SG with an important message for the youngest. It's about holidays

Friday was the end of the school year. Saturday is the first day of vacation. In connection with the beginning of summer vacation, the Border Guard has published a guide on safe travel for children.

Holidays 2025. Border Guard Campaign

"We want people travelling with children or sending their youngest children on holiday abroad, both within Schengen countries and to third countries, to be equipped with the appropriate knowledge" - it is written at the beginning of the text. The guide covers, among other things, legal bases, preparations for border checks and required documents for children and their guardians.

The guide states that border checks for children accompanied by a parent are identical to those for adults. The procedure includes:

• confirming the identity and citizenship of a child crossing the border
• verification of the document entitling to cross the border
• checking the child in databases.

A child can cross the Polish border on the basis of a passport or an identity card - depending on the destination country. A passport is the basic document entitling you to travel abroad. An identity card is sufficient when crossing the borders of EU and EEA member states and countries that have concluded an agreement on the free movement of persons with the European Union and its member states.

The Border Guard urges people to check the expiry date of their passport or ID card before traveling.

Child Travelling with a Third Party. What Does the Check Look Like?

A child may also cross the border in the company of a third party who is not a parent or alone. In such a case, the guards take action based on the child's best interests. Within the framework of available procedures, they may check databases, conduct a conversation with the child, obtain additional information from the person traveling with the minor, contact the child's parents, familiarize themselves with the documents presented (e.g. power of attorney or notarial authorization).

If the Border Guard has any doubts about the information gathered, it may decide to prohibit crossing the border. The published material also reminds that some European Union countries require special consent for a child to travel with a third party.

Read also: An important initiative for students. It was inaugurated by Barbara Nowacka Read also: The truth about last minute holidays. "We are more exposed to certain risks"