<p>My daughter and I are traveling to British Columbia during spring break, and I was thinking that she might have more fun to bring a friend. Neither of us has a passport, but her friend might- but I was concerned about what I would need to take her over the border. Not so much to get into Canada, but getting back into the US, as they can be pretty funny sometimes.
I don’t think she has her drivers liscense although she would have a permit and her birth certificate, I could get her mom to sign a notarized letter saying it is ok to take her, but would I need her dad to also? ( they are divorced)</p>
<p>When my husband and I recently went to vancouver, they didn’t even look at our birth certificates ( after all the trouble I went through to find them, I felt like shoving it in their face and making them look though),but they gave a lot of grief to a college age boy who had a packaged sandwich with him, they picked it apart like he was going to put marijuana leaves in it . :rolleyes: ( actually that was us customs)</p>
<p>I don’t have any experience traveling with unrelated children, but you are wise to plan this out ahead. My daughter and I did get questioned perhaps more than one might expect when we arrived on the ferry at Friday Harbor from Victoria (having gone to Victoria via Vancouver). Everything worked out fine, but it did seem to me that they were concerned about “child with only one parent”. So yeah, maybe getting the dad’s letter as well might be a good idea. Maybe call US Immigration and ask them? It is definitely the US side of things that’s picky these days.</p>
<p>I’d recommend that you check the U.S. State Dept. Web site. I haven’t traveled with unrelated children, but a few years ago when my D and I went to Canada for a brief vacation I had my husband sign a letter saying it was ok for her to leave the countr–there had been some article in the paper about needing written permission from the other parent, even when not divorced–seems silly in retrospect). I would definltely get a notarized letter from the friend’s custodial parent. Check with her regarding custody agreement as well as seeing if you can figure out from the the State Dept site if permission is needed from the other parent for the child to leave the country. (Of course no one asked to see the letter either coming or going on our trip, but still, it was good to know we had it.)</p>
<p>Definitely get a notarized letter from BOTH parents and passport. We used to travel all the time as a team for one of my sports and the only problem we had was one kid only had a letter from his mom (parents were divorced and dad was not cooperative). If she does not have a passport you could probably use a birth certificate and permit but that’s a little harder to keep track of. </p>
<p>Also, if going up to BC, I’m not sure if you know this already…but you can go through the border in Sumas (frequently a lot less busy and therefore quicker then the main one in Blaine.)</p>
<p>Customs is picky about the strangest things sometimes. Often it’s a lot harder to get back in to the US than it is to get out to Canada. Once had to almost leave my 7 year old little brother at the border because parents misplaced his birth certificate ;)</p>
<p>so should I get a letter from * my husband* saying it is ok to take our daughter out of the country?
( he has to stay home to take care of the dog- well and work)
we are taking the train/bus up the coast so that wont be bad- won’t have to sit in traffic anyway ( as the driver)
US customs has always been picky- when I was about 17, I tried to go up to Canada with some friends to go camping , they wouldn’t let us in Canada because we didn’t have enough money- they were afraid we were vagrants i guess, but we couldn’t get back in US because I- as the only minor, didn’t have a letter or any ID besides my drivers license ( we had be fairly impulsive)- I vaguely remember waiting in a room for them to get ahold of one of my parents which took a really long while- I guess they figured I was a runaway or kidnapped or something ( I probably looked about 12)</p>
<p>Get a notarized letter saying that you have permission to consent to medical treatment in the event of an emergency if the parents can’t be contacted. Lets hope you don’t need it. However, should you have some problem, having a notarized statement from a parent saying that you are authorized to act as temporary guardian to make decisions in an emergency medical situation can be helpful.</p>
<p>thats a good idea- I do already have one of those for her however because I took her with us when we went to Portland-
It is actually really fun to take Ds friends with us, because they are so much more chatty!
She does kind of look like me though- not that I am that tall ( she is 6ft!) but she has red hair and D doesn’t
thanks for the links</p>
<p>We lived in Vancouver during the early '90s. Once, when traveling to the US for a little break, our then 5 year old son was questioned directly by customs about whether or not we were his parents. I had also heard of problems with people entering the US with children, but without the spouse, unless they had a letter from the other parent. So, I would suggest checking the sources listed above, and have letters from all parents of the minors involved. Have a great trip!</p>
<p>It also depends on the age of the kids involved- we jsut renewed our passports, that with the 16 yo, just one parent was needed to come, and with the 14 year yo, both parents were needed, and if even younger, a birth certificate (even thought already had a passport) would have been needed</p>
<p>So, how old the kids look, regardless of age, could raise flags for checking i.ds etc</p>
<p>And make COPIES and make sure everybody has each others copies</p>
<p>wow, i did not know it was so tough to get into canada and back?
i am 17 myself, and i have NEVER had problems going up to canada or back myself… even with groups of friends, it has never been a problem. i haven’t even had to show any identification, except answer questions like ‘where i am from’ and ‘what i am going to do’.</p>
<p>i find that customs gets suspicious whenever you offer identifaction documents… the first time my family ever went up there, we got ‘caught’ when we started showing our passports, etc.</p>
<p>i say take notes, but simply act low key and not offer too much information.</p>
<p>Yes, make sure you have it as a precaution if for no other reason.</p>
<p>I remember a few years ago I took my D on vacation to mexico. Imagine my shock when when I went to pick up my tickets and the ticket agent told me that I had to have a notaried letter from ex. She said without it they could not allow my child to leave the country because the biggest kidnappers of minor children are the other parent and the countries they are most likely to flee to are canada and mexico. So after some red tape, had to go to the family court to get a notarized letter (have no contact with ex) in order to take my own child on vacation.</p>
<p>To add on to what jonri wrote, also don’t forget to get copies of child’s health insurance cards.</p>
<p>Having lived on both sides of the border through the years when our Ds were younger, we made dozens of trips across with our kids’ friends along. We always had letter of permission, including for necessary medical care, from the parents, but never notarized. Granted, times have changed so I suppose that’s a wise thing to do. Never once were we asked, going either way, to show any type of proof that we hadn’t kidnapped these kids! </p>
<p>nhs makes a very good point in post #12. Never offer your identification/ passport/birth certificate, etc. at the border, if you’re driving across. Always wait to be asked for it. As someone who has crossed the border by car more than a thousand times over the years, I cringe when I see the folks ahead of me in line shove a pile of papers into the face of the customs officer as soon as their car stops at the booth. Certainly, have it with you and ready but wait for a request to see it before handing it over. You will save yourself, and everyone in line behind you, lots of time and aggravation.</p>
<p>It isn’t that questions will necessarily be asked but that you have to be prepared with the letters and documetnts in case they are asked becuase it is such a nuisance otherwise.</p>
<p>I wont be traveling by car- it is actually cheaper I figured to take the train ( gas is up to $2.60)
that will save a lot of hassle. and I agree it is better to have all the documents and not need them- - it now sounds like we might not be taking her friend this time- D wants to spend time with me!- who woulda thunk it?
which is fine with me- but I think they still would like to go there probably in the summer - it might even take us that long to get all of her friends info.
It is interesting though how check points vary. I know for some events they search even my small purse, other things they just want to check my ID. For the train all they want is for me to sign my ticket- they don’t really care who I am, just that I say I am * somebody*</p>
<p>My H used to get hassled big time at that same border area when he crossed alone with our little blond D- he is dark. We have taken tons of friends back and forth.</p>
<p>The comments above are correct, have your passport or picture ID & birth certs ready, and the parent letters standing by. They have not been requiring notarised letters, sometimes when a kid has forgotten their letter, I will stop and have them write one and sign mom’s name before we get to the border. I would say they ask for a letter maybe 25% of the time, so it is smart to have it, but also make sure the friends has the proper ID.</p>
<p>It really has a lot to do with the age of the kids, if people “match” (egad), how the guards have been talked to that day, the terror alert, if there have been any child kidnappings lately, if they are new to the shift, a rookie, been there awhile, all kinds of stuff can determine whether a person will get extra scrutiny</p>
<p>when my H travels, H, the pale Irish boy goes right through, his friend, who is Irish, but less Irish looking, if that is appropriate to say, almost ALWAYS gets pulled aside for extra searching</p>
<p>When we got passports for our children a few years ago, we had to have a permission (?notarized) from the parent who was not physically present at the passport office, for the younger child (under 14). We are married, living together, didn’t matter since we both could not be present to sign for the passport. So I would think that having a permission letter is probably a good safety measure - might not matter if child has a passport and is over 14, but who knows, better safe than back home.</p>
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