When you leave your children with their grandparents in Guatemala and work in the United States, you remain the parents in law: if you are married or in a de facto union, patria potestad, including the right to represent the children in every civil act, stays with both of you (Código Civil, Arts. 252 and 254); in any other case Art. 252 gives it to the parent who has the child. The two papers that matter most are the travel authorization the Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración (IGM) requires from both parents before a child can leave Guatemala with a third person, and, for a US-citizen child, the two-parent consent the US Embassy requires for a passport. Every rule below comes from the official source listed at the end, read on 1 November 2026.
Quick summary
| Situation | What the official source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds legal authority | Father and mother jointly, in a marriage or de facto union (Art. 252); it includes legal representation (Art. 254) | Código Civil |
| When grandparents become tutors | Only for a minor not under patria potestad (Art. 293); grandfathers, then grandmothers, rank first in tutela legítima (Art. 299) | Código Civil |
| Child leaves Guatemala with grandparents | Authorization from both parents, jointly or separately, in one of five forms, plus passport and RENAP birth certificate | IGM |
| A consulate document | “Documento emitido por la autoridad diplomática o consular competente de Guatemala en el exterior” is one of the five forms (original) | IGM |
| US passport for a child 15 or under | Both parents authorize; a parent who cannot appear sends a notarized DS-3053; local Guatemalan notarizations not accepted | US Embassy Guatemala |
| Child’s US passport validity | The US Embassy gives the usual validity for minors 15 and under as five years | US Embassy Guatemala |
Who has legal authority over the children
The Código Civil answers this directly:
- Patria potestad over minor children is exercised jointly by the father and the mother in a marriage or de facto union, and by the parent who has the child in any other case (Art. 252).
- Parents are obliged to care for and support their children, whether or not they were born in a marriage, and to educate and correct them using prudent means of discipline (Art. 253).
- Patria potestad includes the right to represent the minor legally in all acts of civil life, to administer the minor’s property and to benefit from the minor’s services according to age and condition (Art. 254).
- It is suspended, among other grounds, by the absence of the parent who exercises it when a court declares that absence (Art. 273, numeral 1).
What Art. 273 names is an absence declared by a judge. If the grandparents need a document to act for the children, a mandato or poder signed before a Guatemalan consul in the United States is covered in poder consular.
When grandparents become tutors
Tutela is the Código Civil’s regime for a minor who is not under patria potestad (Art. 293). The tutor is the legal representative of that minor. There are three ways a tutor is named:
| Kind of tutela | Who names the tutor | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Testamentaria | By will: the surviving father or mother, for children under their patria potestad; a grandparent, for grandchildren under that grandparent’s tutela legítima | Art. 297 |
| Legítima | The law, in this order: paternal grandfather, maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, then siblings. For children born outside marriage, the maternal line is preferred, and a judge may vary the order for justified reasons | Art. 299 |
| Judicial | A competent judge, when there is no testamentary or legal tutor | Art. 300 |
The tutela is exercised by a tutor and a protutor; the posts are personal and cannot be delegated, though the tutor can grant special mandates for specific acts (Art. 294). If you want to choose who looks after your children should both parents die, the will is the instrument the Código Civil gives you (Art. 297).
Travel: the IGM authorization for a child leaving with a third person
A grandparent is a “tercera persona” for IGM purposes. IGM’s published requirements for Guatemalan minors leaving Guatemala, by air, land or sea:
| The child travels with | Documents IGM requires |
|---|---|
| Both parents | Valid passport and current RENAP birth certificate; no further authorization |
| One parent | Passport, birth certificate, and an authorization from the parent who is not traveling |
| A third person (grandparents, an aunt, a family friend) | Passport, birth certificate, and an authorization from both parents. IGM: “Si es acompañado de una tercera persona debe presentar cualquiera de las autorizaciones anteriores emitida por ambos padres, de manera conjunta o por separado.” |
| One parent has died | RENAP death certificate; if the surviving parent does not travel, that parent’s authorization |
The five forms of authorization IGM accepts:
- Mandato (original and copy)
- Acta de declaración jurada (original)
- Carta poder con firma legalizada (original)
- A document issued by the competent Guatemalan diplomatic or consular authority abroad (original)
- A document from a competent court authorizing the minor’s exit (copy)
Option 4 is issued abroad, by the competent Guatemalan diplomatic or consular authority. Each parent can sign separately, so a mother in Houston and a father in Los Angeles do not need to be in the same consulate. The full IGM procedure, including a trip with only one parent, is on the minors’ exit permit page, and the child’s own Guatemalan passport is covered in passports for minors.
A US-citizen child: the passport rules that apply from Guatemala
For a US-citizen child living with grandparents in Guatemala, the US Embassy in Guatemala publishes these rules on its page for passports for minors aged 15 and under:
- Personal appearance of every minor under 18 is required.
- Both parents or guardians must authorize the passport. The embassy requires both parents to appear, with limited exceptions.
- A parent who cannot appear can send an original notarized Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, with a photocopy of the parent’s ID. The embassy adds in parentheses that “we do not accept documents notarized by a local Guatemalan notary”.
- A DS-3053 with an electronic notarization is accepted if it is lawfully notarized under the law of the state or foreign country that commissioned the notary.
- Other routes: a birth certificate listing only one parent, the other parent’s death certificate, or a court order granting sole legal custody or authorizing one parent to make passport decisions.
- The embassy gives the usual validity of a passport for minors aged 15 and under as five years.
Step-by-step instructions for the first passport and renewals are in a US passport for your US-born child. A US-born child can also be registered as Guatemalan through a consulate; see registering a US-born child as Guatemalan.
School, doctors and everyday paperwork
Legal representation in civil acts belongs to the parents under Art. 254. MINEDUC’s enrollment requirements for the 2027 school year are not reproduced on this page; ask the school, and any clinic the children use, which document it accepts from a grandparent before you need it.
If the children may later join you, or you may return to Guatemala, see returning with US-born children. If a parent is detained by immigration authorities in the US, the family preparedness plan covers the US-side documents.
Sources
- Organismo Judicial (CENADOJ), Código Civil Comentado, Decreto-Ley 106 (Arts. 252-254, 273, 293-300): http://ww2.oj.gob.gt/es/QueEsOJ/EstructuraOJ/UnidadesAdministrativas/CentroAnalisisDocumentacionJudicial/pdfs/Codigos/CodigoCivilComentado_CENADOJ.pdf (read 1 November 2026)
- Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración, Requisitos para salir de Guatemala: https://controlmigratorio.igm.gob.gt/index.php/component/content/article/requisitos-salir-gt?catid=8 (read 1 November 2026)
- Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración, Requisitos para el egreso de niños, niñas o adolescentes del territorio guatemalteco (18 July 2024): https://www.igm.gob.gt/index.php/sala-prensa/noticias-anteriores/requisitos-egreso-nna-territorio-guatemalteco (read 1 November 2026)
- Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración, IGM recuerda requisitos para salir del país con niñas, niños y adolescentes durante Semana Santa (13 March 2026): https://igm.gob.gt/index.php/sala-prensa/noticias-2026/igm-requisitos-nna-durante-semana-santa (read 1 November 2026)
- US Embassy in Guatemala, Passports for Minors: https://gt.usembassy.gov/passports/passports-for-minors/ (read 1 November 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do grandparents get legal authority over my children when I leave them in Guatemala?
Not automatically. Under the Código Civil, patria potestad over minor children is exercised jointly by the father and mother in a marriage or de facto union (Art. 252), and it includes the right to represent the minor legally in all acts of civil life (Art. 254). Tutela, the regime in which grandparents rank first among legal (legítima) tutors (Art. 299), applies to a minor who is not under patria potestad (Art. 293). Those articles give that representation to the parents, not to the grandparents. If the grandparents need to act for the children, ask a Guatemalan notary or your consulate which document fits the act.
Can my children leave Guatemala with their grandparents?
Yes, with an authorization from both parents. The Instituto Guatemalteco de Migración says a minor traveling with a third person must present an authorization issued by both parents, jointly or separately, in one of five forms: a mandato (original and copy), an acta de declaración jurada (original), a carta poder with legalized signature (original), a document issued by a Guatemalan diplomatic or consular authority abroad (original), or a document from a competent court authorizing the exit (copy). The child also needs a valid passport and a current RENAP birth certificate. IGM publishes these requirements for Guatemalan minors leaving the country.
Can I sign the travel authorization at a Guatemalan consulate in the US?
IGM’s list includes a document issued by the competent Guatemalan diplomatic or consular authority abroad, presented in original, as one of the five accepted forms. Ask your consulate what it issues for a minor’s travel and how long it takes; for powers of attorney signed at a consulate, see our poder consular page.
My child is a US citizen living in Guatemala. How do I renew the US passport from the US?
The US Embassy in Guatemala says all minors under 18 must appear in person. For a minor aged 15 and under, its page says both parents or guardians must authorize the passport and both parents must appear, with limited exceptions. A parent who cannot appear can send an original notarized Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent, with a photocopy of the ID; the embassy states that it does not accept documents notarized by a local Guatemalan notary. A DS-3053 with a lawful electronic notarization is also accepted.
What happens if both parents die while the children are with the grandparents?
The Código Civil places a minor who is not under patria potestad under tutela (Art. 293). A surviving father or mother can name a tutor by will (Art. 297). Without a testamentary tutor, tutela legítima goes in this order: paternal grandfather, maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, then siblings (Art. 299). For children born outside marriage, the maternal line is preferred, and a judge may vary the order for justified reasons. If there is neither, a judge names a tutor (Art. 300).
