I know some of you have experience with - or have been @skieurope - minors traveling alone, so rather than waking my son up on another continent, I am going to my first source for all worldly knowledge. 
My son is in Germany, staying with a host family. He intends to go to Berlin next week by himself and stay in a hostel. He said he called the hotel and they told him it was OK as long as he had a permission form from his parents. He went looking for the form and first sent me something that was for teens to get into clubs and bars. Then he sent me the “right” form, and it is a file without an extension that cannot be opened. I don’t know German so can’t search effectively for it. Do any of you know what is actually needed and whether it has to be in German?
Yes, it is really needed. It does not need to be in German. A simple letter (which I would suggest getting notarized) will suffice.
We, twinsmama and twinspapa, (or whoever is the custodial parent) are the parents of twinskid, born.xx/yy/zzzz in aaa, bb, USA. He has our permission to travel unaccompanied from XXX to Berlin for the purpose of leisure travel and to stay at the WYZ hostel.
@skieurope Thank you!
Here’s a form I found if it makes it easier:
https://travel.gc.ca/docs/child/consent-letter_lettre-consentement-eng.pdf
We used a similar form when the kids traveled overseas with their grandparents. We were told it is required, in part,due to efforts to reduce child trafficing.
We wrote up a letter with basically those details and had it notarized before kids went overseas with their grandparents.
Yep, done this quite a few times with all of our kids.
Thank you. Glad I saw this thread. Son is going abroad alone to visit BS friends this summer. Didn’t even realize he needed a letter!
When our son went to the Phillipines with 5 fellow exonians after sophmore year as 16 year olds. We all got a frantic call from the airline in San Fransisco- they wouldn’t let them board the plane until they had spoken to us. We didn’t think to send a note. Definitely would in the future.
I made the assumption that the school would tell us what he needed. But I should have learned never to assume from “The Bad News Bears.”
Well, you know what happen when you assume. @twinsmama
Besides, in the school’s eye, which is probably written in the Terms and Conditions of the program, independent travel is not allowed. Fortunately for twinskid, that was not the question you asked. 
The school is requiring it, facilitating it, and - best of all - paying for it, so I really hope they allow it!
Hello all - just wanted to write a follow-up post. My son travelled to Mexico earlier this summer to visit some BS friends. We downloaded the letter linked above and signed it. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to get it notarized, since he had an early morning flight.
After landing in Mexico, he made it through customs and immigration with only his passport and the letter. On the way into mexico, the officer didn’t notice that it wasn’t notarized. But both parents signatures were on the form. While returning back to the US, the immigration officer didn’t even ask for the letter, so he walked through without even a question.
So if this helps anyone in the future - it seems like you may be able to get away without notarizing if you’re in a pinch.
Mexico changed the requirement for a letter years ago when a passport became required. To get a passport in the US for a child under 18, both parents have to give permission (appear or sign off) so the reasoning is that the letter is no longer needed. Mexico and Canada were two countries that wanted the notarized letters. Canada is still pretty picky.
Years ago my friend drove into Canada from Alaska (where he lived, where his car was registered). His daughter and wife were with him. They started giving him a hard time about not having a signed letter. He was like “But I’m HERE. My wife/her mother is HERE. What would this letter say? It’s okay for the kid in the back seat to travel with us?”
@twoinanddone that’s actually not true for a passport. The government website for passport information and forms states that children that are 16 and 17 can apply for a passport themselves and they only need to show parental awareness from one parent at that age. I only know this because I was going to have my 15yr old get her passport earlier this year, but couldn’t because she would only have one parent able to sign. She can apply herself though next year with just one parent!
The letter I sent gave specific permission to stay at a certain hotel on certain dates. I also added a general permission to travel independently or in the company of his host family. He also went to Munich for an overnight, but I didn’t send an additional letter. Apparently no one ever asked for it (although the first hotel had said he needed one). But, in retrospect, I think it was the right thing to do and I should have thought of it myself and made one for my daughter last year (although she was in an out-of-the-way place with families who never took her anywhere, so it was moot).
Several years ago on a school service trip abroad, a girl sustained an injury that required treatment in the ER. The hospital objected to allowing the chaperone (of a different gender and race) to accompany her. After hearinG THEIR story, I would probably err on the side of having good documentation. My guess is that it would probably not be needed, but if it were , it’s probably easier than trying to get someone at the embassy to run interference.