brownie Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 We are travelling to Canada by car in June. We will not have passports for the kids. As it is unnecessary, it would be too expensive to obtain extra passports. I tried clarifying with the passport office via email and all they did was reiterate that only an original birth certificate is required. I am wondering if we are going to face any challenges on either side of the border, especially if for some unforseen reason, only 1 parent ends up travelling (We are going for a robotics competition so if someone got sick, etc...we would still go and leave 1 parent behind with the affected child). I am wondering if a notarized letter from the other parent would be useful? Thanks! Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 I went with my son recently. I did not have a letter from my husband, but my kiddo does have a passport. My son also traveled recently on his own with another unrelated adult and some friends. I just sent him with his passport and a copy of this form filled in. No problems either time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 It is always useful to have a letter from the other parent. We've crossed the border regularly for many years and asking about the other parent is a common question. Sometimes they will talk with the children directly. We have a family rule of absolutely no talking or music from the time we reach the line until we have driven away. Pay attention and answer only questions asked, no jokes. We have never had a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 We recently travelled with 3 kids but they all had passports. One had an expired passport so we also took the birth certificate. I will check online and make sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 The last time we went without passports, we were told we needed birth certificates and photo ids for the kids. That's been a few years, though, so it may have changed. They grilled us at the border about why our kids weren't in school, why we homeschooled, etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 My son has visited his friends in Canada numerous times. He crosses the border with them (they are Canadian). He does take his passport and he always has a letter from us, but they have never looked at the letter. They usually ask him how he knows the Canadian family and that's it. So, I'd have a letter, just in case, but, honestly, even if something bad happens, I bet you won't need it. (Unsure about passports/birth certificates.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 They have passport cards that work in select countries in North America (Canada being one of them). They're $15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Our travel agent told us that she can't book our flight to Vancouver until DS has his passport. Maybe the rules are different for flying though. Yes, they are. Flying requires passports. I always get a letter from DH when I go alone with kids. They rarely ask for it, but they have so it's always good to have it. They once grilled my nephew separately when he travelled with us to the US from Canada. That was with a passport and letter from his parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 7, 2014 Share Posted March 7, 2014 Yes, driving it is fine to use a birth certificate. Both ways. You should also have a letter from your spouse. What we use is a general blanket letter saying that my DH and I trust one another to travel with the kids internationally as we see fit (or something like that) and we both sign it. The border has generally told us that if it is not notarized it is good for 3 months, notarized it is 6months or a year. I forget. Our letter also has contact information for both of us, should a question arise. Curiously enough, I have never thought to or brought the letter for flying, but I guess I don't actually fly internationally with the kids a lot, so maybe I would bring the letter then too? Also, FWIW, if you call the US border patrol, you will get the opinion of the one officer you spoke to at the border. If you call 10 times, you will very possibly get 6 different answers to the same question - at least that is what we found when dealing with immigration issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 You need a passport to fly, and not to go by car. 95% of the time there is no difficulty traveling with just one parent. Occasionally a border guard is concerned by something, or you happen to match the description of someone they are looking for, and it may take awhile to sort out. In such a case a letter from your husband would be useful. I have never bothered to get it notorised. Technically either parent of a married couple is competent to take a child across the border unless there's some court order saying otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 I've crossed with my kids (and their passports) without my husband, with my sister-in-law and her kids (with the NA border crossing card mentioned above) without her husband. In both cases the agent spoke directly to the kids, asking them if their fathers knew where they were and that they were crossing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We did a driving trip to Nova Scotia a few years ago. DH and I had passport cards and we brought along certified copies of the boys' birth certificates. We had absolutely no problems at all, either going into Canada or coming back in to the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 For the letter - I just keep one in the car and I used one for years, but after a while the border guards must have marked my file or something, because I started getting lectured every time about getting a recent letter. So I did and it has been a non-issue again. I have crossed without a letter too, but, it is easier to just have what they want. Also, FWIW, it is best to remove all sunglasses, turn off the radio, know the dates or times you are crossing, where you are staying and the contact information for that place, and just generally only answer what is asked. It goes much more smoothly that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 They have passport cards that work in select countries in North America (Canada being one of them). They're $15.Passport cards are $55 for adults, $40 for minors. http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/card/Difference-Between-Passport-Book-and-Card.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 FWIW, it is best ... [to] generally only answer what is asked. And if he asks your 15yo daughter, who doesn't have picture ID, how he's supposed to know she belongs to you, DON'T say, "Do you want to hear her birth story?" He might not mind (although he might, lol), but she'll die of embarrassment. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Children under 16 can present an original or copy of their birth certificate. That is all my kids have had when we go to Canada. "Children: Beginning June 1, 2009, U.S. and Canadian citizen children under age 16 arriving by land or sea from contiguous territory may also present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Naturalization Certificate, or a Canadian Citizenship Card." http://www.getyouhome.gov/HTML/lang_eng/eng_sa.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 And if he asks your 15yo daughter, who doesn't have picture ID, how he's supposed to know she belongs to you, DON'T say, "Do you want to hear her birth story?" He might not mind (although he might, lol), but she'll die of embarrassment. :D :lol: I remember going to Canada with my mom and the guard asked her, "what will you be doing today? Bingo and Chinese food?" And he was correct! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASDAQ Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 We cross the border once a month or so. They give you no trouble usually if you fit into one of their particular boxes (oh look, Jewish people going over the border to get kosher food). They're trained to look for things that don't fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 My kids traveled to Canada with my mom and stepdad a year and a half ago. One child has a passport; the other child had a state issued ID card (not from my parents' border state). I wrote a letter giving my mom permission to travel with my kids. No one ever questioned anything, and they never needed the letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsJewelsRae Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 It's easier to get into Canada usually. We recently traveled to the states, our children had their original birth certificates, no passports. I brought dd shopping across the border last month w/o dh and didn't bring a letter of consent from him, didn't have a chance to get one so I took a chance since we're only an hour from the border, it wouldn't be a huge deal if they turned me away. We got through no problem. Dh took ds (11) across the border yesterday for a trip to West Virginia, I sent along ds' birth certificate and a photocopy of my passport and driver's license along with a brief letter of consent for the trip with my signature and dated. They had no issues. You don't need passports for minors under 16 between Canada and the US unless flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 Wow thanks for all the info! I will have that letter ready just in case. Hopefully we will all be going together, God willing. And I will give the kids some pointers for crossing the border...I had no idea, having not done it in 15 years. Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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