Minor traveling alone

jimhe · #1 06-16-2007, 10:30 PM

My 17 year old son will be making a solo trip back to the US this summer. We moved to the DR about one year ago. We checked with the airline and they had no special requirements for him (letter of concent or anything).

I don't want him having problems getting out of the country or back in so I am hoping one or more of you have some experience with this. He has a valid passport and a US issued drivers license (if it matters). We have applied for and were recently approved for residency but do not yet have our cards. He will carry a copy of the approval paperwork.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Hillbilly · #2 06-16-2007, 10:36 PM

I do not think that a 17 year old will have any trouble....it's the little kids that are a major problem..lots of letters and permits..

I do not think you should worry at all.

HB

drny · #3 06-16-2007, 11:23 PM

17? That's a big boy. If just a normal, well adjusted 17 year old then let the young man go -providing all his documentation is in order. It will be good experience for him.

midnitemed · #4 06-16-2007, 11:44 PM

my 17 year old niece came to visit me for spring break. while she didn't have any trouble getting into the country (the D.R.) without a parent, they wouldn't let her leave without consent from her mother (my sister). the immigration officer said she would have to fill out numerous forms, but if my wife gave her 500 peso, she would let her leave the D.R. and go back home to the U.S. My wife, who is Dominican, paid the 500 peso but was furious. When she came out of immigration and told me this, I went inside and made a big to do. the sign right at immigration says they don't accept money. I pointed this out to the officer and said i wanted to speak with her boss. he came out and brought me into the office. he said it was a big mistake. they gave me back my 500 peso and said they were sorry about a million times. this happened at the Santiago airport.

Dolores · #5 06-17-2007, 08:48 AM

The law in the Dominican Republic is that all minors traveling without both their parents need to secure a non-accompanied minor authorization from the Department of Migration. The migration officer was correct in asking for the document. This is required both of foreigners as well as Dominicans. In the case of foreigners, less paperwork is required, and the cost is less, but it is definitely more than RD$500 to do it the legal way. A notarized letter with the authorization of the parents is required, in addition from paying the migration fee.

Sharlene · #6 06-17-2007, 11:05 AM

So, just to clarify (if anyone has sufficient knowledge of this....

I entered the DR last August 2006 with my partner and our two children (aged 2 and 5). We're not married and I have custody of the children according to UK law. However, the children do have his surname on their birth certificates/passports (although my name is obviously on their birth certificates as their mother). I have always supported the children and paid for them (supplemented by payments from their father which discontinued approx a year and a half ago) and lived on my own with them the majority of the time in UK.

I returned to UK on my own for a couple of weeks in September 2006 to sort out some financial matters. I mention that because last entry dates on the childrens' passports will not match mine. Their last entry dates will show the date in Aug that all four of us entered together. I've read previously that you can travel in varying formations with your children as long as you leave in the same formation as when you arrived (i.e. if you arrive without father, you can leave without father, but if you arrive with father, you must leave with father etc).

I want to fly back to the UK on my own with my children at some point in the next few months. Does what I'm reading here mean that I need their father's permission (in writing through a legal source) to leave the country? I had read this information prior to arriving in the DR, but since I arrived I've spoken to many Europeans (mainly Germans) who've flown back and forth with their children in varying 'formations' throughout the years and never had cause to produce any documents. One German woman (been out here 15 years) said to me that the DR officials are not bothered about 'Western' children leaving the country, only about DR children (or mixed race DR children i.e. DR/American or DR/UK etc.).

I can get their father's 'permission' (which really irks me as I'm the person who is responsible for and pays for the girls upbringing! - however, I 'grudgingly' accept that things are different here....). But what 'if' their father went AWOL? What if we separated and he disappeared into the 'wide blue yonder'? What then? I wouldn't be able to get his 'permission' then would I? but I can't see how the DR officials could stop me leaving the country......could they? Surely as a British Citizen who has custody of her children, I can take my children where I wish.... I can always produce the birth certificates to prove I'm their mother.

I'm just thinking that if I booked the tickets, arrived at the airport and said that, though their father was in the DR, he could not be located....what would they do? I can't get permission if I don't know where he is can I? This must have happened before with all the 'couples' arriving and the woman leaving with the children but 'without' the partner (who's now 'hooked up' with a lithe Dominican chica!).

The reason I ask is because (for personal reasons) I don't want to give the girls' father any reason to suppose that he has 'power' over me by having say so over whether I leave the country or not. If he 'got wind' of that he may use it to emotionally or financially 'blackmail' me..... I'm saying no more than that....

Fabio, I think I need your help here please!