you should find all the info you need in takins someone else's child abroad thread

wizard

Thanks Wizard
have reads all the posts, but still felt a little confused, so i contacted direct holidays who i have booked with. An operator there told me that i don't need any letter at all and in her words said "grandparents can take their grandchildren on holiday anytime that they want" which i feel is a bit strange so i will ring again on Monday morning to check again. I can write a letter and my daughter will sign no problem, it was the thought that i had to go to a solicitor and pay for a letter just to travel on top of all the other expenses. Anyone out there who have traveled with grandchildren? especially very young ones. (my grandchild is only 2)

No you dont need letter from your daughter regarding taking granchild on holiday. I have taken my granchildren numerous times without any letter, and had no problem.

Definitely not. As long as she has a passport you're fine.

we always take, our grandaughter with us.i would never go on holiday,without her.we have never had a problem & never had a letter,from her parents.she has been,as close as spain & as far as hawaii & we have never been questioned.
enjoy your holiday & i hope your grandaughter,brings you,as much pleasure,as ours,does us.
tracy

Very simple answer. Yes you do.

If you are challenged at the airport you will not be allowed to travel without written authority from the legal parent/guardian. They are also supposed to ask the question and confirm.

Yes I know lots of people have never had a problem, but it is a fact that people do take children out of the jurisdiction of the courts. The use of a third party/relative is not unusual where custody battles are taking place.

For anyone who does not know technically Scotland counts as a foreign country when children are subject to orders make by an English court. The law in Scotland is different.

fwh

We were questioned the first time we ever took our grandaughter away and custom's phoned her parent's so I now carry a letter ever time we go just in case.

To be on the safe side I would take a signed letter of consent (giving parents' home address and contact details). I'm taking daughter's best friend with us next week, and even though she is 16 (not a young child) I will still be asking her mum for a letter, just to avoid any potential problems.
A friend of mine let her son go to Florida with his grandparents, they were questioned at immigration in Florida and then during the holiday the little boy became poorly with a chest infection and the doctors refused to treat him without speaking to his mum on the phone first.

we took my daughters friend age 9 to euro disney 2 weeks ago and never got asked at the airport but still i wouldnt risk it, i also got a consent letter from the mother should she need any medical needs so i was authorised to allow this, i think both are important

karen

I wouldn't risk going without a letter of consent and as Karen(ellie-meg) says you may need it as consent for medical treatment. You may not ever be asked for it, but if you haven't got one, you will not be allowed to travel.
On our way back from Turkey last year, myself and my grandson (aged 5) were both questioned i.e.
his date of birth, what relationship was I to him and that was even though his mum and dad were present but at another passport check desk, with their other children....
You can never be too careful!!!

Denny

ive often wondered about this, we travelled to turkey last year as a family, we are all one name but my grandaughter is under her dads name, we could have been taking any child out of the country we were never asked anything

nuttynet...

this question comes up a couple of times a year.. and although many people have taken someone Else's child [this include grand children/niece's/nephews etc] and not had a problem the recommended course of action is to have a letter of consent and the other documents and authorisation's as quoted in previous post.. how would the child feel [or you for that matter]if you were refused leave to take the said child out of the country once at the airport... and yes it dose happen

wizard

i feel that my thread was misinterperated i meant i cant understand how it is possible to take a child with a different name abroad, if we had been stopped we the birth certifacate and a letter from the dad. as this was just after the maddie inccident i was shocked we were not asked.

nuttynet wrote:

i cant understand how it is possible to take a child with a different name abroad

My children don't have the same surname as me (I never married their dad) and I've never been stopped. If I was ever asked for consent from their father this would have been very difficult as he has been dead for 5 years
If there ever had been a problem, a quick check with the passport agency would show me as their parent. However, as the child I'm taking with me at Easter (daughter's friend) is not my child, I have asked her mum for a letter of consent to travel.