For single adoptive parents

[journey2sun]

Just a few words of advice - bring copies of your adoption papers. My 7 year old daughter is from China. When we went through customs in Vancouver last week after a 7 day cruise aboard the Serenade of the Seas, I was asked by a customs agent for evidence that I was the only adoptive parent. Fortunately, I had read these boards when we went to the Caribbean in a previous year and brought my copies along. I was never asked for them in the Caribbean but they wanted them in Canada. May not be asked but better safe than sorry. I'm not sure what they would've done if I didn't have them with me. Glad I didn't have to find out.

[4ever voyager]

I am a natural parent but had heard about the concern when one parent takes a child over the border into Canada when my children were small. Their father is deceased. I have always taken a copy of his death certificate with me when we crossed the border but they have never asked to see it. Even though we have passports now, I have always carried it with me (they are teens now). When the children were young and even two weeks ago on our cruise, the Canadian agent at the border asked where the father of these children were, and was satisified with the answer that he is deceased. When they were small, they asked each child individually about their father, and even asked if I was really their mother. I knew about the possibility of these questions so had told my children beforehand that they mat be asked questions and no jokes allowed-these were serious questions. I think they are concerned about child kidnapping- and that is most frequently done by a parent involved in a custodial dispute.