AIBU to be surprised no one checked my 17yo had permission when travelling abroad without a parent?

[TeenageTravels]

We are British. My 17yo recently travelled abroad to an EU country for a holiday with another family (who live in the UK but are originally from the country they were travelling to). I sent her with a permission letter and provided my and DH's contact details and passport details and a copy of her birth certificate. She wasn't asked for any of this either in the UK or the other country, or any information about who she was travelling with or why. AIBU to be surprised by this? Obviously my daughter was completely safe but is this not a concern for trafficking or other reasons?

At 17 I wouldn't expect anyone to check she could leave home at 16. If she was under 16 I would expect them to check.

If a 17 year old was living alone (in 2026) there would still be someone with parental responsibility, it might be Children's Services if it's not a parent. Hypothetically if written permission was essential then the child's social worker could write a letter.

I think the cutoff may be 16. I brought a family friend's daughter over from France when she was 15 and got heavily questioned at immigration as I had no parental letter. Stupidly I told the officer not to worry, she wasn't a slave, at which point he said I'd given him enough grounds to arrest me. Lesson learnt.

A good point also. You can join the armed forces and go overseas for training ( not combat) at 17 . I doubt mummy is writing letters of consent

17 year olds can enter university if they went to school in Scotland (I know someone at my English university who did just this) - why would there not be a situation where a student might be living alone? Not everyone can live in student accommodation, and even in halls there isn't anyone with a parental responsibility as such.

My parents took my 5yo DC to another country and got zero questions. We sent them with a notarized letter and no one even wanted to see. Extra complicated because DC does not share their last name and has dual citizenship (but neither to the country they went to). As PP said, if the kid seems happy, they don’t seem to worry.

That was pretty dumb! Even our 7yo knows that immigration is a no joke zone!!

Not in Scotland. You can live alone without parental permission from 16.

If by adult passport you mean 10 year passport I think that's just related to how much your appearance is likely to change in 10 years. It doesn't actually legally mean anything, people are still children until their 18th birthday.

The experience you had was exactly why I checked what my daughter would need. And obviously not wanting her to be refused travel.

Oh right! This is definitely not the case in England.

My 17 yr old travelled abroad this summer with his pals.

I didnt supply him with permission letters.

People always think the law around this is much more proactive than it is. Border officers cannot possibly check that every under 18 has permission from every person with PR before they travel. So in the absence of evidence to the contrary, they assume all is fine. With a teenager of 17, why would they check? There are indicators of trafficking they are trained to spot - without those, why should they assume something bad was happening?
This law is invoked when someone is trying to prevent a child being removed from a country, or where there is reason to think a child is at risk. Not as a blanket rule for every under 18.

I’ve taken DC friends abroad a few times. Always with written permission etc from parents. All younger much than 17.

Never been questioned. It’s a little worrying to be honest.

I had this with my nephew many years ago when he was much younger than 17.
The immigration officer said they are trained to watch body language. Based on how he interacted with my daughter, and answered her questions; she could make a reasonable judgement that he was safe.

At 16 I went on holiday to Spain with my boyfriend, and again when I was 17. It never occurred to anyone to get any sort of document from my parents confirming this was ok.

My son travelled on his own at the age of 12 from the UK to Portugal and not one person ever stopped him. He had documents confirming he was allowed to travel on his own but they were never requested. He was well used to traveling by then and was fine on his own. He has done this from the age of 12 at least once or twice a year. BA had an unaccompanied minors policy 10 years ago or so (NOT accompanied which is different!) and 12 was the minimum age they could travel without an adult.

ChatGPT suggests that Portugal and South Africa are the 2 countries that might refuse entry to under 18s travelling alone or without parental permission letters.

Seems like the general consensus is IABU to be surprised the letter wasn't checked, but IANBU to provide a letter since quite a few of you have been questioned when travelling with others' teenage children or as teenagers, and the country in question requires it. Thanks to everyone who replied! One or two comments about me being overprotective - it's actually not my child I felt protective of, it's those vulnerable ones who may be travelling against their will or have been tricked or groomed into it. But some good points about staff being trained to spot this, which I hope is effective.

Did you get it officially stamped and proof of ID.

Because otherwise a letter so worthless, any kidnapper could write a letter.

I always photocopy my husband's passport and he writes on that, but even then it could be forged

If you join the armed forces under the age of 18 you need parental consent to do so. So yes, technically mummy does write a letter of consent to travel.

@ Sgtmajormummy

Romanians are not allowed to leave their home country by themselves until they are 18 yo - unless accompanied by an adult or a paid chaperone

All males have to register with their local police station once they turn 16

I've taken an unrelated 8yr old abroad on 4 occasions, with appropriate paperwork and have never been asked any questions at passport control. I find it concerning.
Don't think I'd be too upset about a 17yr old not being asked though

I think it’s a “just in case” rather than a mandatory document. My son and his mates went abroad after A Levels and the ones that were still 17 had permission notes from their parents. None were needed.

Parental cobsent to join the forces yes. Npt each time they fly anywhere.

I photocopied both our passports and her birth certificate. I guess a 17yo with access to the family passports could do this themselves but it's less likely that a 3rd party could.