Do I need letter from ex to take kids out of country?

[Anonymous]

We just went to St. Martin and Bahamas (and St. Kitts) on a cruise with a relative who brought his kid without his wife (they are divorcing). He didn't have a letter from his ex. No questions were asked. While having a letter couldn't hurt, just having the passport is probably enough.

Seriously what about widowed parents (need they bring a desth certificate?) or single parents whose exes are not in the picture (judicial ruling of abandonment?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just went to St. Martin and Bahamas (and St. Kitts) on a cruise with a relative who brought his kid without his wife (they are divorcing). He didn't have a letter from his ex. No questions were asked. While having a letter couldn't hurt, just having the passport is probably enough.

Seriously what about widowed parents (need they bring a desth certificate?) or single parents whose exes are not in the picture (judicial ruling of abandonment?).

Yes, the US Dept of State web-site says that in the event of a widowed parent, that they should have a copy of the death certificate. No idea about the second case, but I didn't find anything on the State Dept's web-site about those situations.

[Anonymous]

Get the letter. I had the worst time trying to get back from Vancouver with my DS and DH and I are not divorced. DH (lawyer with no expertise in immigration) tried to convince me I didn't need the letter. The Canadian officials are very strict when one parent (regardless of marital status) take kids there. I waited for hours while DH did an affidavit and had it notarized and faxed to the Canadian officials. We missed our flights.

OTOH, I've been to Bermuda and the Bahamas by myself with DS. I had a letter, but no one asked for it.

Be safe and get the letter. BTW, I did ask the cruise company if I needed the letter and they said they had never heard of such a thing. They are not the authorities and they don't give a sh!t when you're off the ship.

[Anonymous]

I'm a single mother of an 8 year old. My daughter's father is not on her birth certificate. We have travelled internationally since she was 22 months old. We travel at least once a year out of the country. We lived abroad in 2011. While away we traveled in and out of the UK. We went on a Disney cruise in December and last December. The years before we went to St. Martin and then Mexico for 3 years in a row. We get off in ports of call. I have never had anyone in immigration question me regarding my daughter.

I did, however, get a Judge's order to take her out of the country when we lived abroad--but that was because we were going for 4 months.

So, this discussion is new news for me. I will carry her birth certificate with me from now on.

[Anonymous]

Widowed parents of minors travel with a death certificate.
Cruise travel is different. I am a single parent, needed a letter for air travel to Costa Rica and Mexico.