V-Flyer

Hi,

Our daughter and grandson (7) will be joining us for part of our next trip to the US. Does my daughter need to have written permission from my son in law to take their son out of the country, does anyone know? (Son in law won’t fly, which is why he’s staying in the UK).

This only occurred to me when a friend asked about it. I don’t know the answer and would hate for them to be held up, if she needs written permission.

I used to work at an airport and this question came up lots of times.

Legally yes you do need permission (https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad) Practically, no-one ever checks a child travelling with a single person or family group. (there's plenty of pre checks done looking at travellers names for various reason, and child abduction is one of them)

However you just never know who may ask a question, specifically if the child has a different surname to those travelling.

Get the other parent to write a letter showing you have consent and have a 24/7 contact number for them in the letter so it can be checked.

I've done this many times but never been asked. But there's always a first time.

chumba wrote:I used to work at an airport and this question came up lots of times.

Legally yes you do need permission (https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad) Practically, no-one ever checks a child travelling with a single person or family group. (there's plenty of pre checks done looking at travellers names for various reason, and child abduction is one of them)

However you just never know who may ask a question, specifically if the child has a different surname to those travelling.

Get the other parent to write a letter showing you have consent and have a 24/7 contact number for them in the letter so it can be checked.

I've done this many times but never been asked. But there's always a first time.

Thanks Chumba, that’s pretty much what I was thinking. I’ll suggest my daughter gets her husband to do just that. Just to cover all bases.

chumba wrote:I used to work at an airport and this question came up lots of times.

Legally yes you do need permission (https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad) Practically, no-one ever checks a child travelling with a single person or family group. (there's plenty of pre checks done looking at travellers names for various reason, and child abduction is one of them)

However you just never know who may ask a question, specifically if the child has a different surname to those travelling.

Get the other parent to write a letter showing you have consent and have a 24/7 contact number for them in the letter so it can be checked.

I've done this many times but never been asked. But there's always a first time.

@chumba, thank you for sharing this important but often overlooked requirement when traveling with a grandchild. It's good to be prepared, even if the document may not be asked for at all.