A travel consent form for a minor carries no effect without the guardian's undertaking One traveller found that the parental travel consent supplied by a travel agency contained only a disclaimer for the agency instead of the guardian's undertaking.

Apostille Korea said it has launched a document package for minors travelling to any country. Requirements for supporting documents at immigration have tightened, yet travel agencies, embassies and notary offices explain them differently, leaving a growing number of travellers confused when they try to confirm what is needed.

When the consent form from a travel agency turned out to be void

Many parents are planning family trips or trips for their children during the bridge holiday that runs from 3 to 6 June. Countries around the world have been applying protection rules for minors strictly to prevent international crime against children, and now demand supporting travel documents firmly at entry and exit. The websites of embassies in Seoul, including those of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines, carry notices stating that entry or exit may be refused if the documents relating to a minor's travel are insufficient. Because these rules took hold internationally only recently, travel agencies, embassies and notary offices explain them differently, and applicants are often caught off guard. On the 12th a resident of Suwon surnamed Kwon, preparing to travel to Vietnam alone with a grandchild, ordered a supporting document package for minors from a travel agency. On the eve of departure, however, the parental travel consent turned out to contain only a clause placing responsibility for any problem arising during the trip on the applicant, rather than the guardian's undertaking, and a specialist office confirmed that a consent without the guardian's undertaking has no effect. The agency's head office replied only that it had no precise guidance on the matter and would take steps in future.

The paperwork changes with who travels together

The first thing a traveller should check is who is going on the trip. When a minor leaves the country with both legal guardians, a Family Relationship Certificate is required. Because the certificate is issued only in Korean, it must be translated into the language of the destination country and notarised before it can be used there. In every other case, whether the minor travels with only the father or the mother or with a third party acting as escort, a notarised Family Relationship Certificate must be accompanied by a parental travel consent showing that the guardian agreed to the trip. Legal documents used internationally have to pass through a complex sequence of translation into each country's language, notarisation and legalisation. Apostille Korea has released a document package for minors' travel to reduce this confusion.

Frequently asked questions

Source: 국제뉴스 · 2017-05-24