View Full Version : travelling with someone elses child
sunseeker
16-05-2004, 04:03
Hi
We are of to sunny Florida next Easter, with our two children. Our eldest is also taking a friend, they will both be 15. Does anyone know whether we need any sort of authorisation from her friends parents for her to leave and enter the countries?
Look forward to your replies.
Dave.
you will need a letter from the parents stating you are taking the child with there permission..
also remember you will need to fill in another form at customs at orlando in the childs family name..
ctgirlscout
16-05-2004, 07:13
I would also recommend bringing a medical authorization with you from the parents, as well as a copy of their insurance card, in the event you need to seek medical attention for the child. Otherwise, unless it is life or death, a doctor will not treat.
zerotone
17-05-2004, 02:03
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by jeffc
you will need a letter from the parents stating you are taking the child with there permission..
also remember you will need to fill in another form at customs at orlando in the childs family name..
[/quote]
Jeffc
You have got me worried now. We took our sons best friend age 8 with us to villa in Orlando at Easter and didn't have any written consent from his parents. How do you know that this is required or are you just pre-empting any problems that may occur?
Jane
We had a guest who took a pile of grandchildren to our home and he found out from the US Embassy that you don't need anything in writing in order to get them into the USA, just the usual passports and a visa waiver form.
However, what you do need is written permission from the parents that medical treatment can be undertaken on the authorisation of the person who is taking them in an emergency situation if the parents cannot be contacted. Who knows if someone is going to break their leg, get appendicitis or whatever and need treatment?
we took a friend of my son with us last year and we were asked by the airline (virgin) to prove we had the parents consent to take there child out of the uk.
think that a case of abuction had just happened so it might have just been that..
but if you think of it logically you could be anybody taking anybodys child...
sorry if i worried you....
I am taking 3 x 16 year old girls with us, plus my own daughter this summer, and based on what others on this forum told me, this is what I have asked the parents to ensure that their daughter's have with them for the trip PLUS the letter that I have asked the parents to sign for me:
Please ensure that your daughter has packed, in her hand luggage (which should not be bigger than a normal sized rucksack), the following items:
1. Passport, 10 year, valid for our entire stay in America.
2. Insurance Policy.
3. Airline ticket, unless it is an E-Ticket in which case she needs the confirmation documentation from BA.
4. Letter from you enabling us to make any emergency medical decisions, on your behalf, should anything happen to your daughter, and we cannot get hold of you straight away.
This letter should state the following please:
YOUR NAME
HOME ADDRESS
DATE
To whom it may concern
I, PARENT FULL NAME, give my daughter, DAUGHTER’S FULL NAME, permission to travel with Carla Thomas and/or Kevin Thomas. I hereby give Carla Thomas and/or Kevin Thomas authorization to seek any and all medical treatment for my child, if and when necessary.
YOUR SIGNATURE
YOUR NAME IN FULL
5. Toiletries and a change of clothes. These items are just in case any of the suitcases go missing. This has never happened to us before, but I want to make sure that we can all get through the first night just in case one does go astray.
6. Anything she wishes to read/do on the plane.
Also
7. Small suitcase to check into the hold. No need to pack for England as we have laundry facilities!!!!!
We wanted to do a "belt and braces", which is why we have said that they should mention me and/or my husband in the letter, just in case one of us has a problem too and is unable to act in loco parentis.
I had exactly the same need a few years back and while the letter above is good a U.S. hospital will NOT act on it. It could have been written by you on your villa computer before you set out for the Hospital.
The letter is good but you must have it Notarised before you leave the UK
Dave
chrizzy100
17-05-2004, 18:13
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DaveL
I had exactly the same need a few years back and while the letter above is good a U.S. hospital will NOT act on it. It could have been written by you on your villa computer before you set out for the Hospital.
The letter is good but you must have it Notarised before you leave the UK
Regards Dave
[/quote]
I think I remember having our letter notarised when my parents took my daughter to FL for 3 weeks when she was 7...and that was years ago...US hospitals get sued over anything...no matter how small if something goes wrong.....so they'll want to do everything by the book.......
armagedon
17-05-2004, 19:56
Hi, i travell all over the world and most of the time to the states, always take my neices or nephews with me and have never had a problem, (there surnames r different to mine as well)
mark
The only time you will have a problem is when you need to prove you have authority to allow a medical proceedure on the children.
Dave
zerotone
18-05-2004, 04:17
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by DaveL
I had exactly the same need a few years back and while the letter above is good a U.S. hospital will NOT act on it. It could have been written by you on your villa computer before you set out for the Hospital.
The letter is good but you must have it Notarised before you leave the UK
Dave[/quote]Even though this was not my initial posting I would like to thank everyone for their replies. Guess we were lucky that our sons friend did not require any medical treatment. He may be travelling with us next year and so we will make sure we have the relevant authorisation. Does the letter have to be notarised by a 'Public Notary' or can anyone in authority sign it i.e. teacher, doctor?
Thanks
Jane
The parents will need to go to a 'Public Notary' and take there passports with them. That way the Notary can stamp the document with the seal to say that the information within it is correct.
Dave
sunseeker
19-05-2004, 02:40
Many thanks to all of your responses. It looks like an innocent but obviously valid posting, has opened up a whole can of worms here.
orlandobabe
01-05-2005, 06:24
it seems to be different rules depending on who is working on the day.
When my husband brought our grandson over in January the only reason he was let in the country (he's 18 months) was because
a ) he has the same surname as us
b) I was already here.
They disregarded the letter from my son-and said we should have photocopied my son's passport.
No-one mentioned having letters or medical forms notorised.
Thank goodness it wasn't my daughter's son-he has a different name from us.
It will be interesting to see if they allow him back out of the country in 2 weeks time-as he has a different name to her and the baby's father will already have gone home!