases", and adds a parental consent affidavit or court order, with a copy of the absent parent's ID or passport and contact details, when a child travels with one parent or someone else. Unaccompanied minors need consent from both parents or guardians and a letter from the host in South Africa. The FAQ lists exemptions for South African children on South African passports, children in direct transit, and foreign children holding a South African visa.

A Home Affairs statement of 10 November 2019 goes further for visitors. It says that from 8 November 2019 foreign children can enter and depart without being required to provide birth certificates, consent letters and other proof of parentage. South African children and unaccompanied foreign children are not covered, and foreign children who need a visa have their documents handled with the visa application. We found no later statement ending the waiver, but the FAQ does not mention it either. If one parent is traveling, the cautious reading is to carry the FAQ's full set anyway, since an officer can still ask.

Mexico

Mexico's rule targets children who live there. The immigration institute's questions and answers on the SAM form say the Formato SAM applies to Mexican children, dual nationals with Mexican nationality, and foreign children with temporary resident, temporary student or permanent resident status. A parent or legal guardian fills it in, and the INM stamps it before the child can leave. Its purpose is to let a child leave alone or with an adult who is not a parent or guardian.

The sources divide children by who they travel with, and by where the child lives. A parent traveling alone with the child is the most common case. Canada, the US and Germany all point to a letter from the parent at home, and the US adds that when one custodial parent travels, the letter should come from the other parent. If the parents are separated or divorced, Canada says the signature of any parent with decision-making responsibility is needed, so a custody order or agreement is worth carrying too.

An adult who is not a parent, such as a grandparent, aunt or family friend, faces the most questions. The UK expects Border Force to ask, and says a letter from the parents with contact details can answer. The US says both parents should sign. A different surname makes it likelier that an officer asks, which is why the UK and Germany both list birth, adoption, marriage and divorce papers.

Children traveling alone meet extra rules: South Africa asks for consent from both parents and a host letter, Italy for a declaration for under-14s, and the US tells parents to ask the airline about its own requirements for children flying alone. School and club groups should use the group letter Canada and CBP describe rather than rely on each family's paper.

Residence matters in France, Mexico and Italy. The same child may need an authorization leaving one country and nothing visiting another, so check the rules of the country where the child lives and of the country you enter.

Start with the child's own passport, valid for the whole trip, and any visa or travel authorization the destination requires. Then add the following, in order of how often the official pages mention them.

• A letter from every parent who is not traveling, signed and dated, with the details Canada lists: the child's name, the parents' contact details, the accompanying adult's name, address, contact details and relationship, and the travel dates, destination and return date.

• A witness: a notary where you can, since Canada strongly recommends it and the US prefers it.

• A copy of the absent parent's passport or ID photo page, which Germany and France both name and South Africa lists.

• Proof of the relationship: the child's birth certificate, and marriage, divorce, adoption or guardianship papers where the surnames differ.

• A court order or custody document, if one parent has sole custody or decision-making responsibility.

Carry the signed original where possible, with copies on your phone, because Canada warns that photocopies may be questioned. Where your child lives in France, Italy or Mexico, add the national form from the sections above.

The official pages read here show little movement. Germany stopped issuing children's passports on 1 January 2024, per the Federal Police page dated 1 April 2025, so a child now needs a standard passport or identity card. The South African waiver for foreign children dates from 8 November 2019, and the Mexican SAM rules date from 2014 with the INM article we read published in 2019. The GOV.UK guidance was last updated on 9 August 2023.

None of these pages announced a change in 2026, but several carry no date at all, so a quiet change is possible. The Schengen Entry/Exit System, in full operation since April 2026, adds a facial image and fingerprints for most travelers but exempts children under 12 from fingerprints, as our EES guide explains.

Read the destination's embassy or border authority page for children a few weeks ahead, because a notarized letter or an AST takes days to arrange and cannot be fixed at the airport. If a child needs an ETIAS later, the same rule applies: a parent or guardian applies for anyone under 18, as the ETIAS guide describes. For medical cover that includes children on the same policy, start with our travel insurance guides.