Editor: Irina
A child's first trip abroad is a joyful, but very troublesome and exciting thing. Especially at the stage of processing documents for visas.
When I started writing the article, I honestly considered myself quite knowledgeable about the topic: after all, my child has been traveling since he was 6 months old. But it turned out that until now I was blissfully unaware of all the bureaucratic intricacies.
I propose to figure out what needs to be done so that the child’s departure abroad in 2021 takes place without unpleasant surprises at the border control.
Traveling abroad of a child with one of the parents or both
In what cases is consent required and in what cases is it not? We usually travel as a friendly group and have never formalized consent. However, different life situations may require parents (or one of them) to allow the child to travel abroad.
According to Article 20 of Federal Law No. 114-FZ:
If a child travels outside the Russian Federation with one of the parents, consent to travel from the other is not required.
Moreover, consent is not required if the child is traveling with both parents. PLEASE NOTE that this provision relates directly to border control. That is, when you are standing with your child in that same booth at a Russian airport.
About visa processing. But to obtain visas (mainly Schengen), the consent of the spouse may be needed at the consulate. When?
- One of the parents stays at home.
- In rare cases, cross permissions are required from both parents (mom to dad, dad to mom), even if the child is traveling with them.
For information on the documents required for a minor’s visa to another country, check on the consulate’s website. We have articles on applying for Schengen to Spain, Germany and France (there we also described instructions for children).
Other nuances. A tour to visa-free countries (for example, Turkey, Tunisia, Thailand) will not cause much trouble. No consent required. Until the child travels completely without parents - but more on that later.
I’ll tell you where to look for profitable tours. Online aggregators collect offers directly from tour operators, compare where things are cheaper, and supplement them with real reviews from tourists about hotels:
- Travelata
- Level.Travel
- Onlinetours
In the event of a divorce, travel abroad of a child with one parent is also possible without additional permissions (for example, you can go on vacation without the consent of the father, if the latter has not established an official ban).
If, after a divorce, the child and the mother have different surnames, it makes sense to take documents on a joint trip that contain information about the changes (divorce certificate). This is important, because the mother’s previous surname is indicated on the birth certificate.
In exceptional cases - the death of a father or mother, deprivation of parental rights or the disappearance of one of them - it is necessary to have supporting documents (death certificate, deprivation of rights, missing person).
In what cases is it necessary to issue a power of attorney?
So, the execution of a full-fledged notarized power of attorney will be required in the following cases:
- Traveling with a distant relative, friend, coach. It is advisable to do the document at the stage of applying for a visa. When traveling with an accompanying minor, you will need your own passport;
- Tense relationship between father and mother . Either parent can issue a temporary restriction, prohibiting the teenager from leaving the country;
- Different surnames in the family. The issue can be resolved either by a certified copy or original of the birth certificate, or by a power of attorney from the father in the name of the mother.
When traveling with one parent, permit requirements depend on the laws of the host state. The question must be clarified at the representative office of the destination country when applying for a visa. If we take general practice, then when applying for a Schengen, Canadian and American visa, the consulate will definitely want to see the document. For border guards of CIS countries, in the presence of a parent, a teenager’s birth certificate will be sufficient.
Important! A power of attorney does not allow you to leave the country with a travel restriction, but may be the basis for lifting it. If the mother is absolutely against the child traveling abroad, the father can appeal the ban in court.
The teenager will not be able to cross the border unaccompanied. 114-FZ, which regulates the procedure for children leaving the country, directly states that children are prohibited from leaving the country independently without legal representatives. Neither a passport with a visa nor permission from both parents will be an exception to the rule.
Traveling a child abroad without parents (with third parties)
It is not uncommon for a child to travel abroad without their parents. Children can travel with relatives, as part of a group led by a coach or teacher, sometimes even on their own. In all these cases, mom or dad draws up consent from a notary.
According to Russian legislation:
For a child to travel outside the Russian Federation without parents, permission from one of them is sufficient.
So, if a family plans to send a child abroad with grandparents, a nanny, etc., in advance:
- get a separate passport for a minor
- if visiting a country requires a visa, then get one too
- obtain consent for the child to travel abroad from one of the parents *for Schengen countries it will be needed at the visa application stage and, possibly, from both parents (see the requirements of the relevant consulate)
- An important point is insurance for a child traveling abroad. Insurance should not be neglected at all on any trip. It is easy and inexpensive to apply for online – on Cherehapa or Sravni.ru.
Consent to travel is issued both for a specific trip and “reusable”, for a period of up to several years. It depends on the situation: if your child plays sports and goes to training camps almost every month, a “power of attorney for the child” in the name of the coach can be issued for a long period.
Do not confuse leaving the Russian Federation and entering another country. For the first, you need consent from the parents (if the child is without them), and for the second, you don’t need anything. There is no such document or requirement for children. With one parent, without them, a child always enters a foreign country only with a foreign passport (his own or the parent’s, where he is registered) and a visa (if necessary). Read below for possible exceptions.
About leaving without adults. Children can fly to other countries on their own, unaccompanied by adults. To do this, consent to independent departure is obtained from one of the parents.
The law regarding the minimum age at which a child can independently choose to go abroad gives ambiguous interpretations. In the main document, “On the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation,” there is no mention of age. According to the text, babies can also go on an independent voyage, the main thing is to bring documents
