It’s that time of year again when many of us will be planning vacations – including for March break. There are many things to sort out, but you may not know about one of the most important things to consider: travel consent letters. If your child is travelling outside of Canada without both parents (i.e. either alone or with only one parent), the government of Canada recommends obtaining a travel consent letter.
With increasing concern about human trafficking and custodial rights, customs officials in both Canada and the United States look for consent to travel letters to confirm parental permission to travel. From past personal experience, even athletes traveling as a team (and only months or weeks away from the age of eighteen) have been asked to produce a consent to travel letter when crossing without their parents into the United States for tournaments.
At Walk-In Notary, we are happy to assist you with drafting or notarizing your consent to travel letter (or both). We are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and no appointment is necessary. You can download a consent to travel form from the Government of Canada’s website at: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/consent-letter.
If you use the above form, simply fill out the information and bring it into our office to sign and have it notarized. Please bring valid photo identification with you. The cost to notarize a consent to travel form is $39.95 plus HST. If you would like us to draft the consent to travel letter, the cost (including notarization) is $69.99 plus HST. If you mention the Promo Code “SportsXpress”, you will receive a $10 discount for drafting or notarizing a letter of consent to travel at Walk-In Notary!
If you have a full team of minor athletes travelling without parents and would like us to notarize the entire team’s forms or letters at once, please give us a call at 226-977-8245.
Submitted by Walk-In Notary
