Travel with Minors

From 1 September 2019, Spanish minors should travel with a document (or declaration) signed by a parent or legal guardian authorising them to travel unaccompanied, with someone who is not their guardian, or in other similar circumstances. This is in addition to the usual requirement to hold a valid passport or travel document. 

This authorisation is not required for foreign minors, including Irish citizens, traveling to or from Spain on a short stay (e.g. a holiday, school tour, etc.) or who are transiting through Spain before making an onward journey.

Parents/guardians of foreign minors resident in Spain may be signposted to contact their local Honorary Consulate or Embassy in Spain to complete a written authorisation or document. Ireland is one of a number of countries which has informed the Ministry of the Interior that neither our consulates nor the Embassy issue written authorisations for minors to travel unaccompanied.

General, practical advice that you may find useful when traveling to Ireland with a minor or for minors traveling unaccompanied is available on the website of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.

Answers to frequently asked questions in regard to this new requirement are available (in Spanish) on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.