Travel Consent Letter for Child

When and how to use this letter

This single-parent version works when one parent or legal guardian is giving consent — for example, when a child travels with grandparents while parents stay home. If both parents are available, having both sign is stronger, but one signed letter from the non-traveling parent is what officers most commonly request.

Hand the travel companion a small folder containing the signed original letter, copies of your ID, the child's birth certificate, and the child's passport copy. For international journeys, get the letter notarized; unnotarized letters are routinely questioned at borders, and notarization costs little compared to a missed flight.

Write the companion's full name exactly as it appears on their passport or ID, and state their relationship to the child. Officers compare names across documents, and a mismatch — "auntie Farah" versus "Farah Siddiqui" — causes the exact delays the letter is meant to prevent.

The detail most people forget: include an explicit line authorizing emergency medical treatment. Without it, a hospital abroad may delay care while trying to reach you across time zones. Also add your phone number with the country code and keep your phone on during the travel window — officers do call, and an unreachable parent can mean a long wait at immigration. Check the airline's minor-travel policy too, since a consent letter does not replace the airline's own forms for unaccompanied minors.

Frequently asked questions

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