Travelling abroad with grandchildren

Yes that’s true - google it from a reliable source

It's because of the child trafficking or parents being separated/divorced and children being taken out of the country against the law before a case is settled.
You can understand if airlines are " fussy ".

I had a hell of a lot of paperwork to supply so that my grandson could go away with his brothers family, and I had to write a covering letter, too.

Get a permission letter with a contact phone number from their parents I did this when I took my GD on a flight, they asked her who I was and read the letter. If it keeps a child safe.

My daughter had to provide a solicitors letter when my grandchildren visited their American grandparents.

Letters from the parents giving the children permission to travel with so and so even down to the flight they will be on. Also, be prepared for the immigration officers to speak to the the children in a friendly way whilst very obviously asking questions designed to back up the information they have. In fact its also the case that the accompanying adult isn't asked a thing and everything the officers need to know is discreetly asked of the children. I travel with my grandchildren a lot internationally as well as on internal UK flights, the procedure doesn't take up much time at all and its really no bother.

Thanks all, I'm not discounting the need to be careful but what is odd is that, apart from the solicitor's letter - and maybe even in that case - all of these documents have no guarantee of being genuine and no easy way to verify this.

It reminds me of when my partner asked me to do something with the bank for him because he was busy and I called from work. They wouldn't talk to me because I was a woman so clearly not my partner so I just got a male colleague to call instead.

Petera

In my area, you have to get the letter notarized. Hubby is from the UK and we've been back to visit twice since our marriage. Hubby's ex has provided us a notarized letter for my stepdaughter. There's an online template that she's always used. We also have to carry copies of daughter's birth certificate and I believe the custody arrangement order as well. (It's been a couple of years since we last visited so I can't entirely remember.)

Ironically, we have never been asked to produce those documents. My suspicion is that it's because all three of us have the same last name.

Petera, I assumed people would understand there is also a need for formal identification alongside the letters.

The identification is easy in our case as where we live we have a national identity card system that’s also linked to our passports and drivers license. It has our photograph on the front along with our signature and the chip contains our finger prints along with other information.

Have to say at the moment I would not travel abroad with grand-children- whatever the airlines say. Covid is truly still around and the worst thing would be for either you (and/or OH if you'd be travelling with one) to ger Covid when abroad and have the kids with you without the parents and get stranded. Does not bear thinking about.

Would anyone here consider taking grandchildren abroad without parents at the moment, I wonder?

No to that idea!

My sister took children from her first marriage and her partners children to visit the partner who was working in Oman for 6 months. They lived together. My sister had reverted to her maiden name, so 3 surnames.
No problems on the way out but on the way back?. The youngest didn’t help. He is autistic and in a total strop, he was 9, he announced that he hated myDS and was not going home
with her, luckily the officer believed sister and the other children. She and the children’s father now share the same name and are old enough to travel on their own.
Get everything in place before you go is my advice.

indeed- but never ever in a Covid-19 epidemic. Can you imagine if you were unable to return home?