International Travel With a Child: Consent Letters, Passports, and Holds

Before a child leaves the country with one parent, three things need to line up: a valid passport, written consent from the other parent, and a custody order that permits the trip. Airlines and foreign border officers routinely ask for the consent letter, and a U.S. passport for a child under 16 generally cannot be issued without both parents' agreement or a court order supplying it.

Passport rules are federal. Custody, travel restrictions, and passport-custody terms are state law and come from the individual court order in your case. A parent with sole legal custody in one state may still be violating a court order by traveling without notice, because the order — not the custody label — controls.

Getting a passport for a child

The State Department's passport service applies a two-parent rule for applicants under 16. Both parents or legal guardians normally appear in person with the child. If one cannot attend, the applying parent submits that parent's notarised statement of consent (Form DS-3053) with a copy of their identification.

Where the second parent cannot be located, has died, or where one parent has sole legal authority, the application must include documentary proof: a court order granting sole legal custody or specifically authorizing passport issuance, a death certificate, or evidence of a diligent but unsuccessful search. Passports issued to children under 16 are valid for a shorter period than adult passports, so a passport obtained for a toddler will expire long before the child is grown.

Note: for applicants aged 16 and 17, the two-parent rule does not apply in the same way, but the passport agency expects evidence of parental awareness. Rules and required evidence are published by the passport service and are worth checking directly before an appointment.

What the custody order should say

The single most useful thing a parenting order can do about international travel is to be specific. Orders that simply say "neither parent shall remove the child from the country without permission" generate disputes at every school holiday. Orders that set out notice, itinerary, and document custody rarely do.

• Whether international travel is permitted at all, and to which countries or categories of country.
• How much advance notice is required, and in what form.
• What itinerary details must be provided: flights, dates, addresses, and a contact number abroad.
• Who holds the child's passport between trips, and how it is exchanged.
• Whether consent may be withheld, or only for stated reasons.
• Whether a bond, mirror order in the destination country, or return-ticket proof is required.

Courts apply the same best-interests framework here as elsewhere in custody law; the general custody framework is the background against which travel terms are written. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, one of the acts published by the Uniform Law Commission and enacted in nearly every state, decides which state's court has authority over a custody dispute — a question that becomes urgent the moment a child is in another country.

Writing a consent letter that will be accepted

There is no single official U.S. form for a travel consent letter, and no U.S. law requires one for departure. It is nevertheless the document most likely to be requested — by an airline at check-in, by a foreign immigration officer on arrival, or by a border officer on return. A letter that is vague or unsigned is worse than none.

Carry the child's birth certificate as well, particularly where surnames differ. A parent who has changed a surname should carry the court order too, for the reasons set out in our guide to changing an adult's legal name. Entry requirements are set by the destination country, not by the United States, so check that country's rules for minors before booking.

Passport alerts, and what they do not do

The Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program, administered through the State Department's Office of Children's Issues, allows a parent to enroll a child under 18. If a passport application is submitted for that child, the enrolled parent is notified. Where a court order grants one parent sole legal custody or forbids the child's travel, the passport agency can also decline to issue.

The limits matter. The program is an alert about applications, not a border stop. The United States does not operate routine exit immigration controls, so there is no general list checked as a family boards a flight. A child who already holds a valid passport — including a passport issued by another country of nationality — is not affected by an alert at all.

Watch out: dual nationality is the gap that surprises parents most. A foreign consulate can issue its own passport to a child under its own rules, and the U.S. program has no authority over that process. If this is a live concern, the custody order needs to address foreign passports specifically.

If a child is kept abroad

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction provides a mechanism to seek the prompt return of a child wrongfully removed or retained, so that custody can be decided by the court of the child's habitual residence. It works only between countries that are treaty partners with each other, and the partner list changes as countries join and as accessions are accepted, so check the current position rather than an older summary. The State Department maintains the operative list along with country-specific guidance on its international parental child abduction pages.

The Convention decides return, not custody, and it contains narrow exceptions. Cases move faster when the left-behind parent can produce the custody order, the travel consent letter, flight records, and correspondence immediately. That is one practical reason to keep travel documentation even after an uneventful trip.

Common questions

My custody order says nothing about travel. Can I just go?

Possibly, but it is risky. Silence in an order is not permission, and a court can later find that removing a child without notice interfered with the other parent's time or decision-making rights. Where relations allow, get written consent for the specific trip. Where they do not, ask the court to authorize the travel before booking anything non-refundable.

Can I stop the other parent from getting a passport for our child?

Not by refusing consent alone if that parent holds sole legal custody or a court order authorizing issuance. What you can do is enroll the child in the passport alert program so you learn about an application, and ask the family court for an order addressing passports, travel notice, and document custody. A court order is the only instrument that binds both the other parent and the passport agency.

Does a notarised letter need to be translated for the destination country?

Sometimes. Countries set their own documentary requirements for minors, and several expect a translation, a notarisation, or an apostille certificate authenticating the notary. Check the destination country's entry requirements well before departure, because apostille processing runs through state authorities and cannot usually be completed in a few days. When in doubt, prepare both an English original and a certified translation, and keep the two stapled together with the custody order.

What if the other parent consents but will not sign anything?

Treat that as a refusal for planning purposes. Airlines and border officers respond to documents, not to reported conversations. A short text message agreeing to the trip is better than nothing and may help later in court, but it is not a substitute for a signed letter. If a signature is not forthcoming, seek a court order authorizing the trip.

A workable order of preparation

1. Read the order first. Check notice periods, consent requirements, and passport custody before choosing dates.
2. Confirm passport validity early. Many countries require several months of remaining validity on arrival, and child passports expire sooner than parents expect.
3. Request written consent in writing. Send the itinerary and a draft letter, and keep the exchange.
4. Check the destination's rules for minors. Requirements come from that country, and vary widely.
5. Carry originals, and leave copies behind. Order, letter, birth certificate, and contact details with a trusted person at home.

Families whose travel plans also involve a pending immigration case should read traveling with a pending case, and parents documenting a child's citizenship from abroad may need the process described in consular reports of birth abroad. USA.gov lists the agencies behind each of these steps.