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Moderator Moderator Posts: 4142
Posted On: 10/20/2022
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Hello,
Thank you for sharing your question with us.
Generally, it is not possible to apply for a child’s passport without the consent and signature of the other parent unless you have previously been granted sole custody of the child by the Court. The guidelines to apply for a passport for a person under the age of 16 are outlined in the Canadian Passport Order (SI/81-86) s. 7(1) as follows;
7 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), when an applicant applies for a passport in respect of a child under 16 years of age, that child may be issued a passport if the applicant is
(a) the parent of the child;
(b) the custodial parent, if the parents of the child are divorced or separated; or
(c) the legal guardian of the child.
Sections 7(2) to 7(4) outline various situations where a passport will not be granted if there are pre-existing court orders that would be violated if a passport were granted, court orders that restrict a child’s movement, or if the passport application does not provide all relevant information and materials.
There are special rules that apply to passport applications for minors if the parents to the child are separated or divorced. In these situations, the Government of Canada requires both parents to do the following:
1) Participate in the passport application;
2) Sign the form; and
3) Be ready for the government of Canada to contact them.
The signatures of both parents would be required in your case. In order to proceed with the passport application without the signature of a parent who still retains legal custody but cannot be located, you would likely be required to submit an application to the Court. If the parents of a child are separated or divorced, one parent cannot travel with the child without the consent of the other parent unless they have a parenting plan, separation agreement, or court order that allows them to do so.
The Children’s Law Reform Act R.S.O. 1990, c. 12, s. 21 provides relevant information on how to prepare and submit court applications to obtain parenting orders.
21 (1) A parent of a child may apply to a court for a parenting order respecting,
(a)Decision-making responsibility with respect to the child; and
(a) Parenting time with respect to the child.
An application for a parenting order is required to be submitted with an accompanying affidavit. This affidavit must contain the following elements outlined in s. 21(4) of the Children’s Law Reform Act.
(a) The person’s proposed plan for the child’s care and upbringing;
(b) information respecting the person’s current or previous involvement in any family proceedings, including proceedings under Part V of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, or in any criminal proceedings; and
(c) any other information known to the person that is relevant to the factors to be considered by the court under section 24 in determining the best interests of the child.
You may wish to speak with a qualified family lawyer to assist you with any necessary court applications, divorce proceedings, or provide you with more detailed information. Here, in the article "Can I travel with my child after I separate or divorce?" Steps to Justice provides information regarding traveling with your child after separation or divorce that may be helpful to you.
We hope that the information we provided was helpful to you. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Your Settlement.Org team
Disclaimer:
This document does not contain legal advice. This document was prepared with the assistance of PBSC University of Toronto law student volunteers. PBSC volunteers are not lawyers and they are not authorized to provide legal advice. This document contains general discussion of certain legal and related issues only. If you require legal advice, please consult
with a lawyer.
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