Child Travel Consent form - must I get it notarised?

[CatelynStark]

My 16 year old has been invited to go on holiday to Corfu with a friend and her family this coming Friday, at very short notice.

I understand that I need to provide a letter of permission and have downloaded one with all of the required details but now I’m reading that it’s advised that I get the form notarised. A quick google shows that that’s going to cost me over £100, which I’m going to have to borrow.

Is it absolutely essential? Has anybody got any advice, please?

Tbh I think you will need to get it done. It’s a pain in the arse, but we have to do this every time I take ds back to Scotland from SA. Have a look and see if there is somewhere cheaper. We got lucky the last time as the nice lawyer asked for a donation to a cancer charity, instead of a fee.

you need to check the specifics of the country DD is travelling to. I am assuming Corfu is under the Greek govt? So go to the Greek gvt website and look it up. So eg South Africa have very strict requirements, US like a letter but not notarised etc

If notarised is NOT required then a letter with full consent from you - I would provide passport numbers, full contact details etc. I would give the name of the family DD is travelling with plus the accommodation address in Corfu. If DD dad is around perhaps his details too?

Thank you for that. I wonder if it’s different for SA as they have such strict policies regarding child travel (I came a cropper with that last year!)

Looks like I’ll have to borrow the cash and get it sorted.

Thank you. Greenlanes. DD’s dad lives in SA - I’ve already asked him for a consent letter but no reply after two days. I’ll see if I can find out what the Greek requirements are.

I've sent my kids abroad quite a few times. I just photocopied my passport and wrote that I authorised my children (their names) .... to travel with said person. Never a problem and no notarisation required.

Thanks, Bouledeneige - I’ll definitely copy my passport in with the consent form.

I’ve just looked up the Greek requirements and apparently they’ve not provided that information to the Europe.eu website? I’ll give the embassy a call in the morning. If I get any sleep for fretting about it...

My kids were travelling within the EU if that's relevant.

Post office notarise documents - try them too, you could certainly notarise copies of both your passports to go with the letter and I'm sure they'd have advice regarding the letter.

www.postoffice.co.uk/document-certification-service

The alternative is to get the Consent letter witnessed by a solicitor (I.E they witness you signing it, check the documents & stamp it) - this costs a lot less! My eldest DD used to fly out every summer to Canada to stay with her ex stepmother & we never had a problem. I used to send her with the witnessed consent form (giving all details of who & where she was staying), her birth certificate & a copy of my passport

I just did the SA form - its just a "swear" at any solicitor, should cost £5 or so. EVen the SA one did not need to be notorised.

Thank you, everyone. I’ve spoken to the airline and they say as long as she has all the documents and my phone number that I’ll answer straight away (at 3am) it should all be fine and I don’t need to get it notarised.

Brilliant! Hope she has a fab holiday :)

Thanks, greenlanes

My daughter is going to spain with her son they dont have same surname she an his dad are not together an were not married but he has given her a consent form to travel an she has childs birth certificate an passport is this enough to travel

It will be fine. They won't be asked for the letter or the birth certificate. For one thing, in Spain women do not take their husband's names (ever), so Mum's passport is always different from DC's.

Also remember that the passport control people are not going to subject everyone in a 200-person queue to dozens of watertight checks. They know that people have complicated lives. They would have to have solid reasons to ask awkward questions, such as a tip-off, or genuine reasons to suspect that the child was being kidnapped.

Does anyone know if we need to notorise the consent letter to travel with my 15 years old daughter to Spain? She is British and has European Passport as well.