At the beginning of the school holidays, the State Border Guard reminds that Latvian nationals, who are children under 18 years of age, departs from the Republic of Latvia independently to a country which is not a Member State of the European Union, a Member State of the Schengen Agreement or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, shall, in addition to a valid travel document, present a notarially certified consent of at least one parent, power of attorney or decision of the Orphan’s Court for the independent departure of a child from the State. These procedures are laid down by the Cabinet Regulation No 721 of 03.08.03 "Procedures by which Children Cross the State Border".
These powers of attorney are not necessary when travelling around Schengen countries, European Union countries and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For example, when a child is travelling alone to our neighbouring countries Lithuania or Estonia, only a personal identification document – a passport or an ID card – should be taken with them.
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 depart from Latvia independently or accompanied by an authorised person (without presenting additional documents such as notarially certified parental consent) not only to Schengen member states, but also to EU member states that have not joined the Schengen Agreement (Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania).
Many have planned to visit relatives and friends abroad during the school holidays. To avoid spoiling the joy of meeting for yourself and your loved ones, remember about the conditions of your children's travel arrangements. And also for almost adults, but still children – 15, 16and 17year-olds – formalize the consent of the parents to depart from the state independently at the notary in time.
If there are any questions or uncertainties about children's travel arrangements and other travel issues, you can safely call the Border Guard’s 24-hour telephone number: 67075616, write to email: pasts@rs.gov.lv or search for information on the State Border Guard website www.rs.gov.lv under "Border crossing".