Doc Holiday: Do I need a note to travel with my teen grandchild?

When travelling overseas with your grandchildren, do you need a parental travel consent document?

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

I’m taking my 15-year-old granddaughter on a long-awaited trip to Paris in March. Will I need written parental permission to be able to take her out of the country?

I’m glad you checked well in advance of your trip, because although you shouldn’t really come up against any real issues on your travels, the Australian government recommends children under 18 travelling internationally without their parents be in possession of a child travel consent document which proves permission to travel abroad with you has been granted by your granddaughter’s parents.

The form should include your granddaughter’s personal information, including full name, date and place of birth, gender and address, as well as your own details.

It should also include passport information, and details of your holiday, such as where you’re going and where you’re staying, as well as departure and return dates. This will then need dated signatures from both parents and be witnessed by a notary public or a justice of the peace.

Templates can be downloaded from sites such as Legal Vision. Have a wonderful time.

I’ve tried three times to get a visa for Vietnam but I keep being rejected for what they say is not an appropriate photo. What do I do?

I’m convinced hobby photographers would have an easier time placing their entire “cat lounging on sofa” catalogue of work in a fashion magazine than most travellers do submitting a single shot with the embassy of Vietnam. They certainly don’t make it easy. You’ll need to submit a coloured scan of your passport bio page, as well as a coloured scan of an original photo which cannot be the same as your passport photo, but must have been taken within the last six months.

According to their photo requirements information, the photo must be 6cm high by 4cm wide, be professionally taken in any post office, passport photo kiosk or by a photographer (no home happy snaps) and be a close-up of head with shoulders firmly visible. A plain, light-coloured background is necessary and of course, you must be looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression (smiling is discouraged). Make sure you don’t have any hair in front of your eyes, shadows on your face or behind you, no head covering (unless it’s for religious purposes) or glasses on your face, which apparently is one of the most common reasons for a visa rejection.

Did I just describe the photo you’re already applying with? If so, it’s also worth looking at how you’re sending it; size and resolution can also throw a spanner in the works. You can only upload your Vietnam e-visa photo saved in .jpeg, .jpg or .gif files and the file can’t be more than 2MB. PDF and png files will be rejected. Good luck!

I’m an overweight woman who struggles to get in and out of plane toilets. I’ve gained some kilos since the pandemic, but would like to travel. Are there any larger toilets on planes?

I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a rough time using the bathroom on aircraft. I know it’s no consolation but it isn’t your imagination; over the last decade, plane toilets have actually been shrinking to make room for a few additional passengers on each aircraft. So where does this leave you?

Before you book your next flight, check that the airline you’re interested in flying with has a wheelchair accessible toilet on board (with Qantas, for example, all wide-bodied A380 and A330 aircraft have at least one fully wheelchair accessible toilet you’d be able to use). US airlines are required by law to provide an accessible toilet on their wide-body planes too, and this can include the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 767 and Boeing 787.

I know I shouldn’t probably tell you this in print, but when I was flying in business class recently, I noticed quite a few economy passengers make a run for the toilets in our section because they were far more spacious than what they had in the back. If you’re unwilling or unable to pay for business or premium economy (which again are more generous in size), you could book a seat in the economy row closest and plead your case if you get stopped by a stroppy flight attendant. It’s worth a shot.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: Do I need a note to travel with my teen grandchild?