If you are planning a trip abroad and it is planned to take the child with you, but he has not yet reached the age of 18, you must prepare in advance the documents described in the laws of the country where you plan to travel from, as well as the state where the trip is planned. For example, if your plans include tours to Bulgaria, then be sure to pay attention to the rules for documenting the entry of children into the country there.
What to pay attention in the first place?
The most important thing to consider first is the requirements listed in the laws of the country whose citizens are children and adults planning a trip. The legal norms of the place where it is supposed to rest deserve no less attention. If the power of attorney for the child to travel abroad was not issued or it was done incorrectly, problems will probably arise at the stage of walking the checkpoint at the border. This must be remembered when processing documents.
If you have planned tours to Bulgaria, be sure to note that in 2010 some legal regulations changed. A number of changes to the migration legislation were introduced later. The situation is similar with many other countries. Before you go on a trip, be sure to check the most current data. To verify the accuracy of the information, you can double-check it by contacting the embassy, consulate of the state where the trip is being made.
When can I leave my country?
The most relevant legal regulations governing the departure of a minor from the country specify that leaving their homes is possible only accompanied by:
- adoptive parents;
- trustees;
- parents (at least one of them);
- accompanying;
- independently (subject to a number of conditions).
Statistics show that the most interesting case for the layman is a child leaving the country accompanied by only one of the parents or with other relatives. Also frequent are situations when a child leaves with a tourist group in which there are no relatives to him. In recent years, tours for children have become increasingly popular.
Why go?
It would seem, where do such situations come from when a minor can go abroad without parents, accompanied by distant relatives, or even strangers? Even the situation when the departure is not planned by the whole family, many are surprised.
But the explanation is much simpler than it seems. For example, educational tours for children have become popular, allowing a group of teenagers to get acquainted with colleges, universities of other countries and plan their admission there. As a rule, applicants travel with a leader, but without relatives.
No less frequent is the situation when holidays with children abroad are planned by one parent, who is divorced from the second. As a rule, in such a situation, people are not in a good relationship with each other and certainly will not want to go on vacation together. But this should not be a restriction for the child! Therefore, one parent who wants to go takes the child with him, and the second gives his consent in documentary form. It is called a “power of attorney for a child to travel abroad.”
How to agree correctly?
So that there are no problems with documents at the border and the child is not forced to stay in their native places, it is necessary to approach the issue thoroughly. In particular, consent after signing by the applicant must be verified by a notary.
To issue a power of attorney for a child to travel abroad, you must have:
- your passport;
- minor birth certificate;
- escort data, if required.
Nuances
There are situations when adults must provide the notary with an extended list of documents. Most often this happens when it is impossible to obtain the consent of one of the parents. In this case, you should have with you:
- A document confirming that the parent is single;
- death certificate of spouse;
- a court order depriving one of the parents of parental rights;
- court decision according to which a person is considered to be missing or dead;
- a police certificate confirming that the second parent is wanted;
- a certificate certifying that the child was born out of wedlock.
Remember that a power of attorney for a child to travel abroad is necessary even when the spouses are divorced.
What does a notary visit give?
You can go on vacation with children abroad when one of the following documents has been received from a notary public:
- Consent that has undergone a special legal certification process;
- certified translation of documents.
How long after submitting documents will I have to wait for the result? Much depends on how complex a particular case is. If a translation is not needed, then all the paper can be obtained immediately. Otherwise, documents are usually prepared on the next business day, but occasionally the wait can be delayed by 3-5 weekdays.
Additional Information
In order for a notary to issue a paper allowing the child to leave the country without one or both parents, it is necessary to provide him with a number of official information. In particular, the departure of a child under 18 years old is allowed if it is reported:
- destination, travel dates;
- all contact and passport details of the accompanying person.
Parents must come in person. In the absence of such a notary public should visit those who guardianship or adopted a child. Do not forget to bring your internal passport with you!
It should be clarified that a child’s visa to go abroad is issued without additional confirmation of consent to leave the country by the adoptive parent, trustee, guardian.
Subtleties of official procedures
In the event that it is planned to travel abroad a minor without parents and other official representatives, that is, in complete solitude (for example, as part of a tourist group), it must be ensured that he carries with him not only a passport, but also the consent of those responsible for it adults.
But the departure of a child under 18 years of age abroad with an official statement of disagreement to commit one from one of the adults responsible for him is possible, but with certain difficulties. First, you will need to go to court, provide a package of documents and a statement there. Based on all this information, the judge will decide the matter, given the current laws. The procedure is likely to drag on for a long time, and it is impossible to predict the answer in advance.
If a child is traveling abroad with one parent or no relatives or other official representatives at all, remember that responsibility for a minor still lies with those who are legally close to him. That is, the parent, guardian, trustee will be responsible for the health, life of the child, for the preservation of his rights, interests, even if he does not participate in the trip.
But if the child is traveling as part of an organized tourist group, then all responsibility for him lies with the leader.But this happens only when the group does not have a close relative or other person responsible for the child according to the law of a person.
What does the consent to leave mean?
A correctly executed consent for a child to travel abroad will necessarily contain the following data:
- The list of countries where it is planned to go. If we are talking about Schengen, information about this should be reflected in an official document, including the state through which the entry will be made.
- The exact dates of leaving your home country and returning to your homeland.
Different countries establish their requirements, the accounting of which is necessary in order to travel freely in the chosen direction. It is important to consider the features of a particular state when collecting documents for the departure of a minor child abroad.
Note:
- when leaving the country without parents and officials representing the interests of the child by law, their consent must be obtained;
- if one of the parents goes with the child, the second must give consent;
- if one of the parents has died, there must be documentary evidence of this fact.
When is apostille needed?
Apostille is usually called a notarized translation of important documents into the language of the country where the trip is planned. Be sure to arrange it when traveling to:
- Germany
- Netherlands;
- France
- Ireland
All documents for the child to travel abroad must be submitted in the language of this country, and the translation is certified both by the signature of the translator and the seal of the notary who checked the correctness of the papers.
And when not?
There are situations when officially the child is denied the opportunity to cross the border of another state. This happens if:
- there is no notarization by consent;
- the original document certifying the data on the child (birth certificate) is not presented;
- the court ruled that the child is not entitled to leave his native state without both parents (or the ban, in principle, does not allow him to leave the country, regardless of escort).
And what in practice?
How does the entire official procedure described above look in practice? So, a decision was made to travel abroad, while it was decided that the child would be accompanied by only one parent, and the second (conditional situation, for example) remains at home: say, they did not give the vacation on time, they will have to work while the next of relatives are resting.
To go on a tour, people visit a travel agency. The employee convinces them that they should urgently go to the notary public and obtain from him official, uniform permission to leave their native country and enter a foreign country. He also warns that this task is the responsibility of the travelers themselves, not the agency. If such consent has not been issued and the child will not be allowed to cross the border, the travel agency has nothing to do with it and will not return the money.
Law-abiding parents take their passports and birth certificate of the child, go to the notary's office. And here they are waiting for a discouraging refusal to issue consent. And the reason for this answer is that consent, as it turns out, is not necessary at all. However, not all notaries adhere to this opinion - here, as they say, you will get here.
What about the laws?
If we turn to the law governing the exit and entry of people into the territory of the Russian Federation, then in the twentieth article of the normative document we can find clarification on the issue under consideration. It states that consent should be obtained when the child leaves the home state without relatives. But in the case when at least one parent travels with him, it is enough to have a document that would confirm the relationship. Information on this is contained even in the passport, as children are usually inscribed there.You can also grab a birth certificate explaining who to whom in the family who is.
But in 2007, border guards issued an additional clarification, since the question caused misunderstanding and an abundance of rumors. In a letter to the public, they confirmed that permission was not necessary.
However, the issue requires consideration from two sides, because when leaving the home country, a person must move to another. That is, his documents must be such as to be released from Russia, but allowed to go where you need to get. And here everything will depend on the legislation of the destination.
Entry permit
If you are planning a trip with a minor to a European country, permission from the second parent will in most cases be required. In order not to doubt whether you need a statement or not, you need to choose one of the following countries:
- Turkey;
- Israel;
- Egypt.
None of these states require a second parent to enter a minor traveler.
When traveling around the CIS, permission is usually not necessary. The exception is Ukraine. The laws of the country describe that border guards should be guided by the rules of the state from which the traveler leaves. That is, when leaving Russia, it is necessary that the documents are in accordance with Russian laws, and when returning home, it is necessary that everything is in accordance with Ukrainian standards. According to the laws of Ukraine, the permission of the second parent must be with you!
In order to avoid an uncomfortable situation and not to be in a situation where exit is allowed, and entry to another state is prohibited, you need to obtain consent from a notary.
Exceptions are everywhere
Going on a trip abroad, you can easily find yourself in an unforeseen situation. For example, when crossing the border even when leaving the country, the customs officer may require permission from the second parent if the minor travels with only one of them. Despite the fact that Russian laws do not require such a document, the border guard can do so at his discretion.
Of course, this requirement is illegal, but its failure can lead to the fact that the child will not be able to leave the state and the whole tourist trip will be under attack. Remember, if this situation did happen, the travel agency will not cover the costs and pay a penalty due to frustrated rest, as the contract usually states that the execution of all the documentation is the traveler’s area of responsibility. There is only one solution: it is better to prepare all possible documents in advance.
And if there is no exception?
It is not an exception at all, but it is normal practice to obtain the consent of the second parent to leave the territory of Russia for a minor, if the destination is one of the Schengen countries. Such a requirement for documenting the trip is due to an international treaty concluded within the Schengen states.
Of course, Russia is not included in the Schengen agreement, but everyone who plans to go to Europe is obliged to take it into account. Otherwise there will be a visa denial.
Some believe that it is enough to apply once for parental permission to leave the child abroad and list in it all those countries where it is planned to go in the next few years. In practice, the situation is somewhat more complicated. Permission will have to be obtained for each trip separately, and the duration of such a document is strictly limited by law.
It is necessary to mention countries in agreement to leave, guided by the classifier adopted within the native state. Conversational names, word forms, modified names are not used. You can not use generalizations ("any country").