What Documents Do You Need to Travel Abroad with a Child?

Every summer and every New Year school holiday, the same questions come up: is the child's passport enough, does the father need the mother's consent, can a grandmother take her grandchild abroad, and what language should the consent be in. The answers sit on two levels: what Georgian law requires when leaving Georgia, and what the destination country, the transit country and the airline require.

Below we first list the basic documents and then go through three scenarios: both parents, one parent and a third person. At the end of the article there is a short checklist to go through one week before departure.

Basic documents in every case

• The child's passport - the child needs a passport of their own. Check its validity: Schengen countries require the passport to be valid for at least 3 months after the planned date of departure from the Schengen area, and other countries have their own requirements;
• Birth certificate - confirms who the child's parents are. It is especially important if the parent and the child have different surnames. For use abroad it is often translated: birth certificate translation;
• Visa - if the destination country requires a visa from Georgian citizens, the child needs a separate visa as well;
• Travel insurance - mandatory for some countries' visas, and recommended in other cases;
• The accompanying person's documents - a valid passport and, where needed, a visa.

This list is the same for every scenario. The differences begin when the child is not accompanied by both parents.

Three scenarios: whose consent is needed

Special cases

• One parent has died - instead of the other parent's consent, carry the death certificate and, where needed, its translation;
• A parent's rights are restricted, or the child lives with one parent under a court decision - carry the court decision and its translation;
• The father is not named on the birth certificate - the birth certificate itself confirms this, so its translation will serve you;
• The parents cannot agree - a notary cannot resolve the dispute. Such a matter is decided by a court;
• The other parent is abroad - they can sign the consent at a Georgian consulate, in Georgian, or before a local notary. In the second case an apostille or legalization and a Georgian translation are usually required. More detail: how to send a power of attorney from abroad.

School trips, camps and sports competitions

When a child travels with an organized group, they are accompanied not by a parent but by a teacher, a coach or a camp leader - in other words, this is the third scenario. In such a case:

• the consent names a specific accompanying person, not just "the school" or "the club";
• if the accompanying person may change, two people can be named in the consent, each with full details;
• the organizer often has its own checklist - ask for it in advance and compare it with the text of the consent;
• if the group passes through several countries, every country must be listed in the consent.

Organizers often order the consent translations together for the whole group. In that case we check each child's name against that child's passport individually, because a single mistake in a group list stops exactly the child it concerns.

What is checked at the airport

The airline staff and the border officer ask the same four questions: is the child's passport valid, who is accompanying the child, who that person is to the child, and is there proof that they may accompany the child. The last two questions are answered by the birth certificate and the consent. So keep the documents together in one folder, originals and translations, and not in a suitcase that has already been checked in.

What the consent must say

At the border and at the airline check-in desk, the consent is compared with the child's passport, so it must contain:

• full details of the parent giving consent;
• the child's first name, surname, date of birth, personal number and passport number;
• the first name, surname and passport number of the accompanying person, if the child is not travelling with a parent;
• the destination country and, where needed, the transit countries;
• the travel period - with a small margin, if the tickets can be rescheduled.

If the child gets a new passport after the consent is signed, the consent will still show the old number. In that case it is better to sign the consent again. We can help you prepare the text: notarized statements and consents.

When the consent needs a translation

At the Georgian border a Georgian consent is read without a translation. A translation is needed when the consent or the birth certificate is checked by foreign staff: at airline check-in, in the transit country, at the destination country's border or during a visa application. In most cases an English translation is enough, but some countries ask for one in their own language.

In the translation the child's name is written in Latin letters exactly as in the passport, and in dates the month is written as a word, so that 03.07.2026 is not read as 7 March. The translation is notarized and, if the destination country requires it, an apostille is added as well. More detail: parental consent translation.

Checklist one week before departure

• the child's passport is valid and its validity meets the destination country's requirement;
• the visa, if needed, has already been issued;
• you have the birth certificate and, where needed, its translation with you;
• the consent shows the child's current passport number and the correct details of the accompanying person;
• the period stated in the consent covers both travel dates;
• the requirements of the destination country, the transit country and the airline have been checked;
• the translation, if needed, has been notarized;
• you also have copies of all the documents on your phone.

If any of these items turns out to be needed in the last few days, the translation is ready the same or next day, with notarization.

How to order a translation

Frequently asked questions

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