Can One Parent Get a Child's Passport Without the Other's Consent in Alberta?

You are separated, your child needs a passport, and the other parent will not sign, or cannot be reached. It is a common stalemate, and it can hold up a trip or a visit to family abroad.

Whether you can apply alone usually turns on one question: who has decision-making responsibility for the child? This article explains how that works in Alberta, what the passport program asks for, and what your options are if the other parent says no.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

The starting rule for a child's passport

For a child's passport, all parents or legal guardians must participate and sign the form. That is the baseline, even when parents live apart.

If a court order or agreement exists, the rule changes. Only the person with decision-making responsibility can apply, and you must provide all valid legal documents on custody, decision-making, parenting time, mobility, or a clause about the child's passport.

There is an exception. If parents share custody or decision-making responsibility under an order or agreement, either parent can apply alone for the child's passport.

Who has decision-making responsibility in Alberta

In Alberta, the ability to make decisions about a child is tied to guardianship, not to parentage status. A guardian under the Family Law Act is a guardian for all legal purposes, and in most cases a child's parents are also guardians.

Under the Divorce Act, decision-making responsibility means the responsibility for making significant decisions about a child's well-being. It can be given to either spouse, to both spouses, or to a person other than a spouse who is a party to the application, so it can be sole or joint and can be divided by subject.

Under Alberta guidance, a parenting order can also divide parenting time, assign specific responsibilities, or set a process for resolving future disputes. A passport clause, if your order or agreement has one, may be directly relevant.

Check your documents first

Your order or agreement may already answer the question. Read the wording on decision-making, mobility, travel and passports before you assume anything.

• Shared decision-making in an order or agreement means either parent can apply alone.
• Sole decision-making with you means you are the person who can apply, and you provide the documents.
• Sole decision-making with the other parent means you generally cannot apply on your own.
• No order or agreement at all means the all-parents-sign rule applies.

If you are not sure whether you are a guardian, or what your documents mean, a lawyer can confirm before you apply. A mistake can delay the application.

If the other parent will not sign

If no order exists, you can apply for a Family Law Act parenting order using Claim – Family Law Act, Affidavit of Service – Applicant, and a Statement – Parenting form. You can apply if no divorce action has been started by you or the other guardian and the child lives in Alberta.

If a divorce action has started, parenting is dealt with under the Divorce Act instead. Separately, the Family Law Act cannot be used for a matter already dealt with by an order or judgment under the Divorce Act. Under the Divorce Act, the court may make an order about parenting time or decision-making responsibility on application by a spouse.

If you already have a Family Law Act parenting order made in Alberta, the route is to vary it. You use Claim – Family Law Act, Statement – Vary Parenting and Affidavit of Service – Applicant, which includes applying where you want to travel with the child but the other parent will not give signed consent.

In every case, the court looks to the child's best interests. Under the Divorce Act, that is the only thing the court considers when making a parenting order.

Steps before you file, and what to do next

The Parenting After Separation course is required before filing a divorce application or Family Law Act application in the Court of King's Bench, and a judge can also direct you to take it. The Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families course complements it but does not satisfy the requirement.

In Greater Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, the Family Justice Strategy has more steps. The certificate must be filed with a court clerk before filing, and the course must be retaken if the certificate is more than 2 years old. You also need to have tried alternative dispute resolution within the past 6 months.

If you cannot complete a mandatory requirement, for example because of family violence concerns or because you cannot locate the other party, you file a Request to Waive/Defer Mandatory Requirements form.

• Gather your order or agreement and read the decision-making and passport wording.
• Ask the other parent in writing to sign, and keep a copy.
• Register for the Parenting After Separation course if you may need to file.
• Prepare the forms that match your situation.
• Speak with a lawyer if the other parent refuses or the wording is unclear.

Frequently asked questions