Getting a Child's Passport Without the Other Parent's Consent in Ontario

You have a trip planned, or you simply want your child to have a passport, but the other parent will not sign the application. Or perhaps they have stopped answering you. It can feel like you are stuck.

There are options, but the right one depends on your order or agreement, and on whether you were married. This article explains how the passport process treats two-parent situations, how a court can help, and what to prepare. It is general information only.

What the passport application expects

Passport Canada's child passport page says all parents or legal guardians should sign the application, and that the passport office may contact the other parent. If both cannot sign, applicants are told to contact the passport program.

The passport program decides case by case, so there is no guaranteed route around a missing signature. Anything that tells you otherwise should be checked with the passport program or a lawyer before you rely on it.

• All parents or legal guardians should sign.
• The passport office may contact the other parent.
• If both cannot sign, contact the passport program.
• Court orders and agreements must be submitted if they contain custody, decision-making, parenting time, mobility or passport clauses.

Check what your order or agreement already says

Start with your separation agreement, parenting plan or court order. Many include terms about travel, mobility or passports, and the passport office asks to see those terms.

Decision-making responsibility covers significant decisions, and it can be sole or joint. A court can give it to one parent, to both, or divide it in part. However, a sole decision-making order should not be assumed to remove the need for the other parent's signature. The passport program decides each case, so confirm how it applies to your wording.

If you only have an informal arrangement, enforcing it can be hard. Legal decision-making exists only through a signed separation agreement or court order, and an informal parenting plan can be hard to enforce.

Asking a court to help

If the other parent will not cooperate, either parent can apply for a parenting order. The judge must act in the child's best interests and consider family violence. Which statute applies depends on your situation: the Children's Law Reform Act if no divorce has started, or the Divorce Act if a divorce has started or a Divorce Act parenting order exists.

A court can make parenting orders on parenting time and decision-making, including interim orders, and can set schedules and conditions. That could include terms about travel and documents, depending on the facts. Whether a court would order what you want is something a lawyer can assess, because the court focuses only on the child's best interests.

If you are worried about the other parent applying

The same page describes adding a child's name to a safety list if you fear a passport application will be made without your consent. If you fear the child could be taken out of the country, tell a lawyer promptly.

A motion without notice is allowed where there is an immediate danger that a child will be removed from Ontario and delay would probably have serious consequences. You ask permission in your motion form and file a draft Form 14D, and you do not serve the other party. After a without-notice order you usually must return to court within 14 days so the other party can respond, and costs may be ordered if the motion was not necessary. Urgent motions are generally heard virtually unless the court orders otherwise.

In some cases, taking a child can also be a criminal matter. Abduction of a child under 14 can be an offence, with or without a custody or parenting order. If a child has been abducted by a family member, Ontario says to call 911 or local police. If a child is taken to a Hague Convention country, Ontario's Central Authority at the Ministry of the Attorney General handles applications.

What to do next

• Gather your court orders, separation agreement and parenting plan, and flag any travel, mobility or passport terms.
• Write down your efforts to get a signature: dates, messages and the other parent's answers.
• Contact the passport program if both parents cannot sign.
• Ask a family lawyer whether a parenting order would help in your case.
• If you fear a passport application or travel without your consent, ask about the safety list and about urgent court options.

Keep messages with the other parent short, factual and polite. If you are dealing with family violence, tell your lawyer and consider a safety plan, since separation can be a particularly dangerous time.

Frequently asked questions