Traveling internationally with children requires a ton of planning, patience, and very careful packing. It can be overwhelming for parents, and exhausting if one parent has to do it alone.
Now imagine arriving to the airport only to realize that you are missing a required authorization from your spouse to be able to take your child on the plane!
This happens more often than you might expect when traveling with a minor. But it is also super easy to avoid. Read on!
Required Docs When Traveling with a Minor
If you are traveling internationally with children without one or both of the child’s parents, then there are a few documents you will need to present to the border control officer at Tocumen Airport before you’ll be allowed through security and onto the plane with the child.
More specifically, you should be sure to have on hand:
- An authorization letter from the non-traveling parent(s).
The letter should be drafted in Spanish.
If the parent or parents signing the letter are in Panama, then the letter should be authenticated by one of a notary public in Panama. If the parent or parents are outside of Panama, then the letter should have an apostille or otherwise be legalized and authenticated by the Panamanian consulate in that country. - An original or certified copy of the child’s birth certificate, or a scanned copy of a cédula will work as well.
If the birth certificate is not from Panama, then it should also have an apostille or otherwise be legalized and authenticated to be considered valid. - A photocopy ID for the parent(s) signing the authorization letter.
If the ID is a Panamanian passport or cédula, then a simple printed photocopy will do. But if the ID is issued by an authority outside of Panama, then the copies should have an apostille or should otherwise be legalized and authenticated.
Note that this is often not enforced if the child is not a Panamanian citizen or resident, so proceed at your own risk. And it pretty much always applies where the child has Panamanian citizenship or residency.
By the way, if you aren’t sure what I mean when I reference and “apostille” then be sure to check out this short article explaining it. And if you need an apostille, then you should start working on it a couple weeks before your trip.
The Authorization Letter
When traveling with a minor, if neither of the child’s parents are accompanying the child, then you will need both parents listed on the child’s birth certificate to sign the authorization letter.
For example, a few months ago my husband and I traveled to Dallas, Texas with our two boys and my husband’s then 13-year-old little sister. We had to show a notarized letter signed by both her mom and dad in order to get through security.
On the other hand, you are traveling alone with your own child then a notarized letter signed by the other parent will be sufficient. And, remember, if the letter is notarized by a notary public from outside of Panama, the letter should also have an apostille or be legalized and authenticated.
And here is a pro tip – you don’t need a lawyer for this. In fact, if you are traveling internationally with children then I am going to give you a template you can fill out and take to any notary in Panama before your trip:
ONE PARENT AUTHORIZATION LETTER TEMPLATE.PDF
Strict Compliance
The reason for these requirements traveling with a minor is pretty obvious. The rules are in place to protect children from potential trafficking, abduction and to avoid an international custody dispute incident.
So with the underlying policy in mind, it should also be obvious this is not something to screw around with. Going back to the example of our recent trip to Dallas – we got to security and my husband realized he only had a photocopy of his little sister’s birth certificate (rather than an original or certified copy). Fortunately for us, she had her Panamanian cédula.
But have you ever seen a business center in Tocumen International Airport? Guess what, there is no place to for the public to make copies. Thankfully, my husband convinced a young lady in Dollar Rent A Car to help us out with a photocopy. Otherwise, we might very well have missed our flight because of a seemingly small detail.
Bottom Line?
Traveling internationally with children involves a lot of prep-work. If you are traveling without one or both of a minor’s parents, do yourself a favor and make sure you have the documents you’ll need to demonstrate that everything is above board for the border patrol officer.
And depending where the child’s parents are located or from where the documents were issued, you will need to have some of the docs notarized and even apostilled. So be sure not to leave this for the last minute the day of your flight.
If you speak Spanish and want to read more about the requirements to travel with a minor, take a look at this section of the Migration Authority´s website. And please also feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I enjoy hearing from you, and as a mother I also appreciate the opportunity to help anyone who is down in the trenches.
