Travelling with Grandchildren

[teeteringhead]

Hi - looking for some advice from the wealth of knowledge that is PPRuNe.

Planning a holiday for next summer with son-and-heir, his wife and their two children. Plus me and Milady Teeters of course.

The plan is that son and d-i-l will go off for a week with some mates to a villa in Spain; we will replace mates with the Grand Teeters (F12, M10) for a further week.

At the back of my (increasingly inaccurate) mind is something about possible difficulties of leaving the country with children not ones own; maybe some anti kidnapping/Tug of Love precautions?

What if anything will we need to make this work? Probably flying BHX to ALC.

TIA.

[V_2]

As it’s your sons children, presumably your grand children will have the same surname as you. This makes things easier.

I’m Not an expert but most of the issues I’ve heard of seem to be with UK boarder force doing anti smuggling checks on arriving children, especially with surnames that don’t match the adults. Even solo-travelling mothers have been stopped and questioned. All for a good cause of cause but it is somewhat intrusive. a copy of birth certificates would presumably help. The children here are a bit older though and can speak for themselves so I doubt you’ll have any issue. Especially flying into Spain, but wait and see if any better advice turns up

[teeteringhead]

Thanks V_2 - plenty of time to research, I'm talking August '24.

[Expatrick]

Notarized letter of authority from the Parents, maybe?

[PAXboy]

I have never had to do this but agree with Expatrick as you cannot be too careful. Also, know where their parents are and if availabl emy phone at the time.

[Asturias56]

https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad#:~:text=A%20letter%20from%20the%20person,about%20taki ng%20a%20child%20abroad.

You (https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad#:~:text=A%20letter%20from%20the%20person,about%20taki ng%20a%20child%20abroad.You) must get the permission of everyone with parental responsibility (https://www.gov.uk/parental-rights-responsibilities) for a child or from a court before taking the child abroad.

Taking a child abroad without permission is child abduction (https://www.gov.uk/return-or-contact-abducted-child).

You automatically have parental responsibility if you’re the child’s mother, but you still need the permission of anyone else with parental responsibility before you take the child abroad.

You can take a child abroad for 28 days without getting permission if a child arrangement order (https://www.gov.uk/looking-after-children-divorce/types-of-court-order) says the child must live with you, unless a court order says you can’t.Get permission from someone with parental responsibilityA letter from the person with parental responsibility for the child is usually enough to show you’ve got permission to take them abroad.

You might be asked for the letter at a UK or foreign border, or if there’s a dispute about taking a child abroad. The letter should include the other person’s contact details and details about the trip.

It also helps if you’ve:

evidence of your relationship with the child, eg a birth or adoption certificate
a divorce or marriage certificate, if you are a single parent but your family name is different from the child’s

Get permission from a courtYou’ll need to apply to a court for permission to take a child abroad if you haven’t got permission from the other people with parental responsibility.

You must give details of the trip, eg the date of departure, when and how you’re returning, and contact details of people with parental responsibility staying in the UK.

You must give more information if you’re taking the child abroad for a longer trip, eg what education the child will get while they’re abroad.

Find a solicitor (https://www.gov.uk/find-a-legal-adviser) to get legal advice about permission to take a child abroad.Check the age limit in the country you’re travelling toYou need to contact the embassy or consular office (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk) of the country you are travelling to for information about the age limit up to which a person is considered a child.

[Mike_dublin]

From the gov.uk website (permission-take-child-abroad - sorry, can't post url)
...A letter from the person with parental responsibility for the child is usually enough to show you’ve got permission to take them abroad. ...

You might also want to look whether the country you are travelling to has specific requirements.
And perhaps if there's any paperwork you might need, in case of medical emergencies abroad, while you're looking after your grandchildren?

[25F]

Fathers also have parental responsibility if
1 - married to mother at time of birth, or
2 - named on birth certificate (since 2003 in England & Wales, 2002 in Northern Ireland, 2006 in Scotland).
I doubt very much that a letter is *needed* but for peace of mind it would not be difficult to arrange.

[teeteringhead]

That’s all been tremendously helpful - in less than 12 hours. Good old PPRuNe!

Some good avenues to explore there - and it’s only for the outbound leg; plan is for all to return together.

A letter sounds a good “club in the bag” to have, and so easily obtained.

Thanks to all - but keep the ideas coming; we’ve got 14 months to sort it out!

[Kiltrash]

Ok course the children would have their own passports at that age none of this being on the mother's passport issues. ...
We had the same thoughts in Aug 2018 forTenerife. We went for 4 weeks to a villa with grandchildren aged 8&10 and parents joined us after 2 weeks. Son's children so had the same surname . Wasn't queried however I did have a letter of authorisation to travel signed by both parents and copies of their passports...

[teeteringhead]

That sounds a good plan Kiltrash.