Canada Child Travel Consent: One Parent, Grandparents & Minor Entry Rules

This is a summary of the current published rule for this country. It is not a form every child needs.

Entry, immigration: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Minor children travelling to Canada page. Children under 18 are minors for Canadian immigration entry purposes. A border officer may closely examine a child traveling without both parents or legal guardians.

Entry, border: the Canada Border Services Agency travel and identification page. It tells travelers with minors to carry acceptable identification, custody documents where applicable, and a consent letter in shared-custody or non-parent situations.

Outbound: travel.gc.ca recommends a signed consent letter when a child travels outside Canada without one or both parents or legal guardians. That letter is not a government permit and has no government processing time.

IRCC ENTRY applies to minor children traveling to Canada, including a child traveling alone, with one parent, with a non-parent adult, or with a legal guardian or adoptive parent.

CBSA ENTRY applies to travelers entering Canada with minors, including shared-custody and non-parent situations.

OUTBOUND guidance applies when a child — Canadian guidance uses under 19 in the described scenarios — travels outside Canada without all persons who have decision-making responsibility.

IRCC and CBSA entry layers apply to children seeking to enter Canada. They are not the same as a Canadian child's outbound consent letter.

A U.S. family flying into Canada is dealing with Canadian ENTRY guidance. A Canadian child leaving Canada is dealing with outbound consent-letter guidance plus any destination or carrier rule.

Citizenship, dual nationality, and custody still matter for supporting documents. They do not convert either layer into a universal notarized-letter statute.

IRCC ENTRY: the traveling parent should present the child's passport, a copy of the child's birth certificate, an authorization letter signed by the non-traveling parent, the absent parent's address and telephone number, and a photocopy of the absent parent's signed passport or national identity card.

SHARED CUSTODY: carry custody documents. It is also best to carry authorization from the other parent who has custody.

SOLE CUSTODY: bring the custody decree. DECEASED PARENT: bring the death certificate.

OUTBOUND: Canada recommends a consent letter when one parent travels abroad with the child without the other person who has decision-making responsibility.

IRCC ENTRY: a non-parent adult should have written permission from the parent(s) or guardian(s), including parent contact details. Current IRCC guidance explicitly says the non-parent permission letter does NOT need to be certified.

CBSA ENTRY: carry a consent letter when the traveler is not the parent or legal guardian. CBSA says travelers should have that letter notarized to support authenticity — a recommendation, not a universal statutory mandate.

OUTBOUND: Canada recommends a consent letter when relatives, friends, or group organizers travel with a child outside Canada.

IRCC ENTRY: the child should present their own passport, a copy of the birth certificate, an authorization letter signed by both parents or the legal guardian where applicable, parent or legal guardian contact information, and information for the adult who will care for the child in Canada.

OUTBOUND: Canada recommends a consent letter when a child travels alone outside Canada.

Canada provides an official outbound consent-letter template on travel.gc.ca. Use that official template.

IRCC and CBSA pages are official government policy / entry guidance, not a permit portal and not a substitute for the outbound template.

IRCC one-parent entry: the non-traveling parent signs the authorization letter.

IRCC child traveling alone: both parents or the legal guardian where applicable.

OUTBOUND: the non-traveling persons with decision-making responsibility should sign. If a parent lives abroad, Canada says the letter should ideally be signed by that parent.

Canada does not have one statute that requires a notarized consent letter for every child.

IRCC currently says the non-parent permission letter does not need to be certified.

CBSA recommends having the consent letter notarized to support authenticity and avoid delays. That is a recommendation.

Outbound travel.gc.ca guidance strongly recommends a notary public witness. Any adult may witness. A notary witness is still recommended rather than universally legally required.

Remote online notarization is not expressly confirmed by Canada as a universal format. Digital signatures may be accepted on the outbound letter, but the original signed letter is the recommended option.

Start online notarization only as a secondary option if you choose or need notarization and the recipient format has been checked.

Outbound guidance recommends carrying the original signed letter. Digital signatures may be accepted, but the original is the recommended option.

IRCC entry guidance contemplates copies of birth certificates and photocopies of the absent parent's signed passport or national identity card.

Canada's consent letter is not a government permit. There is no government permit processing time, fee, or validity period for the letter itself.

Confirm whether you are entering Canada or a Canadian child is leaving Canada. Then open the matching official IRCC, CBSA, or travel.gc.ca page. If you are already at the airport, use the Airport Emergency Child Travel Consent Guide.

Check the official page again before you travel.