Child Travel Consent for Colombia From Australia

Colombia's rules apply when a child leaves Colombia. A child travelling with only one parent needs an authenticated exit permission signed by the other parent, stating the destination, the dates and the adult travelling with them. A parent in Australia authenticates it at a Colombian consulate, or signs before a notary, in Spanish, with a DFAT apostille.

Key takeaways

• A child leaving Colombia with one parent needs an authenticated exit permission from the other; a child travelling alone needs it from both.
• The permission must clearly state the destination, the departure and return dates and the full name of the accompanying adult. Dates must not be crossed out.
• Carry a copy of each child's civil birth registration (registro civil de nacimiento). For a child over seven, an identity card alone is not enough.
• A parent abroad has their signature recognised at a Colombian consulate; Colombia's foreign ministry says honorary consulates do not count.
• A permission signed before a foreign notary must be apostilled if it comes from a Hague Convention country, such as Australia.

When does a child need an exit permission?

Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migración Colombia publish joint advice for families leaving Colombia with children. It sets out the core rule:

• if the child travels with only one parent, they must carry an exit permission signed by the parent who is not travelling, authenticated
• if the child travels alone, they must carry a permission signed by both parents
• if one parent alone holds parental authority (patria potestad), carry a letter from the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) or a family commissioner certifying it

The rules are written for children leaving Colombia and clearly apply to Colombian children, including Colombian-Australian dual nationals. If your child is only Australian and visiting on holiday, ask Migración Colombia or the Colombian consulate whether you will be asked for a permission on departure.

What must the permission state?

Colombia is strict about the contents. The foreign ministry says the permission must make clear:

Detail	What Colombia says
The child	Full name and identity number
The destination	The place the child is travelling to
The purpose	The reason for the trip, for the consular recognition
The dates	The departure date and the return date; these must correspond to the actual departure and cannot be crossed out
The accompanying adult	Full name, surnames and identity document number

The ministry warns that if the permission is modified after it has been authenticated, the child may be prevented from leaving. So get the flight dates settled before the parent signs, and if the flights change, have a new permission prepared rather than correcting the old one by hand. Migración Colombia publishes a standard form, "Autorización de Permiso de Salida del País para Menores de Edad", which is a sensible starting point.

Why does the birth registration matter?

The foreign ministry says you must carry a copy of the civil birth registration of each child you travel with, because it is the document that lets officers check the parents' relationship to the child. It adds that if the child is over seven, their identity card is not enough. For a Colombian-Australian child, bring the Colombian civil registration if one exists; an Australian birth certificate alone may not be what the officer expects. Ask the Colombian consulate if your child has only an Australian birth certificate.

How does a parent in Australia sign the permission?

There are two routes from Australia, and Colombia's official guidance covers both.

At a Colombian consulate. The foreign ministry says people abroad who need to authorise a child's departure must have their signature on the permission recognised at a consulate. It asks for the child's full name and identity number, the destination, the purpose, the departure and return dates, the details of the adult travelling with the child, a copy of the child's civil birth registration, and the parent's current Colombian ID card or passport; a foreign parent presents a valid passport. It also says honorary consulates cannot do this.

Before an Australian notary. The ministry says that a permission signed at a notary, or its equivalent in another country, must be apostilled if it comes from a country that has ratified the Hague Apostille Convention. Australia has, so a permission signed before an Australian notary needs an apostille from DFAT. Prepare it in Spanish, and keep the original, because Colombian officers expect originals. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; an apostille confirms the notary's signature and seal, never the contents. Check the HCCH status table on the day. Our guide to apostilles for Colombia and our apostille and authentication page explain the DFAT step.

What about a permanent permission?

Some parents give a standing permission, made as a public deed (escritura pública) before a notary or a Colombian consulate, rather than a new one for each trip. Colombia accepts these, but with a safeguard. The foreign ministry says migration officers must check that the deed has not been changed, so the family must carry a certificate of current validity (constancia de vigencia) showing the deed has not been revoked. It must be issued by the same notary or consulate that made the deed, and be dated no more than 30 business days before the trip. If the deed was made before an Australian notary, ask how that certificate would be issued before relying on this route; a trip-by-trip permission is often simpler.

What if a parent is leaving before the child?

The foreign ministry covers a common situation: one parent leaves Colombia first and the child follows later, for example with a grandparent. It says the departing parent can leave the permission signed and authenticated, stating the date or period in which the child will leave Colombia, with the form completely filled in. If that parent is already in Australia when the trip is arranged, use one of the two routes above.

Does the permission need to be in Spanish?

For the notary route, yes in practice. A Colombian migration officer at the airport will read a Spanish document quickly, and an English-only permission invites questions or delay. The simplest approach is to prepare the permission in Spanish from the start, using Migración Colombia's form, so the notary witnesses the signature on the final document. If you prepare it in English, arrange a Spanish translation and ask the Colombian consulate whether the translation itself needs certifying. Our document translation page explains how certified translation works in Australia.

What if the other parent cannot or will not sign?

A notary can witness a signature, but cannot supply a consent the other parent has not given. Colombia's family welfare institute, the ICBF, lists an exit permission service among its own services for situations where the permission cannot be obtained from a parent in the usual way. Whether that applies to your family, and what it needs, is a question for the ICBF or a family lawyer in Colombia. If there is a custody dispute in Australia as well, speak to an Australian family lawyer before any travel is booked.

How do you prepare for a child leaving Colombia?

1. Fix the travel dates and the name of the adult travelling with the child before anyone signs.
2. Complete Migración Colombia's standard form, or a Spanish permission with the same details.
3. Have the parent in Australia sign at a Colombian consulate, or before an Australian notary.
4. If notarised, have DFAT apostille it, and send the original to Colombia.
5. Get a copy of the child's civil birth registration, and an ICBF letter if one parent has sole authority.
6. Carry the originals with the child's passport, and do not alter anything.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Correcting the dates by hand after authentication. Colombia may stop the child leaving.
• Using an honorary consulate, which cannot recognise the signature.
• Skipping the apostille on a permission signed before an Australian notary.
• Relying on an identity card for a child over seven instead of the birth registration.
• Preparing the permission in English only.
• Using a permanent deed without a current validity certificate.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

A Colombian-Australian boy of twelve has spent the school holidays in Medellín with his mother, who will fly back to Sydney with him, while his father stays in Australia. The father completes Migración Colombia's form in Spanish with the flight dates, the mother's name and passport number, and Sydney as the destination. He signs it before a notary in Sydney, has DFAT apostille it, and couriers the original to Medellín. The mother carries it with the boy's passport and a copy of his Colombian civil birth registration, and the officer at the airport checks the dates against their tickets.

In short

A child leaving Colombia with one parent needs the other parent's authenticated exit permission; alone, they need both parents'. It must state the destination, the dates and the accompanying adult, and cannot be altered after authentication. Carry a copy of the civil birth registration. A parent in Australia signs at a Colombian consulate, not an honorary one, or before an Australian notary in Spanish with a DFAT apostille. Our general guide to travel consent letters covers the Australian side.

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