Information Required for Unaccompanied Minor Traveling Internationally:
Procedures for entering The Bahamas with an unaccompanied minor or a minor accompanied by someone other than a parent:
What is required to enter The Bahamas may vary greatly than what is required to re-enter the country of origin.
The Bahamas requires compliance with regulations to divert child abduction. Any child traveling without one of the parents as listed upon the birth certificate must have a letter from the absent parent granting permission for the child to travel. This should be sworn before a notary public and signed by the absent parent(s). If the parent is deceased a certified death certificate may be necessary.
Airline Requirements:
When a child is traveling either unaccompanied or with someone other than a parent, you must inform the airline that the child will be traveling unaccompanied when making their reservation and be prepared to supply the reservation attendant and ticket counter crew-member with the name of the minor as it appears on the photo ID, and of the person dropping off the child and picking up the child, as well as the address and phone number for the parents and the person picking up the child. If you are booking a ticket for an unaccompanied minor on an airline, airlines also ask that you call the person receiving the child after receiving your confirmation number to provide them with this information.
Photo identification is mandatory for both parties who will be dropping off and picking up the child. The child will not be accepted or released without the guardian’s photo ID. Additionally, it is important for the person dropping off the child to remain in the terminal until the flight has departed.
Unaccompanied minors may only travel on non-stop or direct flights and will NOT be permitted on connecting flights (flights that make a stop and change aircraft). Unaccompanied minors may not travel with an infant between the ages of three days and two years or a child between the ages of two and four years. As a courtesy and additional safety precaution, unaccompanied minors will be seated at the back of the aircraft so that the In-flight crew can assist them when needed.
Arrival in The Bahamas:
An unaccompanied minor must be met at the airport by the person authorized in the certified letter. The airline and immigration will not release the child to a third party not indicated in the notarized consent letter. If for any reason that person is not physically present at the airport at the time the minor arrives, the airline will take necessary action together with Bahamas Immigration. The minor could be detained or returned to the country of origin.