Consent for a child to travel abroad (zgoda na wyjazd dziecka za granicę)

Published byDocMuse

A parent's written consent for a minor to travel abroad from Poland — with the other parent, grandparents, a camp or anyone else: the parent's and child's details, the travel document, countries, dates and the adult in charge. Polish law sets no official form, but parents decide important matters for a child together, and border guards may check consent when a child travels without one parent. There is room below the signature for a notary's certification.

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Common questions

Does a child travelling abroad with one parent need the other parent's consent?

Parents decide important matters for a child together (art. 97 § 2 of the Family and Guardianship Code), and a longer trip abroad usually counts as one. No rule requires consent to be shown at every border, but under the Schengen Borders Code border guards pay particular attention to children travelling with one adult and may ask for confirmation of the other parent's consent. If the parents disagree, the guardianship court decides.

When is it worth having a travel consent for a child notarised?

Certifying the signature is not compulsory, but it helps when the child travels with a third person or outside the European Union, when the parents are in conflict, or when the destination country or the carrier asks for it. The notary certifies only that the signature is genuine; the wording stays as the parent wrote it. Some countries also want a sworn translation or an apostille.

How long should a child's travel consent be valid?

Ideally for one specific trip: the countries, the dates out and back, and the name of the adult in charge. A general or open-ended consent raises more questions at the border and is easier to challenge. For regular trips — to a parent living abroad, say — a longer period such as a school year can be given, naming the people the child travels with.