Effective Feb 15, 2013, the Mexican government is changing the entry requirements for minors. Minors who are traveling with a person other than their parent or legal guardian or minors traveling with just one parent or legal guardian must have a notarized letter of authorization from both parents or guardians. The letter must also be legalized or have an apostille. (An apostille is an internationally recognized form of authentication and is a special seal applied by an authority to certify a document.) In addition, the letter must be translated into Spanish.
Written consent should be in the form of:
1) a notarized letter of consent signed by the non-traveling parent (dated within one year of travel)
2) a death certificate for the non-traveling parent or
3) proof that the parent traveling has sole custody of the minor(s).
4) Be in both English and Spanish
The parental consent letter should include: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and contact information for the absent parent(s).
Minors have long needed to have this notarized letter of consent, new this year is the requirement that the letter be translated into Spanish. Be sure to get your paperwork together well in advance as any air carrier can ask for this documentation and deny boarding if you do not have it. Contact your nearest Embassy if you have questions.