Travel Consent Form

          When traveling internationally as a single parent the United States Customs and Border patrol "strongly recommends that the accompanying adult have a note from the non-traveling parent stating 'I acknowledge that my wife/husband/etc. is traveling out of the country with my son/daughter/group. He/She/They has/have my/our permission to do so.'" (de.usembassy.gov)  This note must be notarized.  Some single parents are reading this and saying, "That sounds reasonable."  Other single parents may be having the opposite of that reaction.  When it was time for me to get this permission slip for Sydney, I had a negative reaction.  I am her primary guardian and I did not like the idea of having to get permission to travel with my own child.  However, I realize that these laws are in place to protect children from people who are not traveling with good intentions.  Here are my tips for obtaining this consent form:
1. Remember that you are doing this for your child.
2. Have the form composed and ready for your child's other parent to sign.  Make the letter as general as possible.  Do not put a certain location.  Follow the guidelines given by the US Embassy.
3. Contact the other parent and set up a time to meet with a notary.
4. Meet with a notary and the other parent to obtain the appropriate signatures.
5. Make sure that the form is good until the other parent dies.  This will prevent you having to do this every time you travel with your child.
I am not a lawyer.  These are just the steps that I took with this process.   I have never had to actually produce this form but I do carry it with me when we travel.  Follow this link for more information about this process https://de.usembassy.gov/visas/travel-tourism/travelers-faqs/children-traveling-with-one-parent-or-with-someone-who-is-not-a-parent-or-legal-guardian/ .