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I travel to Germany tomorrow. (7/31/22 From the USA) I am 15, and my parents are not together. I am flying to Germany alone. I do have a minor consent form to travel alone that is notarized, but only has the consent of one parent. (My mother) Do I need both parents for it? Or is it fine how it is? I’m super scared about it being invalid because of the fact that I don’t have the “consent” of my father too, it is difficult to get him to sign as well because I don’t have much contact with him.

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    Does the notarized document state that your mother is the sole legal guardian? Problems can accure if the police have doubts that it is legitimate (i.e. travelling with one parent, but without the consent of the other when both have custody).
    – Mark Johnson
    Jul 31, 2022 at 4:09
  • The Question has almost no relation to Germany. Germans will be OK to let you in as long as you have a valid US passport. If you are not an US citizen you may need other things, e.g. a visa. They will also happily let you go to your home country as long as you didn't do something profoundly wrong in the meantime (e.g. losing your passport). It is the US border control where any problems may arise. Please, edit your question and add some more info: Are you an US citizen? Is your mother your sole legal guardian? Is this fact stated in the document you have?
    – fraxinus
    Jul 31, 2022 at 7:16
  • Are you traveling with a teacher, a relative or some other adult? p.s. there is nothing really scary. If you miss something important on your way out, the border control will simply not let you out. You will not be arrested or fined for this. Your mom will be called to pick you back.
    – fraxinus
    Jul 31, 2022 at 7:22
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    Yes it would. It may never be needed, but both taken togeather makes it clear that both parents know that you are travelling.
    – Mark Johnson
    Jul 31, 2022 at 9:33
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    @artemist Sorry, but this is an extremly stupid piece of advice. Just because you (or your siblings) were not effected by these rules (that are based on the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) doesn't mean that they are never enforced. These rules exist for a reason.
    – Mark Johnson
    Jul 31, 2022 at 21:20

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Here is a quick (if incomplete) answer, since travel is today.

  1. It's a good idea to have documents from both parents, however it's unlikely that you will be questioned at all.
  2. Check with the airline what documents they would like to see (if any). If in doubt, your mother can come with you to the airport for check in.
  3. Our kids travelled alone from the US to Germany at your age. We never gave them any form whatsoever (we were just being naive, it never occurred to us) and no one ever asked for one. They just presented their passport at immigration and were admitted.
  4. Even if you get asked, it's extremely unlikely that they would you deny you entry, detain you, or send you back. They would only try to make sure that you are travelling freely and that you are not being abducted, trafficked or involved in some custody scheme.
  5. Your consent from should be more than enough for even the grumpiest immigration officers and German immigration officer are not nearly as grumpy as the Americans are.
  6. Just in case: Make sure you have phone number of both your parents and the people you stay with in Germany with you, so the officer can verify your data. Make sure your parent know about it. You'll likely arrive in Germany when it's still the middle of the night in the US.
  7. Even better: if someone is picking you up from the airport, make sure you or the officers can reach them directly.

Most websites that I found "strongly recommend" to have a letter of authorization (informal, authorized, notarized) but I did not find any reference to an actual law that requiring it.

Here is a more credible quote from the Bundesverwaltungsamt (The central service agency of the Federal Government). https://verwaltung.bund.de/leistungsverzeichnis/EN/rechte-und-pflichten/102711702

Although it is not prescribed by law, in addition to carrying their own valid travel document (passport, children's passport or ID card), minors travelling alone to or from Germany should also carry a letter of agreement signed by one of the persons with parental responsibility for them (where possible in the language of their home country and destination country).

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    Counter-intuitively it appears more likely that you get stopped travelling with one parent (but not both) than if you travel alone. This is perhaps because what they are trying to do is prevent parents moving children not of their own free will.
    – abligh
    Aug 1, 2022 at 7:22
  • We are a family of 5 and have flown frequently in every possible permutation. No one ever asked for anything.
    – Hilmar
    Aug 2, 2022 at 12:39

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