Aplying for passport for a child: second parent lives in a different country

N

NPL

Registered Users (C)
Hello Forum Members

I will be soon applying for passport for my 13 yo child. Her father and I are divorced and have been divorced for 11 years. She resides with me in US while her father lives in Ukraine. Ukraine does not have any legal provision for sole custody.
Her father though, can sign a notarized paper, allowing her to obtain a US passport, or so she hopes.
Did anybody have similar experience? What papers exactly do i need from him in order for me to apply for her passport, and then to travel with her abroad, say to France, without having to ask EACH time for his notarized permission, like I have done in the past?

I understand that I would need to consult a lawyer, but the problem is lawyers only know their side of law, either American or Ukrainian.

Please advise, your replies will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
 
NPL said:
Did anybody have similar experience? What papers exactly do i need from him in order for me to apply for her passport, and then to travel with her abroad, say to France, without having to ask EACH time for his notarized permission, like I have done in the past?
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I don't know about the requirements for your daughter getting a US passport, NPL, but I think you are probably mistaken in thinking that having a US passport would eliminate the need for the notarized permission letter. As I understand it, immigration officials of the US and other countries require the permission letter any time a child is not traveling with both parents. The purpose is to reduce the possibility of a child being taken out of the country without permission of both parents, in the case of parental conflict or custody issues.

I live in the US with my husband and our child. We're originally from Canada, but any time the child has gone up to Canada to visit grandparents, either by herself or accompanied by only one parent, we've provided the notarized letter signed by the non-accompanying parent(s). Our child was originally a Canadian citizen and is now a US citizen, but the requirement for the letter didn't change. It's not based on citizenship, although I imagine officials might be a little more apt to be concerned and particular about the documentation of a child who is not a US citizen.
 
In our years of travel with children ... many times children with one parent, we have never been asked for this letter. It still seems like a minor effort to get it done, so you can do it to reduce your stress levels on this aspect. I am sure you can get a one-time general purpose letter rather than for each trip. If the notaries want an end date, you can write it for 2-3 years.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
In our years of travel with children ... many times children with one parent, we have never been asked for this letter. It still seems like a minor effort to get it done, so you can do it to reduce your stress levels on this aspect. I am sure you can get a one-time general purpose letter rather than for each trip. If the notaries want an end date, you can write it for 2-3 years.
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Careful ... I suspect it depends where you're traveling. The third of BigJoe5's links above, which is CBP's page on traveling with children includes this text:

"Adults traveling with children should also be aware that, while the U.S. does not require this documentation, many other countries do; failure to produce notarized permission letters and/or birth certificates could result in travelers being refused entry (Canada has very strict requirements in this regard)."

As I mentioned in my previous post, we're originally from Canada and most of our child's cross-border travel has therefore been between the US and Canada. We haven't always been asked for the letter, but we have been asked for it several times. As to whether a blanket letter covering an extended time period, such as suggested by sanjoseaug20, is acceptable, I'm not sure.
 
NPL,

If your ex is OK with it, consider getting a custody order in the U.S. that gives you the needed international travel authorization as a sole custodial parent.
 
BigJoe5 said:
NPL,

If your ex is OK with it, consider getting a custody order in the U.S. that gives you the needed international travel authorization as a sole custodial parent.
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Thank you for the suggestion. Were can I find more info about such a custody order? Also, he lives in Ukraine and will not come to the US as he does not have a visa. But you are saying something like that is possible?
 
Thank you everybody, who replied to my post! I am still trying to figure this out.
 
NPL said:
Thank you everybody, who replied to my post! I am still trying to figure this out.
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By the way, what is the basis of your daughter's U.S. citizenship? Was she born in the U.S.? Or did she derive U.S. citizenship after one of the parents naturalized?
 
Applying for Passport

Well, I think you should contact with an immigration consulting company. They will suggest you properly what should you do and what documents you need to apply the passport.
 
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