Traveling Abroad With Your Children: Legal Aspects
Traveling abroad with your kids is a big adventure that requires a lot of planning. Concentrating on airfare, accommodation, itinerary and places to visit, we can forget about essentials like legal documents.
Legal paperwork is a fundamental aspect that should not be brushed aside as it could ruin your vacation. That is why there are some documents that are required if you are planning to leave the country with a minor.
There are several factors that we have to take into account, for example whether children travel with their parents or not. In addition, depending on your destination, there are certain countries that require a visa.
What legal papers do you need if you travel abroad with your children?
As we mentioned earlier, when traveling abroad with your children, you should think about the personal and legal documents you will need. It all depends on the destination you choose. If you come from a country that belongs to the European Union (EU) and you plan to travel from the EU to another country, your children only need their identity papers. However, if you travel outside the EU, everyone will need a passport.
Furthermore, it is important to check each country’s requirements, such as visas or vaccines. And it’s also important to keep in mind that when traveling with minors, you may face specific restrictions.
The police of each country pays special attention to the safety of minors. It doesn’t matter if they are traveling alone or with an adult. It is a preventive measure to prevent child abduction or even human trafficking.
For example, authorities check the documents of adults accompanying children to verify that they are their parents or legal guardians. This is a very important measure for the safety of minors.
Children traveling alone
What happens if children travel alone, with only one parent or with their legal guardian? There is important information you need to know.
When unaccompanied minors travel abroad, they must have permission from the adults in legal custody. These are usually the parents. Border guards can carry out an inspection to make sure they do not leave the country without the permission of their guardians.
If children are traveling with an adult who is not one of their parents, they may need legal permission from a police station. The authorization must include the guardian’s consent so that the adult can care for the child. It must also include the guardian’s ID.
On the other hand, if the minors travel with only one of the parents, the authorities can ask for the consent of the other parent. This paperwork usually also has to be arranged at a police station or through the national government.
What happens with divorced parents?
Divorced parents usually share the school holidays and divide the time they can spend with their children. In this way, everyone plans a series of activities, including trips abroad. This can sometimes cause conflict.
When divorced parents decide to go abroad on vacation, many questions arise. Is it necessary to request authorization from the other parent to travel abroad? What happens if the other parent doesn’t allow them to go?
In Spain, for example, it is not necessary. This is because it concerns the legal time that the parent is allowed to spend with his child. And the destination isn’t that important either. In this case, it is therefore not necessary to ask for permission to travel abroad with your children.
On the other hand, the situation changes when an order is issued to ban children from leaving the country. In this case, authorization is absolutely necessary. However, it is always better to have the authorization, in case authorities ask for it at the border or at the airport.
