In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The best thing will be to double check with the nearest Italian consulate to the parents' address; however, it would not hurt if the child is given a letter from the parents attached to the passport, stating the purpose of the trip, who is looking after him in Italy, including your address and contact details and the fact that you will be authorised to make any decisions regarding medical or any other needs, on their behalf, while the child is with you in Italy. You will probably have no use for it... but it is always good to have in case it is needed. Enjoy your holiday with your grandson!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Gala Placidia;87570]...it would not hurt if the child is given a letter from the parents attached to the passport...[/quote]
For what it's worth, I think the letter is not a bad idea, but I do question the suggestion that it be presented to passport control along with the child's passport.
My approach to bureaucrats who have the power to make my life difficult is to do what they ask, but only that. Anything more or less raises suspicions and invites extra scrutiny. Giving passport control anything more than what they are expecting (a passport) seems to me an invitation for them to suddenly want to spend a lot of time checking things out in even greater depth. And who knows what obscure rule or operating procedure they might then dredge up.
I concur with the suggestion that the parents' local consulate be contacted, but assuming they say it won't be a problem, I suggest you leave it at that as far as passport control is concerned. But also seems to me a good idea to have something from the parents saying you can make decisions on their behalf in an emergency.
Al
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We sent our children to Italy with their grandparents a couple of years ago with no problems, but they were 15 and 17 (Italian passports). I'm sure it's OK, but as your grandson is only 8 years old, it's probably best just to double check with the Italian Consulate/Embassy and/or with English Customs assuming he has an English passport, in case anything has changed recently. Although Italy and Britain are part of the EU, each country may have different rules. For Customs, a letter from the parents is worthless as anyone can write a letter and sign it although it's worth having one in case of emergency when you're in Italy.
Also, I'm with Allan on his point on beurocrats, I only ever give exactly what they ask for and nothing else.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=AllanMason;87574]For what it's worth, I think the letter is not a bad idea, but I do question the suggestion that it be presented to passport control along with the child's passport.
My approach to bureaucrats who have the power to make my life difficult is to do what they ask, but only that. Anything more or less raises suspicions and invites extra scrutiny. Giving passport control anything more than what they are expecting (a passport) seems to me an invitation for them to suddenly want to spend a lot of time checking things out in even greater depth. And who knows what obscure rule or operating procedure they might then dredge up.
I concur with the suggestion that the parents' local consulate be contacted, but assuming they say it won't be a problem, I suggest you leave it at that as far as passport control is concerned. But also seems to me a good idea to have something from the parents saying you can make decisions on their behalf in an emergency.
Al[/quote]
Sorry, I was not clear enough when I suggested the letter, I did not mean to present it to the Italian authorities, it would be unnecessary. What I meant was to put the letter in a safe place together with all the child's documents in case it is needed. The letter should contain all necessary information to contact parents and grandparents in case of need.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
sorry to anyone who was reading my reply above .. .it was way off topic and on reflection probably not appropriate for a thread on general travel ... I'll move my post content to the circolo in case anyone is interested.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
sorry Juliancall ... I had a bout of conscience (unlike me but hey!) and I decided to move my post to the circolo di conversatione. I'll reply to you there ...
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Deleted above post as wouldnt make sense now - will also relocate to circulo
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Hi Noelle, when we have taken my kids' friends abroad I have always asked their parents to provide a letter authorising me to take them out of the country. No one has ever questioned us but I just felt it could save a lot of hastle if we had it just in case.
Jackie
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
You won't have a problem, we've travelled with friends of my daughter (aged 10, different names obviously) and never been questioned.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
For US citizens, we need a letter of authority signed by the parents & notarised in order to LEAVE the US with any minor child not one's own -- we travel with our grandchildren and without their parents quite a bit, including Italy -- have never had to produce the letter entering Italy, but have had to produce it when checking in to leave the US.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thank you all so much for your helpful replies. I will get my son to contact the Italian embassy .Thanks for the suggestion about getting a letter to give us authority to agree to any medical procedures in case of emergency.
[quote=noelle;87555]We are bringing our eight year old grandson with us to Italy in July for a holiday . I was just wondering , although he has his own passport and has the same surname as us would we need a letter from his parents for Italian immigration . We have never brought him with us before and I just want to be prepared.[/quote]
Assuming you are UK/EU nationals, no you do not need a letter for immigration. Over the last few years our now 10 year old daughter has travelled over here with Grandma on a couple of occasions and was not treated any differently from normal at immigration.
Whether the same is true of non-EU nationals I'm afraid I have no idea.