What is a Notarized Travel Affidavit?
A notarized travel affidavit is a document signed by a parent or parents which provides written permission for a child or children to travel outside Canada without the consenting parent or parents. The document will demonstrate to customs officials that the travel by the child without the parent(s) has been authorized by the parents and that this signed permission was provided in front of a lawyer with proper identification checks and witnessing of signatures. Your child will not be able to leave the country and get through customs without a proper Travel Affidavit. If a child is leaving the country with both parents a travel affidavit is not required as both parents will be present at customs to confirm consent to the travel. If one parent is travelling out of the country with one or more children, only the parent staying in Canada who is granting their consent to the travel is required to sign the Travel Affidavit. The parent who is leaving the country needs to bring the notarized Travel Affidavit with them while travelling and present the document to customs officers.
Travel Affidavit requirements are in place to protect and prevent children from leaving the country without parental permission. They are required for any child under the age of 18. In the event you do not have a travel affidavit prepared by a lawyer you may be turned back at the border or airport. In some instances airport and border services have lawyers available on staff who can assist last minute to draft a Travel Affidavit. The cost for a lawyer last minute at the airport will be very high and without the consenting parent present to sign such a last minute solution will not be possible. The best solution for parents is to contact their local lawyer several weeks prior to their travel. Parents who are divorced or separated should allow for extra time to coordinate appointments and obtain information. We typically have clients email our office with all the information regarding their trip which is required to complete the document prior to signing.
The information we require to complete the travel affidavit is as follows:
- Full names of parents and travelling child or children
- Departure and arrival dates
- Departure location and arrival locations (note in the event of multiple travel countries on the trip, all countries should be provided along with departure and arrival times)
- Telephone number of parent(s) staying in Canada
- Date of birth of travelling child or children
Our form of Travel Affidavit also contains a health care consent so that the person authorized to travel with the child will be able to obtain health care for the child in an emergency situation as the parent or parents staying in Canada will have signed their permission and consent to any necessary health care for the travelling child.
Our typical fee to draft and execute a travel affidavit is $180.00 plus HST. Please note this fee is an estimate only and may be subject to change. Contact Debbie or Tracy at our office directly in the event you require assistance. Please note that the consenting parent must be able to attend at our office with identification in order to have a Travel Affidavit prepared and executed. If you cannot attend at our office in Oshawa you are best to seek the assistance of a local lawyer in your jurisdiction. In the event of travelling to an exotic destination or any destination where a document in English may not be recognized we recommend parents consult government officials in that specific destination to confirm that the document will be adequate as both a travel and health care consent. Thank-you.
Fraser Law is now providing legal services to the areas of Bowmanville, Whitby and Port Perry, as well as our Oshawa area clients that we currently serve.
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