My son's first trip to Canada… Question?

We will be taking my 11 year old on his first trip to Canada. My father-in-law and I have been to Canada many times. The main question I have is when crossing the border with my son do I need anything from my wife (his mother) stating her knowledge of him going to Canada? I will be with her Dad, not that that would legally matter.

thanks

Hi Joe, I am not 100% sure its required, but the 2 times I have taken my boys to Canada fishing I did bring a letter that detailed the dates, location(s) we were going to and had appropriate contact info for my wife and was notarized.
There are forms online that you can find or just type one up on your own. Just state the purpose of the visit, like I said, dates and locations you will be visiting and the contact info.
It was smooth sailing for us both times.

You might want to prep them a bit because they will likely get questions and some of the border agents can be a bit intimidating.

Have fun, your kid will have a blast!

Joe,

I took my son a few years ago and it was very smooth sailing with a birth certificate and a signed letter from the mother. They did also ask the 2 kids in our party some questions about their personal info, which I thought was a great learning experience for them. Good luck.

Captain and fishwhenican,

Thanks for the response. We will have a signed/notarized letter in hand. Good reminder on the border process. he will have a blast I am sure.

Wow, this seems crazy over the top to me. What do widowers have to do, bring their wife’s death certificate? What about a single parent whose baby momma/daddy disappeared off the face of the earth?

Is this a new regulation? My pops never had to get a permission letter from my mom on any trip to Canada, and we took several.

pool2fool wrote:

Wow, this seems crazy over the top to me. What do widowers have to do, bring their wife’s death certificate? What about a single parent whose baby momma/daddy disappeared off the face of the earth?

Is this a new regulation? My pops never had to get a permission letter from my mom on any trip to Canada, and we took several.

Depending on when you went things change. There has been so much human trafficking and people trying to get out of the Country and away from their estranged spouse they apparently felt the need to put in some other safety measures.

I am sure you probably rode around in the back of your parent’s station wagon without seatbelts and never knew what a car seat was either, doesn’t make it right. Times change.

fishwhenican wrote:

Joe,

I took my son a few years ago and it was very smooth sailing with a birth certificate and a signed letter from the mother. They did also ask the 2 kids in our party some questions about their personal info, which I thought was a great learning experience for them. Good luck.

Yes, forgot about that birth certificate. It would also be a good idea that if your child has a picture id of some sort, possibly from school or something to bring that with.

I’m taking my 14-year-old nephew this year, so have been doing this research too. You will probably want:
– child’s birth certificate/passport
– signed permission letter (not notarized) from non-present parent(s) that includes their contact information and photocopy of their passport/ID card.

Going:
Minors Entering Canada

Returning:
Minors Re-entering US from Canada

Mike,
Thank you for the links. That helps a lot.

Michael C. Winther wrote:

– child’s birth certificate/passport

Not a copy, they may ask for the real thing. Happened to my buddy last summer. He had a notarized letter from his wife/kid’s mother and a copy of the birth certificate. On the way back the US border guards gave him a hard time since the cert wasn’t “official”. Took a while but they eventually sorted it out.

ClownColor wrote:

Yep- no need to get it notarized but you will need a note

As easy as getting something notarized, is there a reason not do it? Could save a serious border headache.

patk wrote:

As easy as getting something notarized, is there a reason not do it? Could save a serious border headache.

Agreed! We have notaries at work and most all banks have one as well. When I prepared for my son coming the first time I did extensive research and it recommended it being notarized. I didn’t want to take any chances so I had it done.
It really will spoil your kid though the fishing and scenery up there. Its amazing.