Taking my minor niece to London - travel documents to show custody?
 

In July, I'm taking my 14 year old niece to London. Uncle Mike is just as excited as said niece. We're flying Delta, but I'm putting this in the TravelBuzz forum because my question isn't Delta specific.

What kind of documentation or paperwork does my sister need to prepare in order to allow my niece to leave the country with me? The further wrinkle is that my sister is divorced but has custody of Niece. Even if we need my niece's father to approve the trip, we can get that. I'm assuming that Her Majesty's government may have some concerns with a young woman traveling with an older man who isn't a her parent. We'd like to have those issues resolved/documented before we leave.

Niece has her passport, and will be flying as an unaccompanied minor from PIT (where she lives) to BOS (where I live) on B6. But then she'll be flying with me BOS-LHR and LHR-JFK-BOS on the return on DL.

Thanks for your input.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Suggest you contact the nearest British consulate, and get the official word from them.

Best is to have a notarized letter signed by both parents authorizing travel with you and any medical decisions (just incase). If both parents are in communication with each other and aren't objecting this is what you want. As mother has primary custody a letter stating authorization and that custody is under one parents should suffice.Take a scan of it on your phone/cloud for backup purposes.

Her Majesty's airport officials may have issues with ANY minor that is traveling without their parents - older uncle being there or not :)

I would repeat an advice from above - call the British Consulate and ask them what documents are required. You may never get asked for them - but you never know.

And because she is technically minor, give a call to the airline as well and check what they require in order to allow her to board an international flight with you and without a legal guardian - in the very least you will need a letter from the parents that they are ok with you taking her out of the country. It is not just the British immigration people that you need to be in the clear with; Delta may also have objections.

I did this with my two nieces on a trip to Japan several years ago. They were a bit older - both over 18 - but still under the age of majority for our destination, which is 20. I didn't have the potential problems for our domestic flights but took a notarized letter from all parents, giving permission for me to take them out of the country and, most importantly, giving me limited power of attorney for health care decisions while out of the US. The only place either of the girls was quizzed by officials was upon re-entry to the US.

With a younger child, I recommend you do all of the above.

As others have said, the safest thing to do is to carry a notarized consent from both parents. A sample form is available here: http://www.globetrektravel.com/minortravelforms.pdf

Calling the UK consulate is also a good idea.

Taking my minor niece to London - travel documents to show custody?
 

Great uncle! I'm doing same with my niece and BA told me they don't require any documents they only need to confirm passport info - I'm taking a notarized letter from my sister and her ex-husband allowing her to travel with me.

Please continue to follow this thread in the UK Forum but suggest you also take a look at the Travel With Children Forum.
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

Her Majesty's airport officials have no problems with minors entering the country without their parents. Thousands and thousands of youngsters travel to the UK every year, without their parents, to stay with host families and attend language classes. And I've had visits from several under-age relatives over the years - they all had letters from their parents but in most cases weren't even asked to show them.

However, having said all that I would echo the advice given by others - check with the British Embassy/Consulate to find out exactly what's required. Also (and I really hate having to say this) there is quite a bit of paranoia in British society (more than in many other countries) about female youngsters travelling with adult males, so prepare yourself for the possibility of being treated with suspicion both by Immigration and by staff at hotels.

From www.gov.uk:

"The Home Office has an obligation under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to safeguard the welfare of children.

This means that if you apply as a child visitor we will want to know who your parents are, who you are travelling with and that there are adequate care arrangements for you in the UK.

If you are an adult (other than the parent or legal guardian) travelling with a child, you may be asked to present the parents’ or legal guardian’s written consent. If you are the child’s parent, you may be asked to provide evidence of the other parent’s consent if they are not travelling with you.

The Entry Clearance Officer may wish to see:
- the child’s birth certificate
- signed and dated letter from the child’s parent or guardian
- an official letter from an authority confirming guardianship"

I traveled out of the country several times with my niece prior to her turning 18, including to the UK. You should have notarized consent from both parents for the travel and for you to make health care decisions on her behalf. I never had to show the letter but on one occasion at the border I was asked if I had a letter of permission from the parents. The one I used was adapted from several ones freely available on the Internet.

Info from CBP:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...ot-a-parent-or
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...RkVHdTbA%3D%3D
Alaska Airlines recommended consent letter:
https://www.alaskaair.com/~/media/Fi...f-Consent.ashx
Canadian recommended consent letter:
http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/children/consent-letter

Heck on one occasion we got grief trying to bring our own kids back into the country!

This is all very sound advice and worth doing.

Notarization is not a thing in the UK. Get it notarized if it makes you feel better, but it's unlikely to make a difference.

Very useful thread - thank you to the OP for raising and others for response.

This answers a lot of questions for me - my wife and I are taking our child (who by then will be 8 months old) to YYZ in June to visit Grandparents. We are travelling all together outbound but on the return I will travel back alone and my wife will stay 2 weeks extra with the baby before returning to the UK.

I therefore anticipate that some sort of letter may be useful a) in boarding the aircraft in YYZ and b) at immigration in MAN upon return to the UK. The examples on here are primarily US / Canada based - can anyone point to a UK centric version or advise any sample wording they may have used in the past (or give ideas of what we should include).

Thanks.

The advice I posted above from the Home Office relates to non-British nationals entering the UK.

I'm assuming that you're all British citizens, yes? In which case you shouldn't have any concerns about wife plus baby entering the UK. For a start, consider how many single mothers there are in Britain. The border agency is hardly going to expect them to carry some sort of certification that they are the only legal parent. That could get quite offensive quite quickly.

I also know plenty of mothers that travel with their kids in and out of the UK and I'm not aware that any of them have even considered carrying a letter of authorization from the other parent, nor have I ever heard of them being questioned.

Now were it you travelling solo with a a baby then you that might be a different matter. Then you might find yourself face-to-face with some (well meaning) institutionalized sexism..