Do I need to issue a power of attorney for a child when traveling abroad?

Annually, when planning a holiday with minor children, parents are asked whether a power of attorney is required to leave the child abroad. In response, there are ambiguous reports - notaries, lawyers, employees of travel agencies express a dual opinion. According to some - the consent of one parent to leave the child with another is not legal, some consider it necessary to design this document. Meanwhile, back in June 2007, the Border Guard Service under the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation clarified this issue.

According to the official letter of the Border Service, Russian legislation does not prevent the departure of a minor accompanied by one or both spouses. A power of attorney for a child should be issued only in case of traveling abroad without accompanying the parents. Thus, such a widespread scheme of organizing a child's rest with a grandmother or other relatives will still require the formulation of the consent of both parents for the departure of a minor son or daughter. A similar need exists for organizing the recreation of children traveling abroad as part of a tourist group. At the same time, there are often problems when it is required to issue a power of attorney for the child from the second parent if the spouses have issued a divorce. Typically, the difficulty lies in the fact that the location of the second parent may not be known, or he for some reason decided to prevent the child from leaving the country.

In any case, such situations are not hopeless. In the first situation, a document is required to recognize the second parent as missing (which is formalized as a court decision). In the second case, if the parent has issued a statement of his disagreement on the child's departure abroad, the application can also be appealed in court. However, consideration of complex situations will require additional time.

In the laws of the Russian Federation there is no mention of the need to show consent on the border from the second parent, therefore, if a mother or father is traveling with a child on the border, then such demands from the Russian services are without any basis.

Nevertheless, many years after receiving clarification from the Russian authorities, the problem still remains burning. The reason lies in the fact that travel agencies, when making travel vouchers for children abroad, are insured in case of problems with border services of other states on the territory of which the baby is scheduled to rest.

If we talk about the rest of the child in the Crimea, the Ukrainian services do not impose any additional requirements on the documents confirming the right of entry of a minor resting on the territory of Ukraine. However, the laws of the countries are different, and therefore Russian lawyers, notaries, and tourist agents continue to insist that a power of attorney for the child is necessary. If it is difficult to accept consent from the second parent, we can advise, first of all, to study the laws of the host country-perhaps there will be no need for such permission.

Nevertheless, sending a child to rest abroad, you should check the documents for their legitimacy, are they overdue, and only the originals should be taken to the trip. Crossing the border even in such a simple case as the train journey, with the next transit and without stops across the territory of Ukraine with the final point of arrival in Russia, will require the submission of original documents - birth certificates, parents' and children's passports (if any). It should not be forgotten that birth certificates should be marked with citizenship.

Also, mothers, who have changed their surname or who originally had a surname different from the child's surname, should be provided with a document confirming the fact of kinship. As a rule, it is either a certificate of marriage, or its dissolution - documents that reflect the basis for changing the name.

A power of attorney for a child for traveling abroad can be written by any of the parents. Forms of similar documents are available in almost every notary, who must certify them.