Additional requirements for minors

Depending on your destination country, you are required to provide passports or other travel documents for any minors travelling with you.

In some countries, travel consent from parents or guardians is required for minors travelling alone or in the company of only one parent or guardian. Consent may be required either when leaving or entering the country. Some countries only require consent for underage nationals (their own citizens) leaving the country, whereas others monitor minors of any nationality coming into the country.

To find out whether the authorization of minors will be required on a particular journey, contact your travel agency or the local authorities of the country you are departing from as well as the embassy of your destination country.

Children need to have their own passport to travel from 26 June 2012 onwards

The Finnish police has informed, that children need to have their own passport to travel from 26 June 2012 onwards. Children of EU nationals can no longer travel by having their names added to their parents’ passports.

In August 2006 Finland still issued passports into which parents could have their children added. Such passports are still valid non-biometric 10-year passports. From 26 June 2012, these 10-year passports can only be used by the primary holder of the passport (the parent) until the document expires. Any children that are included in the passport may no longer travel with the passport from 26 June 2012.

During the first few months of the new EU legislation coming into effect, the implementation may vary slightly in each European Union member state. Some of the member states have informed that they will enforce the new legislation at their border crossing points immediately when the time limit expires on 26 June. It needs to be noted that for example airlines are implementing EU legislation when checking the passenger’s right to travel on a flight.

The Finnish Border Guard allows children included in their parent’s Finnish passport to return to Finland even after 26 June, but leaving the country will not be permitted.