As married parents, the paperwork for traveling overseas together with the kids is simple. You turn up at the airport, everyone shows their passport, and that is it.
Things become more complicated when you divorce. You and your ex likely still want to travel with the children. You just don’t want to do it at the same time.
Passport control officers will check you have permission
There have been occasions when one divorced parent has taken their children overseas without the other knowing. Their ex remains in the United States, frantically worried about where their children have disappeared to.
The U.S. has signed up to the Hague Abduction Convention to help track down the children in such circumstances and return them to the country they were taken from. In the eyes of the law, taking the kids out of the country without permission from their other parent amounts to abduction, and the parent could face serious legal problems if caught.
To prevent such situations, all parents traveling alone with their child will be asked to show permission from the other parent. It applies whether they are married or not.
What do I need to put on the form?
You need to put the sort of thing you should be telling the other parent anyway, for example, where you are going and how you will get there, where you will stay and when you will return. Add your and the children’s passport details, and then the parent staying at home can add their contact details and sign it. Get the document notarized to show it’s genuine.
Remember, if you want to travel overseas with the children, you must be willing to return the favor and give written permission when your ex wishes to take them away. It’s the sort of easy cooperation that mediating your divorce can help you create.