At the beginning of the school holidays, the State Border Guard reminds that Latvian nationals who are children under 18 years of age, when travelling independently from the Republic of Latvia to a country which is not a European Union Member State, a Schengen Agreement Member State or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, must, in addition to a valid travel document, present a notarised consent of at least one parent, power of attorney or decision of the orphanage court for the child to leave the country on his/her own. These procedures are laid down by the Latvian Cabinet Regulation No 721 of 03.08.2010 “Procedures by which Children Cross the State Border”.
This authorisation is not required for travel within the Schengen area, the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For example, a child travelling alone to our neighbouring countries Lithuania or Estonia only needs to take a passport or ID card as proof of identity.
Children who are Latvian citizens, Latvian non-citizens or stateless persons who have been granted stateless status in the Republic of Latvia (Latvian nationals) will also be able to leave Latvia independently or accompanied by an authorised person (without presenting additional documents - for example, notarised parents' consent) not only to Schengen Agreement Member States but also to European Union Member States that have not joined the Schengen Agreement (Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania).
During the school holidays, many people plan to visit relatives and friends abroad. To avoid spoiling the joy of the meeting for both Yourself and Your loved ones, please remember the conditions of travel procedures for children. And for 15, 16 and 17 year olds young persons, who are just as adults but still children, get parents' consent timely from a notary if there is a need to leave the country independently.
We would also like to remind, that for citizens of the European Union, the only document required for entry into the United Kingdom is a citizen's passport. An identity card (ID card) is not recognized as a valid travel document for entry into the United Kingdom.
In case of any questions or concerns about the travel procedures for children and other travel issues, please call the State Border Guard's 24-hour hotline: 67075616 or write to the e-mail address: od@rs.gov.lv.