Can My Ex Take My Son Out of the Country with an Expired Passport?

Only one other person has mentioned it, but if a minor is traveling with only 1 parent, they need to provide a notarized letter of consent/authorization from the absent parent that they acknowledge that the child is traveling alone with the other parent. I took my 2 children to Ontario Canada without my husband (he was arriving a week later) and the Customs agent thanked me for being prepared with the letter.

I asked what would happen if I didn’t have the letter, and I was told that we would be detained until my husband was contacted and they spoke with him.

An expired passport is just that, expired. It's NOT valid.

Once in Canada, can he leave the country on an expired passport? Most likely not. Airlines do NOT allow expired passports to travel internationally. It would raise a TON of red flags.

Contact your family lawyer and find out what you can do.

An expired passport is not valid, but it may be used to get a new one. Does your ex have that passport?

A passport is a passport. Unless another country also requires a visa, he passport is good enough. But because there are parental abductions, your son would need your authorization as well to leave, which involves a notarized document.

If you think this is just a long weekend trip, that's one thing. If you think your ex is up o no good, you'd better get legal advice. FYI a good place to start for free with questions involving state department offices is your member of Congress or one of your Senators. They work for you, remember. Not for legal advice, but for government agency advice.

Welcome to mamapedia, C.!

If your son is a minor (under the age of 18), they need a valid passport and a letter of consent.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/crossing-canada-usa-border-with...#

I would talk with your lawyer and ensure he/she knows what is going on.

I would talk with my ex and ask him what he plans on doing, etc. Since your son has been talking about going on a vacation with dad. Would just like to know what's up with your plans....

You need to talk to a lawyer asap.
It's much easier to deal with this before any possibility of your son being kidnapped by his father rather than trying to find him after he's gone.

If they drive and your son is under age 16, they don't need a passport at all. He would be able to drive him into Canada and back into the US with your son's birth certificate. One of my children goes to college in Montreal and we have taken our younger kids up there a few times without passports. The most recent trip was last fall and their dad wasn't with me (we're divorced) and other than asking the usual questions going into Canada (where are you going, why, how long will you stay, etc.) no one batted an eye about whether or not I had the other parent's permission.

If they fly he would need a valid passport. An expired one wouldn't work.

One thought which crosses my mind: is your son old enough to distinguish between his father saying 'sometime we should go to Canada together' as an idle conversation versus 'I'm getting time off work so we can go to Canada next month; when you come visit me, bring your favorite suitcase and clothes'? If he is young, he may be taking offhand comments of your ex's out of context or he may himself be imagining how fun it would be to go on a trip to Canada. Another question is whether your ex has family in Canada and could legitimately be planning to visit them. In any case, I am not saying you should dismiss the comments, just explore more and be aware that your source of information might not be 100% reliable. I agree with Wild Woman that you should mention to your ex that the boy has been talking about taking a trip with him and you're curious about the plans.

i'm guessing you 'read' this information on the internet.

and now you're looking to back up nebulous internet-obtained 'information' with some more of it.

unless you're okay with your son being whisked off to another country, i'd talk to a lawyer.

that being said, since you don't say how old your son is, or whether the 'information' that his dad wants to take him out of the country illegally is any more credible than your other information, this could easily be a case of a small child hearing something and extrapolating something entirely different.

whatever the case, i suggest that you start seeking good solid legal information, and that means finding it from some place other than strangers on message boards.

khairete
S.

To answer the second part of your question, if they were going anywhere else (flying), they'd need valid passports - to go from Canada to another country. It's only going across the border where they can drive - kids don't need the passport as JB says. But if they went to Canada and went somewhere else, they'd have to fly - which would require a valid passport.

No, it's invalid. And to get a new passport, both parents have to be in attendance, in person. Can't be done online or by mail. We just got new passports for our kids and had to try to match our work schedules to make it happen. Even if your ex tried to get him a new one, he couldn't on his own.

No. An expired passport is the same as a cancelled passport, not valid. Why not ask the dad about his travel plans with his son? My ex, for years, has been talking to my daughter about going on a cruise to the Bahamas, and has yet to get a passport, has not asked me to get her a passport, or talked about her going on trips. Apparently, she asked him about it recently and he said it was too much of a problem and I'd never consent. I told her that isn't true, he never approached me about it, but the point is, sometimes parents make offers to travel to kids and for whatever reason, don't end up following through, so this may be one of those cases. I have friends who have offered to travel with me for almost a decade, and I'm still waiting for that to happen...