A new rule shall be in place effective from June 1. Minors that are aged 18 and below shall not be allowed to travel to the UAE without an authorization letter from their parents if the parents are not travelling with the child. This is to ensure the safety of the child according to an advisory that had been issued by Air India on Friday.

Following a warning from the Dubai Police, this advisory comes into effect after following a notification by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai (GDRFA Dubai). The rue is imposed by the Dubai Police and other authorities to prevent child trafficking, the advisory had mentioned.

Information about the child such as relevant details that include the address of the child living abroad and the address of that in UAE along with the details who would come and pick the child up at the airport are some of the mandatory information that must be filled in by the parents in the authorization form. Also, in case if the minor is travelling with another family member that is aged above 18 and is not the child’s parents, then the authorization letter from the guardians or from the parents is still required.

The advisory said, “Airlines staff can escort the minors through immigration, provided that the form is filled and the process to hand them over to the receiving person is duly followed.”

The new rule that came into effect as of June 1^st also warned that the child can be deported if the authorization letter from the parents is not present as a last resort in case if the immigration authorities in the UAE do suspect any illegal activities and the information that has been provided is not sufficient to have such concerns addressed. The advisory also mentioned that in such specific cases, the normal process and related subsequent fines will apply.