scrubbedexpat091

Can even get worse then that. My sister in the US cannot leave the county she lives in without the douche errr father giving permission, even though he pays no support and never see's the kids, but he has a good lawyer.

Aviator

All well and good, have you tried telling that to immigration, I would be interested in the result?

Hawk13

I've traveled back to Scotland twice with my girls (without the ex). My girls were 12 & 13 on the earliest trip when we went back to tour for Highland Dance competitions. I travel on a UK passport, them on their Canadian passport. I always had them go through the line themselves (not to be sneaky but to let them learn how to do it).

They were asked some questions, pointed over to where I was and we got through fine - never had any questions myself or any hassle.

And, although the girls had a note from the ex, they were never asked to provide it.

I guess we were just lucky.

Jerseygirl

Ascouser...I wish you luck in getting it sorted out. Please don't remove your child from the UK without the necessary legal paperwork...as it could cause you no end of problems.

Oakvillian

Out of interest, what would happen if the second parent were deceased, or the travelling parent claimed that they were deceased?

Immigration person: "do you have the father's permission to travel with the children, and notarised documentation to prove it?"
Mother: "no."
Immigration person: "why not?"
Mother: "He'd dead."
Immigration person (none the wiser, presumably, even if the mother's actually lying through her teeth): "Oh, I'm so sorry. Please move along. Welcome to Canada."

Would they be so insensitive as to ask to see a death certificate, if the mother were travelling with new partner and the children of that new partnership?

Not, of course, that I'm suggesting this is a sensible course of action for the OP

MillieF

Where is Former Lancastrian when we need him?

I would have thought that they would ask for proof. The child is a minor after all.

When I came here permanently, I did bring a letter from my husband, and it was notarized, because we weren't travelling together with our son.

Europe is much the same, an English girlfriend, married to a Frenchman with two kids with French passports, who was going to visit her parents for a week in the school hols with the kids, was turned away at the border as she didn't have a letter from him.

I can see the OP's problematic situation and I do sympathize, very difficult. Best of luck.

comet555

I'm pretty sure they would ask for proof anyway. Better to ask delicate questions rather than to allow someone to kidnap a child to another country away from a parent.

Can't see how it's much different then searching through someone's underwear in their suitcase. It's their job to scrutinize and look for lies. If it was that easy then everyone would say they were dead. Lying about it would only make the situation much worse as they could call various organizations and ask questions about the birth father.

Hawk13

Interesting scenario.

When I traveled with my girls they were never asked if their mother gave them permission to leave the country. I guess it may be different if the officer can have a conversation with the kid 'cus I was never asked if had the mother's consent either.

comet555

My kids were old enough to chat with the birder guard and I still needed proof. Not hard to lie to the kids or tell them to lie. On paper and notarized is the best way.

Hawk13

Hmmm, interesting. Other than the trips to Scotland, we crossed into the States from BC several times a year (more dance competitions) and even though I had the piece of paper, we were never asked. Go figure.

iaink

Likewise, whats to stop a parent creating a letter of consent (like this) with faked signatures. It seems unlikely that Canadian officials will follow up on details unless already suspicious for other reasons.

Almost Canadian

That's why they prefer them to be notarized. The Notary is required to demonstrate that the person signing is the person entitled to sign.

comet555

Ditto. Unless it's notarized a hand written note means nothing. Used to write myself notes all the time to get out of school!

Notarized is the way to go. I travel often with the kids to the US and back to Canada. They almost never ask for proof and the the only time they did was when they could see me holding the letter ready to produce to them. Being so close to the border our local MP's office has a letter and will notarize for free. So no excuses.

Nothing to stop someone from trying to go without one. If it were me though and I had tuition and shipping container, quit jobs, etc, I would want to make real sure I'd be allowed in the country. Not something to leave to chance. If the border guard asks for proof, which they likely will, they won't care if you have spent thousands of dollars and uprooted your life for this. If they are doing their job properly then I can't see how they would allow anyone in without proof as the parent could be abducting their child. I'm sure some officers might allow it or probe too deeply but it's a huge risk to take.

iaink

Clearly CIC prefer notarised, but the forms they provide also allow for non notarized documents.

Given that the OP would appear to have little chance of tracking down her ex in the required timeframe notarized documents would seem to be largely a moot point anyway.

No doubt notarized documents have been known to be forged anyway... you can mailorder notarized stamps online or buy them at office depot!

The point is, how likely are Canadian immigration to double check any document shown to them by a single parent traveling with children?

Hawk13

I guess the question to ask is - if you were questioned, how badly would you start to sweat?