Children Traveling to Canada with Guardians

by Marianne
(Sebring Florida)

Question: We have 4 children who have a status of Termination of Parental Rights. They will be in our home for 3 months before we can adopt them. We want to travel to Canada for Thanksgiving. Can we get a judge's court order giving us permission (as we did for foster kids in the past) or do we have to have a passport? If we get passports, can we change their name etc. when the adoption is finalized or do we have to get new passports? Thanks.

Answer: Passports are required for all Americans who travel by air. For travel by land, passports are only required for those who are ages 16 or older. Minors ages 15 and younger can travel with evidence of U.S. citizenship such as a birth certificate and a photo ID.

Note, the Canadian Border Services Agency requires adults who travel with minors who are not their own children to carry notarized consent to travel from the parents or evidence of legal guardianship. In the case of Termination of parental rights, a court order would probably suffice. We recommend you contact the CBSA concerning this issue.

Contact the Canadian Border Services Agency

Concerning the passports and name change, you can apply for a name change after the adoption is finalized. However, minors must appear with both parents or legal guardians in order to apply for passports. If you have legal guardianship, you should have no problem getting the passports. If you do not have legal guardianship, there may be some complications in obtaining the passports prior to the adoption.