So as you may have heard me mention before, my Mother lives with me in my home here in Panama, it’s been excellent having her here to help with my kids.

My daughter is super attached to her Grandma and they spend a ton of time together every day. 

Just like me, my mother loves to travel and sometimes goes on little holidays for a long weekend or a few days to new countries.

Why not right, take advantage of being in a hub destination.

So recently, she went on a trip and decided to take my daughter along, something that has happened many many times before.

My daughter has travelled to 15 countries so she is very accustomed to flying and has loads of experience living out of a suitcase, travel is actually part of the homeschooling we do for her.

When they got to the immigration booth here in Panama they got stopped and pulled aside by the officer. She showed a signed letter by both my wife and me stating that she had our permission to travel with our child, copies of our passports and a copy of my daughter’s birth certificate. 

This had always been enough before, but this time they refused her.

So now she is stuck at the airport with a 5-year old, minutes ticking down until departure, and she really can’t understand what is going on. 

I'm at home being interviewed on another podcast and my wife comes upstairs with a super stressed look on her face.

If you have met my wife at one of our gatherings you would know she doesn’t get stressed, she is always cool as a cucumber. 

I quickly wrap up the interview to find out what is happening. 

At this point, we just know they have been pulled out of line and they are stuck in the office by the police at the airport.

We get my Mom on video chat and I speak to the officer in Spanish and find out that they need me and my wife to come down in person to sort this out.

They think she is illegally removing a minor from the country without the parent’s permission...

Crap. 

Even trying to explain the situation is not enough, they need us there in person.

So by this point, it’s around 5:30 pm on a weekday in Panama City, not a great time to be driving, but somehow we make it to the airport in 25 min.

A small miracle in of itself.

We find the officer, explain the situation in Spanish, sign some documents and even have to give our fingerprints, in ink, on the contract that we consent to my mother travelling with our child.

Wow, what a ton of work. 

In the end, they made the flight and had an excellent holiday with no more hiccups.

Why am I telling you all of this, well first, as a warning if you are travelling with children in Latin America how serious it is to be prepared with the updated laws surrounding travelling with minors, things change often.

And even more importantly, how important it is to speak the local language. If I didn’t speak Spanish who knows what would have happened…

This week my friend Olly Richards has a huge sale on the programs I used to learn Spanish in no time flat, he actually has his courses for French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese on sale.

Black Friday is almost over so you better move before it’s too late, learn more here: https://expatmoneyshow.com/black-friday-massive-language-sale

Best,

Mikkel