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Traveling with Grandchildren / Documents

Aside from passports, vaccine cards, etc. What documentation do I need in Spain to show that I have parents' permission for them to travel and also same for medical treatment?

Posted by
23177 posts

Basically you need a typical power of attorney for medical and travel. You will need the travel releases signed by both parents to get on the plane in the US. We have those papers all the time even when traveling with the parents.

Posted by
891 posts

I have flown back and forth with 2 granddaughters California to Colorado. First trip I was concerned but it went smooth. My son and daughter law went to a notary and signed a permission for both girls to travel with me.They also signed a permission for me to get medical care for the girls with the notary and included insurance info.

The TSA gentleman asked my older grandaughter who was 7, who the lady was that she was traveling with and she looked at him like he was crazy and said that's Nona and this is my sister. Maybe it helped that we have same last name.

I don't know about overseas travel, I would make sure I had this kind of paperwork and passports and expressly note that you have permission to travel overseas with them. Don't know how old your grandchildren are, mine were young. Have a good trip and let us know how it goes!

Posted by
3938 posts

We’ve done this with our 2 granddaughters on several trips to Europe. Their parents create or download a parental permission form for travel and a separate one for medical care. They sign both with a notary. The girls were asked about where they were going and who they were traveling with twice. They just chatted with the immigration officer and we didn’t need to show the paperwork but we had it. Thank goodness we’ve never had to use the medical permission when they’ve traveled with us but we have it if needed. This is created, dated and signed for each trip.

EDIT: We all have the same last names on our passports.

Posted by
23177 posts

I know some are taking this pretty lightly but should not. There is a problem with bad divorces and kids being taken out of the country by one parent or grandparents. When it happens it is a mess. So be thankful that the airlines and TSA are doing their job.

Posted by
2252 posts

Traveling with my granddaughters, I basically carried the parental permissions and medical powers of attorney as described above. We all have different last names. I was never asked to produce anything although I was well prepared and the girls were 17&18. As a side note, when we returned home from Paris to Denver, one of the officials monitoring the re-entry line noticed I had a global entry pass and allowed all three of us access to the “fast” lane.