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Taking Child To Uk For Holiday


radioman
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Hi,

 

Perhaps a little background so we start with some facts which I know can impact things.

 

My daughter is 15 and due to finish M3 grade in early March. She holds two birth certificates, one Thai one UK. She currently has a Thai passport with a UK Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode in UK and so can travel to UK as and when she likes with no limits on stay.

 

We would like her to spend April in UK staying with her grandmother, both are quite excited at the prospect. Her mother, my wife, also fully supportive of this plan, will remain in Thailand with our son on this occasion. Our wish is to have our daughter fly from BKK, alone and in the care of the airline. I will meet her in transit at Doha where I am working and will then fly with her to London and on to our final destination. The return trip will be similar though she will make the UK to Doha trip alone and then I will fly with her to BKK.

 

For us this seems perfectly straightforward but I am conscious that so called "authorities" may take a different view and make all kinds of odd and unusual ,or at least seemingly pointless requests. I will be consulting with the airline to see what they need me to do. I know they provide a service for unaccompanied minors.

 

Has anyone here done similar? I'd like to hear your comments and feedback on the way it worked for you and what you needed to prepare and anything I should think about or get sorted in advance.

 

Thanks

 

M

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When my oldest daughter was 5 until she was 9, she flew unaccompanied from NZ to Aus and also Japan on many occasions. Just tell the travel agent what's happening and Im sure they'll fix it for you. Not that there's any fixing to do. At 15 and with a valid passport, should be no worries.

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My daughter fly to Oz to see if she liked it and spent a few weeks at my old school on the coast. She loved it. No issues, we sent her via Thai, then she was 11 and needed the flight crew to look after her, that meant cost of adult ticket. At 15, you can go unaccompanied. I'd choose Thai just so there is that little extra safety net of language customs etc.

 

We had family waiting for her, was good fun, She had a ball.

 

Was good also as she decided she could actually live in Australia, her concern was that she'd noticed through family we don't speak English in Oz.

 

All in all a great idea, do it!

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Thanks guys, seems t\like it might be less painless than I thought.

Just heard a few horror stories about children of mixed parentage leaving the country and needing all sorts of documents signed and countersigned before they will let them out of the country. Coming from the UK and having had on occasion to deal with immigration there, or the strange corporatised, fill in the form and pay us money, version of it. I'm not sure that they might be worse than Thai immigration.

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Thanks again guys. I get it. As Mekong mentioned. It's gotta be QR as I'm based in Doha for work at the moment and she will break the trip there so we can hook up and go on to UK together. Actually the airline is the least of my worries, they are quite helpful and I have QR contacts :grinyes::hubbahubba: who will help out if needed :)

 

The real issue is the immigration jobsworths who might want to do sharp intakes of breath seeing only the male parent with the teenage girl "daughter" and all the lights start flashing regarding where the mother is, trafficking in minors etc. This is stuff the airline will not comment on and I'm still a bit in the dark on. Does her Mum need to provide some sort of sworn affidavit that she agrees to her daughter leaving the country in the care of her farang husband, the childs father or indeed going abroad alone? Is there a form to fill in? Are the stories I've heard about needing all sorts of documentation just a fuckwad of hot air?

 

Well it seems like kids flitting to Aus and NZ is not a problem so I guess UK should be good too.

 

Hopefully her, currently expired but soon to be renewed UK passport (she will travel on her Thai one), will prevent plod from doing a suspect pedo number on me.

 

M

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