Travelling with minor grandchildren to Canada

[Traveller20074]

our cruise will stop in Victoria at the end.  I have gotten a form filled out giving permission from parents. has anyone done this without having the paper notarized? 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Traveller20074

[Heidi13]

1 minute ago, Traveller20074 said:

our cruise will stop in Victoria at the end.  I have gotten a form filled out giving permission from parents. has anyone done this without notirazing the paper?

 

Have taken other people's kids across the border with us when our kids were young. All we had were letters from the parents authorising us to take their kids with us. Never got anything notorised.

[Traveller20074]

thank you!

[klfrodo]

At least you thought forward enough to get the letter.

Years ago, I took my daughter on the ferry from Port Angeles, WA. to Victoria. Mom wasn't with us. We were refused entry into Canada.

Lesson learned.

[LHT28]

the rules

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/minor-children-travelling-canada.html

 

 

[donaldsc]

You should also have a notarized "authorization to treat" letter from the parents just in  case they need medical care anywhere on the voyage.  With regard to the notarized question, it can't hurt to have it notarized just in case.  

 

DON

Edited May 6, 2022 by donaldsc

[Philob]

Maybe I've been watching too much "Border Security: Canada's Front Line" 😎

I would get the docs notarized.

 

[martincath]

The 'horses mouth' has already been supplied by LHT - no notarization needed on that list of rules. While I have not personally moved someone else's kid over a border, I do know a lot of divorced/widowed folks who have gotten into trouble for not having the right paperwork - and the key thing is to ensure that the PARENT(S) are aware that they better answer their gosh-darn phone if an unknown caller rings them the day you are taking their kids across... because border agents often do make use of the contact numbers that should be on the letters and 'unable to confirm' almost certainly means 'no border crossing for you, you potential kidnapper!'

 

Certainly no harm in getting things notarized - ditto on the medical decision-making approval which is always wise as a temporary guardian even without international complications.

[cruiseryyc]

I highly suspect that the cruise line is going to be asking for this letter before you set foot on the ship.

 

Get it notarized and as previously stated, get a medical authorization letter too.

[ldubs]

Having a notary sounds like a good idea. But can that even be done by the OP?    I would think the parents writing the letter would have to handle that.  I guess the notary would be confirming the signature?    I admit I'm on pretty shaky ground as far as this subject goes.   

Edited May 7, 2022 by ldubs

[donaldsc]

On 5/6/2022 at 4:25 PM, donaldsc said:

You should also have a notarized "authorization to treat" letter from the parents just in  case they need medical care anywhere on the voyage.  With regard to the notarized question, it can't hurt to have it notarized just in case.  

 

DON

 

I should have added that when we took our granddaughter into Canada to start a cruise, they looked at out paperwork and asked her who the people who were taking her into Canada were?

 

DON

[willoL]

@Traveller20074 I crossed the border (Washington state to BC) by car with my kids and my mother (biological grandmother to the children.) This was a few years ago. The kids and I visited my family in the Pacific NW before we headed to embark on our Crystal Serenity Alaska cruise at Vancouver Place. (My mom drove us to Vancouver, stayed overnight with the kids and me one night in a hotel, drove us to the port where we were joined by DH, she got to dine with us on the ship because Crystal was awesome, then she visited family to break up her long drive home to Oregon.)

 

I had looked this very border crossing issue up, so had a letter from my husband stating that he knew I was taking our children out of the country. IIRC, DH was literally in the air (en route from New England to Vancouver) to join us for our cruise, so luckily the Canadian Border Patrol didn't attempt to call him. Of course, I also had a folder full of his exact airline itinerary, our dated cruise documents, a reservation at a hotel, etc.

 

I do believe that the person in the booth asked my kids questions similar to what @donaldsc mentioned: "What's your name. Who are these people with you? Is this your mom? Your grandma? Where is your dad? Where are you going today?"

 

I'm a mildly anxious type, but it wasn't too bad, and I did feel like the agent was being careful, but not excessively so. It wasn't scary, just thorough.

 

I can't recall if I had him get the form notarized, but I probably didn't unless I'd read that I needed to. (It is quite easy to get things notarized at our local bank branch, so it wouldn't stick out too much in my mind if we did it.)

 

[Traveller20074]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:53 PM, willoL said:

@Traveller20074 I crossed the border (Washington state to BC) by car with my kids and my mother (biological grandmother to the children.) This was a few years ago. The kids and I visited my family in the Pacific NW before we headed to embark on our Crystal Serenity Alaska cruise at Vancouver Place. (My mom drove us to Vancouver, stayed overnight with the kids and me one night in a hotel, drove us to the port where we were joined by DH, she got to dine with us on the ship because Crystal was awesome, then she visited family to break up her long drive home to Oregon.)

 

I had looked this very border crossing issue up, so had a letter from my husband stating that he knew I was taking our children out of the country. IIRC, DH was literally in the air (en route from New England to Vancouver) to join us for our cruise, so luckily the Canadian Border Patrol didn't attempt to call him. Of course, I also had a folder full of his exact airline itinerary, our dated cruise documents, a reservation at a hotel, etc.

 

I do believe that the person in the booth asked my kids questions similar to what @donaldsc mentioned: "What's your name. Who are these people with you? Is this your mom? Your grandma? Where is your dad? Where are you going today?"

 

I'm a mildly anxious type, but it wasn't too bad, and I did feel like the agent was being careful, but not excessively so. It wasn't scary, just thorough.

 

I can't recall if I had him get the form notarized, but I probably didn't unless I'd read that I needed to. (It is quite easy to get things notarized at our local bank branch, so it wouldn't stick out too much in my mind if we did it.)

 

 

 

thank you!