Traveling Around the World with children can be a significant challenge to those not familiar with it. Apart from the hourly bathroom dispatches and the additional packing, there are many other things to bear in mind if you’re thinking about booking travel for the family.

If the following article isn’t what you’re looking for, the AirTreks blog did a series on family travel. Take a look!

Child Fares

According to the airlines, a child is anyone aged 11 and under.

A child between the ages of 2 and 11 will require their own seat on the plane and need to pay for the ticket as dictated by the airline’s child discount. A child under the age of 2 is considered an infant and can get travel in one of two different ways: as an “infant” (where the infant sits in the parent’s lap for the duration of the trip) or as a “child” where the infant has its own seat.

Child discounts usually run between 80-90% of the adult fare including taxes, but please note that not all airlines offer discounted pricing for children. If you’re traveling with children, check with your Personal Travel Consultant to see if your planned airlines give discounts for children. If not, there may be other airline alternatives (though perhaps not as convenient) to get the discount. Infant fares are usually 20-30% of the adult fare including taxes. If you’d like your infant to occupy a seat to allow you the extra space you would simply buy a child fare for them.

Documentation

Traveling Around the World with children may require you to have additional documentation, especially if only one of the parents is traveling. If you are traveling alone with your child, you should always bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate (particularly if you have different surnames), as well as a notarized note from the other parent stating specifically that the child is allowed to travel internationally with you.

Many countries (including the USA, Canada, and Mexico) have recently introduced special rules for children crossing international borders and for issuance of passports.  These rules are intended mainly to prevent kidnapping, illegal trafficking of children and for child custody disputes.

Some of these requirements have changed recently so they may be unfamiliar to you if you’ve traveled with children in the past.  Please check the current rules to ensure that you aren’t caught by surprise. See below for helpful website links.

Unless a child is accompanied by both parents, any international traveling child under the age of 18 must have with them:

• A valid passport and any necessary visas.
• Notarized permission to travel from both parents.  (The note should read as such: “I, Jane Doe, am the mother of John Doe-Roe.  A copy of the birth certificate of John Doe-Roe, showing that the parents of John Doe-Roe are Jane Doe and Richard Roe, is attached.  I, Jane Doe, authorize John Doe-Roe to obtain a passport and to travel internationally on a trip around the world from dates X to Y accompanied by his father, Richard Roe.”)

If the child is traveling with a guardian other than a parent, the guardian should have notarized proof of guardianship.  If the parents don’t have the same last name as each other and the child, the child should also have a notarized copy of their birth certificate. If the name of a parent on the birth certificate doesn’t match the name on their current passport (e.g. if it was changed at marriage, divorce, or remarriage), they should also have a notarized copy of proof of the name change, such as a marriage license or court order.

Even if a child plans to travel with both parents, it may be necessary to split up and travel separately in an emergency (for example, if one parent is injured or ill) and it may not be possible or convenient to get the required consent forms notarized quickly in a foreign country. Hence, we strongly recommend that you carry with you notarized consent forms from both parents, authorizing the child to travel with either parent.

The USA doesn’t provide a standard consent form, but the requirements are international, so the version provided by the government of Canada should be suitable for the USA, with only slight changes. It’s available in Microsoft Word and PDF formats, so you can edit it for your child’s citizenship and details:  The Canada child consent letter can be found here.

Proof of consent

Any application for a United States passport for a child under age 14 must now include proof of consent from both parents or guardians, or of sole custody or guardianship.  If both parents aren’t physically present when the passport application is submitted, proof of permission from an absent parent can take the form of a notarized statement of permission.

Note that the required permission for issuance of a United States passport (under age 14) and for international travel regardless of citizenship (under age 18) are different.  We suggest you get both forms signed and notarized at the same time if your child is under age 14. If you have any questions about these requirements, please consult the embassies or consulates of the countries you wish to visit, as well as the countries where your trip will begin and end, for their requirements for both entry and exit.  Without the documents described above, your child may be refused passage on flights and refused permission to leave and/or enter many countries.

As in all other cases, it is your responsibility to have all passports, visas, and entry and exit documents required for international travel.  No refunds will be provided if you are unable to use your tickets, delayed, or inconvenienced due to missing or defective documentation.

We hope you willl understand that these rules have been implemented in response to an increasing global problem of international child kidnapping and by parents involved in child custody disputes. All travel providers must adhere to the rules given by the state.

If you plan on traveling with your child, it’s highly recommended you register with the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program. This will immediately alert the parents of an abducted child if another passport application is initiated anywhere in the world.

For more information on relevant USA government policies and international law, see the sections of the US State Department website on International Parental Child Abduction and the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, international adoption and other special issues for international travel with children.

Health

In general plane travel is very safe for infants. The Mayo Clinic has the following advice for traveling infants:

• Doctors may advise against babies traveling within the first 6 weeks of their life since it is then that they are most vulnerable to bacteria and germs.
• Cabin pressure may cause benign ear pain in babies. Encourage pacifier use.
• Consider ways to keep your baby occupied during the flight and to hold them and walk with them regularly on longer flights.

The Center for Disease Control has thorough information on child health safety as well.

Finally, you may want to refer to either of these two websites flyingwithkids.com and travelwithyourkids.com for more specific and varied info on this subject.

Expectant Mothers

If you happen to be pregnant and are need to know your special considerations take a look at this great post by Have Kids, Will Travel. It should be all you need to know.

Or else, take a look at all their posts about traveling with a baby bump!

Again, the AirTreks Travel Blog series on family travel.

» Read: How To Choose a Traveling Companion.
» Read: 30 Useful RTW Planning Links and Websites.

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