VisaForeign children in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon need separate departure and return documents
A trip to Canada without a parent requires checking consent, Canadian entry evidence and the child’s return paperwork.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Prepare departure consent for a child travelling without a parent
A foreign child habitually living in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon who travels abroad without a person holding parental authority needs departure consent, alongside the documents for entry and return. France’s Service Public guidance, checked on 30 October 2026, explains the autorisation de sortie du territoire, or AST. A child travelling with a teacher or grandparent should not be treated as travelling with a parent merely because that adult is familiar to the family.
Complete the official AST form and have a parent with parental authority sign it; one signature suffices for that French form. Carry the readable identity-document copy required for the signer and the child’s own valid travel document, with any destination visa. The form can be completed at home without a visit to the town hall, prefecture or police. The signer fixes its duration, up to one year. An AST does not override a legal prohibition on the child leaving the territory.
Assemble the circulation-document application before the trip
The national DCEM guide describes the document de circulation pour étranger mineur as return documentation for a foreign minor, presented with a passport. The applicant is a parent or person holding parental authority; a non-European applicant normally supplies a valid residence card, while an eligible European parent need not hold one.
Its common checklist includes identity documents for the applicant and child, a family record or birth extract establishing parentage, evidence of parental authority, evidence of the child’s habitual residence such as a school certificate, and an e-photo. Additional evidence depends on the child’s circumstances. Foreign-language civil-status documents need an approved French translation. The national guide lists a €50 fiscal stamp at delivery, with exemptions for children of European parents or beneficiaries of the UK withdrawal agreement. Ask the prefecture how the fee or exemption is implemented locally. The stated maximum validity is five years; check the actual dates on the issued document against the intended return.
Do not mistake an online filing receipt for the issued document
The Saint-Pierre and Miquelon prefecture’s own DCEM instructions direct applicants to ANEF, under the travel-document request section. Monitor the application through that account. For support, the instructions identify the citizen contact centre on 0806 001 620 and ANEF’s contact form. These are the local authority’s published filing and support routes, rather than a separate paper application invented for an urgent departure. Find the support form under Contact or Nous contacter on the ANEF screen.
The prefecture expressly warns that confirmation of submission only proves that an application was lodged: it does not let the foreign minor return without the otherwise necessary visa. A family whose application remains pending therefore needs to resolve return documentation before travelling. No guaranteed local processing time, emergency issue service or substitute return document was established by the reviewed instructions.
Give the accompanying adult the Canadian permission evidence
Canada’s immigration instructions separately say children under 18 must satisfy ordinary visitor-entry rules. Children accompanied by someone other than their parents or legal guardians face closer checks and should have proof of permission. The adult should carry written permission to supervise the child, including the parents’ or guardians’ reachable addresses and telephone numbers, plus photocopies of their signed passports or national identity cards. Canada says that permission letter need not be certified.
This is a different evidential purpose from the French AST. Do not assume a short French departure form answers every question the Canadian officer may ask about the child’s stay. If travelling alone, the Canadian checklist also calls for the child’s own passport, a birth-certificate copy and an authorisation letter identifying the adult responsible in Canada. Check the child’s own nationality and travel mode for any Canadian visa or electronic-authorisation requirement. Canadian guidance says an officer can refuse entry if unconvinced the parents or guardians authorised the stay; carrying paperwork does not guarantee admission.
