Travel with Minors for School Trips
School: Great Learning Outside Of The School: Parent Consent Letters
People often forget about school trip parental consent travel letters. Schools know that a lot of exceptional learning can happen outside of the school. If you happen to be traveling with minors for a school trip outside of Canada, it is important to know the rules and the documents that everyone will need to bring along with them when they leave the country. The custom and immigration officers in Canada, the US and abroad have a number of requirements for minor children who are coming into or going out of a country. Sometimes, this documentation is required entering a foreign country. More often boarder officials ask for it when returning to Canada.
The school trip parental consent travel letter lawyers at Kahane Law Office in Calgary, Alberta, are here to help so that the school meets government requirements for travel consent. Travel letters are not a (Canadian) legal requirement but can make travel much easier and some countries do require them. Call today: 403-225-8810
Making Travel Consents Easy For Schools
The founder of Kahane Law Office had his first career in education. He understands the importance and challenges with getting school trip parental consent travel letters for each child leaving on a trip to another country. Top make things easier for school, the firm schedules one of our lawyers to attend at the school in Calgary (and some surrounding areas). We often do this during the day or evening and some weekends. This allows all the parents involved to sign the consent letter for travel more easily. Kahane Law also makes arrangements for parents to come into the law firm to sign the letter for travel in front of a notary.
What School Trip Parental Consent Travel Letters Allow
School trip parental consent travel letters should specify exactly what date the students will be leaving Canada as well as when they will return. They should also state the City the students will be traveling to as well as the country or countries. In every case, identify the point of entry City (the boarder crossing point). These consent travel letters also state that in emergencies or if any delays occur, the intention is for students to return to Canada as soon as possible. Lastly, the school trip parental consent travel letters will state that in the event of a medical emergency, the teacher(s), who should be specifically named, have consent to make emergency medical decisions if the parents cannot be reached. Current contact information for the parents or guardians needs including on school trip parental consent travel letters.
Travel Consent Letters When Traveling By Air
It is important to know which travel documents are needed for the country a school plans to visit. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative states that anyone entering the US by air needs to have a valid passport. This even applies to people originally from the United States who are coming back into the country. Age does not factor into this requirement. Everyone, including infants would need to have a passport. While the passport serves as proper identification, the school trip parental consent travel letters serve a legal notice as who whom has the ability to take the students across boarders.
Parental Consent When Schools are Traveling by Land
At times, land boarder crossings require more documentation. While the requirement for school trip parental consent travel letters should be universal, land boarder crossings can be more strict with this compliance. However, they will need to have a birth certificate or their naturalization paperwork.
What Is an Affidavit of Consent?
The law in Canada requires that any minor, not traveling with both of their parents, have a notarized affidavit of consent. This affidavit provides permission from the absent parent or parents for the children to be traveling. The affidavit requires the full names of the child and both of the parents. It also needs a contact number for each of the parents, and the date of the trip. It also requires the full names of the adult or adults who are accompanying the child. Minors who do not have this documentation may not be able to travel. The notarization allows the boarder official to know that someone checked the parents ID to ensure the giving of valid consent by the appropriate person.
School Trip Parental Consent Travel Letters For Modern Family Situations
Those who are traveling with minors often find a number of special considerations that they have to contend with. For example, divorced or widowed parents traveling with a minor need to have appropriate documentation. For example, this documentation includes such paperwork as death certificates or a court orders. Schools do not usually need to worry about this if both parents sign. If only one parent authorizes the school trip parental consent travel letter, the school may need those documents. The appropriate document is often attached to confirm that the appropriate parent is giving consent.
Fast, Easy and Affordable Notary Services
Contact our team at Kahane Law Office to set up low cost travel consent letters for parents in school or in our office. We offer walk-in or while-you-wait service in the Calgary, Alberta office. We can be reached toll-free at 1-877-225-8817 (or 403-225-8810 locally in Calgary, Alberta), or email us directly here.