Folks,

Has anyone had any experience traveling single with a child? I've heard that you need to have a notarized letter from the father, (we're divorced) in order to enter the country. I have her birth certificate, temporary orders giving me custody and her passport. She is 9 years old.

We're leaving Texas on Saturday and will arrive in Bonaire on the evening of the 19th, June.

Just checking to see what to expect in customs. Any help would be appreciated.

This yr my wife and I went first, with two of our children.
My oldest daughter (29) came one week later, bringing two of our other children (12 and 10) with her.
These two kids had their own passport. No questions asked.
I'm not an expert on this subject, but can't imagine that customs in Bonaire wld investigate divorce situations. A valid passport will do.

Could you have a problem on leaving the USA?

Pre 911 I traveled with my daughter from my previous marriage and we had no problems. I had gotten a letter with approval from my X but no one ever asked to see it and it was not certified. If it were me, I would rather be safe than sorry.

Pat, I had a really bad experience with this so let me put in my two cents! I traveled about a year and a half ago to Cozumel with my boyfriend, his two daughters, and my daughter (on an organized group dive trip, there were a total of 30 people). All of us had passports. I had read that I needed a notarized letter from my ex husband to take my daughter out of the country... so I had one! But my (now ex) boyfriend didn't have one from his exwife for his girls, and in Houston, they would NOT let them board the plane to Cozumel. In fact, they wanted to send us BACK to Columbus, Ohio, which is where we live.

The short of it is this : We had to deplane, had all our luggage taken off the plane, and the plane left! We had to track down his exwife, which was no small feat as she was on vacation in Kentucky.. and have her do a letter, have it notarized, and faxed to the authorities in Houston airport. We got on the next plane to Cozumel.

It may just be a Mexico thing... but I would rather be safe than sorry. It had potential to really throw a wrench in our vacation plans.

Feel free to email me privately if you'd like. kjlott@newarkohio.net

It is primarily a Mexico requirement. It has been for more than 15 years. The idea is to prevent non-custodian parents from kidnapping their children. I have heard of non-USA parents with children that are USA citizens being asked for custody papers and such when exiting the USA - again it is the kidnapping issue.

Make sure the notarized seal on the birth certificate can be felt. Someone that was travelling this past weekend had this problem. They got to Atlanta fine but when they checked in for the next flight they were denied boarding because they could not feel the seal. The airline was very accommodating but it took a day to get things sorted out.

When my daughter's were younger 10 and 11 we took several trips to Bonaire...we got a notarized letter stating it was ok for me to take them to Bonaire for vacation, This was signed by my ex, myself and my two daughters. I also brought along a copy of my divorce papers which shows I have full custody. I was never asked to show any of them!

It may vary from country to country but I have taken my step kids (their last name is different than mine and my wife) to Jamaica, TCI, Bonaire and PR with no one even blinking when they went over our passports. I took my sister's kids with me on a trip to the Philippines and the only question I was asked when we returned was how I was an American citizen if I was born in Taiwan...

Well like I said, I think it's better safe than sorry, trust me, you do NOT want to be stranded in an airport with kids who want to be on vacation with no clue what you're going to do... it all ended up working out, but it sure was unnerving at the time!

Hi all - I'm home from work and lo and behold lots of good sense advice from everyone. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I agree with you Kelly - I had the same, almost identical, experience that you did in Houston on the way to Cozumel. We went through about 3 checkpoints at the airports with Continental personnel, no one mentioned a letter. This was my first experience with this. Jane is 9 now and old enough to travel so I'm trying to get this permanently changed (full custody). I spoke with the consulate in Houston for NA today. She said that the temporary orders, attempted letters to get them signed by my ex and of course, passport and certified birth certificate will work to get her through customs. I have her name and number in case I have any problems.

So yippee, we'll be there this Saturday.

Thanks for the funny story Larry and Kelly appreciate the great advice. I agree - better safe than sorry. I was just hoping that Bonaire would be more relaxed than Mexico and I wouldn't have to bring a ream of paperwork with me.

Have a good trip and be sure to let us know how it all went.

As for my funny story, sadly my smart mouth got the better of me as my reply of "You've *never* run into a single American born abroad before? (we used to have military bases on Taiwan)" earned me a trip to get all my baggage examined. :D Boggled my mind as the whole time I was thinking "What difference does it make anyway, if I *was* trying to fake a passport wouldn't I choose my place of birth someplace more convenient?"

Another funny immigrations story, returning from spring break in Mexico the agent asked me where I went to college, I replied the University of South Dakota and he asked "What state is that in?" This baffled me so much that I could not muster a smart aleck reply and mumbled a puzzled "... South Dakota ... ???" ;)

Sorry for creating work for you Pat, but even on Bonaire you could need that letter from your X.
We (CocoPalmGarden) had now 2 times guests who needed that kind of letter when leaving Bonaire!!! Perhaps it depends who is sitting on the counter ???? So I would strongly recommand to have one in in bag.

The 3rd Corollary of Murphy's Law states: 'The things you are prepared for don't happen'. Best have the letter if possible, though I read that you 'have tried' to get one signed. Good luck all around. :–)

Brigitte,

What happens without the letter leaving Bonaire??? I would have thought that US Immigration would be the difficult place, at a US port of entry.

Both checked in very early so had some time till the departure of the plane.
A French couple travelling with their grand children could reach the daughter by phone and she faxed a letter directly.
An american man travelling with his son could reach is wife and got the letter

This is not just an issue involving divorce, but can arise whenever a minor child travels internationally without both parents. The intent (as Linda says) is to prevent kids ending up away from the custodial parent(s). But the immigration official has no way of knowing whether the absent parent is alive, divorced, or whatever. So it's a good idea to have documentation of permission from the absent parent, or if a single parent or widowed, some proof of that fact.
The more "official-looking" the better. Even though notary seals (at least in Ohio) need not be embossed (raised lettering), again the official is not going to know that. Having said that, any documentation is better than none. Expect the unexpected.

I am not familiar with Bonaire law and practice, but here is a web reference to Mexico's requirement.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/travelmexico.htm

Another helpful site, with a sample form

http://www.familytravelforum.com/soloparent.html

Other important papers - adoption, marriage certificates, and divorce papers, especially if last names do not match with all documents or your kid's documents. For certain documents, you should get a notarized (raised seal) copy since obviously you can't really run around getting extra divorce papers that easily.

We have a question in with the folks at TCB to find out the current official stand on this situation.

And while you are at this docu-madness, photocopy your passport in case you lose it. Much easier to replace if you know the number.

And don't forget your medical insurance card, copies of your prescriptions, and your doctor's phone number. You never know.

Thanks all of you. We have the form letter, just having a hard time getting it signed. I've got two days left so I'm crossing my fingers. If it does not arrive then we'll bring paperwork re: the attempts to get it signed (cc of letter that was mailed to him and envelope), raised seal certified birth certificate and her passport. According to the consulates office for The NA, this should be sufficient. He lives quite a way from Jane & I so it isn't very easy to contact him.

Thanks for your good wishes~!

Pat,
As previously stated...better to be prepared.

In 2003 my two daughters (18 years age difference) traveled to Bonaire to meet us...I had a notarized letter giving the older daughter medical permission, etc. ...not even a blink of an eye at the two different last names (one is married). The officials never questioned anything.
This past April we took my 14 yr. old daughter and her 13 yr. old friend to Bonaire for two weeks. I had a letter from her parents with medical permission, etc....Again, no questions asked. But I felt secure in the knowledge that I had reasonable documentation if needed.

Act like you know what you're doing and don't sweat it! You will probably experience the ease of entry and exit that we have!

Have fun!!!

Hey all. Well, it looks like we are good to go! We got a letter today with a stamped notary seal - not raised seal - hope this works. I'll bring the fed ex envelope which has his return address in Port Aransas. Also the ream of paperwork, passport, bc, orders, etc. that I have as a backup plan

Again, thanks to you all for responding and your kind suggestions.

Wahoo! I've gotta get packing Happy diving to you all.
pat

It's unlikely that you'll ever be checked, but most countries are signatores of an international treaty on child kidnapping (notable exceptions in the Middle East). I traded letters with my ex years ago so we wouldn't have these discussions every time we planned a vacation.