Soon I’ll be accompanying my girlfriend’s nephew to his gymnastics competition. We’ll be flying from Boston to Las Vegas.
Do I need any kind of document or letter from his parents, giving permission for him to travel with me?
If it matters, he’s 10 years old, the flights won’t take us out of the U.S., and the airlines involved will be Delta and US Airways.
Personally, I would err on the side of discretion and have such a document with me. I would also have them include something that says you can take him for medical treatment, if necessary.
Contact the airlines and ask.
Regardless of what answers you might get, it wouldn’t hurt to have a signed letter from the parents, along with contact information. You never know who might raise a stink (airline clerk, TSA, busybody).
It can’t hurt to have a signed letter even though technically it isn’t (AFAIK) required for non-international travel.
Of cource you need the parent’s permission to take a 10 year old child anywhere. If they find out you have taken their child without their permission, you could be charged with kidnapping which is a Federal offense. At a minimum you should discuss the gymnastics competition with them and make sure they are okay with it.
It probably would be a good idea to have them sign a permission form to present to airlines, hotels, etc. and have available if you are stopped by law enforcement.
I think a notarized letter would be even better. I wouldn’t find a signed letter very compelling if I had nothing to compare the signatures to.
Since the kid is participating in a gymnastics competition where there would seem to be a non-trivial chance of him being injured, I would make sure that the appropriate forms or whatever are in place for you, his coach, or whoever to approve medical care in case his parent’s cannot be reached.
Nitpick hi-jack: How does getting a notarized letter provide anything for the reader to compare signatures to? All the notarization does is give comfort that the Notary ascertained that the person signing the letter is who they say they were.
Because the Notary is required to verify the identity of the individual, which would require a signed photo ID - usually drivers license or passport.
We always had one. It is also absolutely essential in crossing borders, even from New York into and out of Canada.
That’s assuming that the random busybody or TSA person has the braincells and civic virtue to know what a notary does. I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one.
I’d say get the parents to write you a letter - notarized if you can - to keep for travel and medical authorization.
Then call the gymnastics people and let them record you as the “guardian” for the purposes of the competition.
Keep the parent’s and gymnastic coordinator or receptionist numbers and names on your person.
In addition, I’d have the kid keep a second letter on his person, and have the kid memorize the parental contact info so if some overprotective person comes over, you can let the kid talk to the overprotective person and give them contact info (which they’ll trust more coming from the kid than from you) to call the parents and get a “real live” confirmation on the spot. (I’d warn the parents that this might happen so they’re not confused.)
Is this a lot of hassle?
Not as much as having TSA or a random busybody call social services and confiscating your not-even-your-own-nephew while you’re being held in a strange city getting investigated for possible kidnapping and child endangerment.
I don’t know if this makes any difference whatsoever, but I got a valid state ID for each of my two sons before their first plane flight. Each of them took a plane trip before they were two years old. No one demanded to see it, but everyone I showed it to (e.g. ticket counter agent) examined it, and I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to have.
I didn’t mean to imply that it would give them anything to compare the signature to, but that absent such a notary seal would provide some measure of proof that the signatures were legit.
You need the parent(s)’ permission to take the kid, but it’s unlikely TSA will ask you for any documentation if the kid is 10 and able to speak for himself, so you don’t need their written permission…
Different last names for parents and children are common, so an adult vouching for the fact that he is accompanying a minor of this age would get you through security and the Gate Agent will not question the details of a relationship.
I would not personally go anywhere with someone else’s child unless I had written, hand-signed permission on my person for both the trip and to act as a parental proxy for permission to handle emergencies. While it’s true this is easily forged (and I would not personally bother to notarize it), most of the time those of us looking for permission to treat emergently are covering our butts and not yours. If you forge it and present it to us as legit, well that’s your crime–not our negligence in making an attempt to get permission to treat.
Having Just gone through this…it appears yes. My 17 year old daughter’s 20 year old boyfriend needed this note from us when they flew down to Florida to see his family*.
*I know…you are going WTF…but I trust her completely and am far more worried about her becoming a hermit/recluse without the ability to face the outside world than about shenanigans going on. She has been seeing a shrink for many years now and over the last year see a glimmer of hope so when she asked me if she could go to Florida I didn’t really even think twice. I was just ecstatic she asked/wanted to go.
Who “needed” the note? The boyfriend’s family? It wasn’t the airlines as most major carrriers will let kids 12 and older fly by themselves without any type of accompaniment.
My daughter was refused entry to the US as she didn’t have a letter from the father of her son authorising her to travel out of the UK with him.
She has been all over the world with him and it was her second time in the US. She has never been challenged before, always passed straight through immigration/customs.
The immigration authorities were very abusive and separated her from her son (who was four years old) leaving him alone, frightened and crying while they shouted at her in an office behind closed doors.
She has yet to receive an apology and the US is on her blacklist now, not that they would care.
woooooooooooo!!!
Yeah, pretty much what she thought but she won’t be back.
I’ve always written one when I send my kids off with someone - be it Grandma or a family friend. So far, only once has it been needed (for an urgent but not emergent medical situation, and they did call me to verify the authenticity of the letter.) Better safe than sorry, I think.
It’s a boilerplate I simply drop new dates and names into. At the bottom, I cut and paste a scanned image of both sides of the kiddo’s insurance card, so it’s all on one sheet of paper.
I am not a lawyer, of course, but it seems to cover the basics. Like I said, it’s only been asked for once, so I don’t know if it would pass court muster, but it should appease most people in most circumstances.
If you want something written by a lawyer, you can use the forms at this link for free.
See: Solo Parent Alert: Documents for Travel with a Minor
Sounds like your daughter may be blacklisting a lot of countries. A permission letter for parents traveling solo across international borders is common practice these days.