Flying to the US with a child?

[missnic07]

I'm taking my cousins 9 year old to WDW next year but her mum has just said I'll have to find out if she'll be able to fly with me since I'm not her parent?
That thought didn't wen occur to me. Any ideas?

 

[darthtatty]

you shouldnt have any problems people do it all the time.
Sometimes people take a letter from the childs parents-just for peace of mind. However its nothing official and anyone could have written it.
The child you are taking is 9 so theyre at an age when they can answer any question,if needed. Im sure if it came to it, their parents can be contacted if needed.

 

[missnic07]

Brilliant, thankyou!!

 

[darthtatty]

youre welcome.

 

[tinkerpea]

Just another post to say it will be no problem at all,
All we have done in the past is made sure to have a letter of consent signed by the parent with their contact details etc incase if any problems at the airport ( not that you should have any)

 

[chocomochamouse]

Just to say we have taken my friends daughter abroad with us twice (although only to European destinations) and both times have taken a letter from her mum clarifying that she has permission to travel. This could be used in the event of being asked by customs that you have permission to take the child abroad. It also states that should any medical decisions need to be made that her mum is quite happy for us to authorise that too.

Chances are you won't need the letter anyway but better to be safe than sorry. We were on the Eurostar coming back from France a couple of years ago and a family had a child with them who wasn't related, the customs tore a strip off them for not having a consent letter from the childs parents. Not something we'd given much thought to before that!

 

[darthtatty]

yeah ive heard that people travelling to european countries have had problems. youd think theyd be easier Although im guessing that because its easier, theyre more aware.

Personally Id get a letter but not show it unless asked. I know people have taken letters and shown them but theyve been waved away. The US prefers things more offical and like I said before anyone could have written it.
Its more about peace of mind really and as the PP mentioned, could be handy if any medical treatment was needed.

 

[MrRomance]

I'm taking my cousins 9 year old to WDW next year but her mum has just said I'll have to find out if she'll be able to fly with me since I'm not her parent?
That thought didn't wen occur to me. Any ideas?

We have some experience of this and there are no hard and fast rules. You may be able to travel and enter the US without question, but equally, it can cause a problem. To cover yourself you will need a letter of authorisation signed by anyone who has Parental Responsibility for the child (usually both parents) and a copy of their passport or ID to confirm their signature.

We adopted our children (they were my cousin's children by birth) and our first trip the adoption wasn't final so we took a letter from their social worker. MY mum has also taken our elder daughter to Florida and we had to give our consent (even though we were travelling the same day on a different flight). It may be no problem at all, but it's best to cover your bases.

 

[match]

I would take a look at the website of the us immigration service. They say on there that you need a letter from the parents and recommend that it's notorised ( I think this means witnessed by a lawyer? ) . I have travelled 6 or so times with my son ( from age 6-15) always without his dad and only got asked once when he was a teenager and he was able to explain himself that his dad knew and offered to ring his dad for her on his phone. The officer was fairly nasty and told me off for not having a letter and gave me a lecture why it was necessary with abductions etc. This was in Atlanta but I think Orlando are more used to kids travelling with all sorts of relatives/ friends. Saying that we've just got back and I didn't get a letter done this time either and we travelled via Atlanta and JFK . I figured with a 15 year old hulk nobody would believe I would have a chance to make him do something he didn't want!

 

[irisheyes123]

I have done it plenty of time with younger sister nephew, nephews friend and brother in law and my friends son who was 1 and a half the first time and 2 the 2nd time. I never had a problem never asked for anything but I did always carry a letter from the parents just in case.

 

[VailaTigger]

When my DH and I took his two sons, it was before we were married, so I had a different surname to them.

We were asked at Immigration in Orlando if we had any kind of permission letter from the other parent (Mummy). We did. The officer was happy that we had a letter from Mummy (with addresses, full names etc) which had been signed, then the signature witnessed by someone else (non family member).

We did actually get this letter notarised (signed by a solicitor), but the immigration officer said the notarisation wasn't necessary.

Next time we go, even though I now have the same surname, we'll take a letter, signed and witnessed as before, but won't bother with the notarisation.

There was a template letter on the US immigration website which we based ours on.

Hope that helps!