Notarising a letter of consent for single parent holiday travel

The school summer holidays are almost upon us. After checking that passports are in date and insurance is valid, there could be a final item on your holiday checklist that you have realised you will need: a letter of consent for your child to travel. Increasingly, anybody who is travelling abroad with a child should consider whether a notarised letter of consent to travel is necessary or advisable.

When might I need this?

If both parents are travelling with their child they will not need a notarised letter of consent. However if only one parent, or somebody other than a child’s parent, is taking the child on holiday a notarised letter of consent to travel should always be strongly considered.

Why do I need this?

Notarised letters of consent to travel are a legal requirement for many popular destinations including South Africa when the child is not travelling with both parents. Border Control in the USA and Canada also strongly recommend that such documents are carried. By holding a notarised letter of consent, Border Control at your holiday destination can be shown clear evidence that consent has been given by the absent parent (or parents) for the child to travel abroad without them. Notarised letters of consent will assist in stress-free travel for grandparents or other family members travelling with a child without the child’s parents as the letter of consent proves that the child’s parents have given permission for the child to travel. Lone parents can also be confident that there will be no difficulties at passport control if their child has a different surname to them, which is often a difficulty encountered abroad.

What does notarised mean?

Most solicitors in Scotland are also Notary Publics. By having the letter sworn in front of the Notary Public, this means:

1. The Notary Public has confirmed they have identified the person signing the document;
2. The Notary Public confirms they witnessed the individual sign the document; and
3. The person signing the document has sworn an oath, identical to an oath sworn in court, that the content of the document is true and accurate.