I am going on a trip. Can I take my child seat with me?
The answer depends on which country you are going to
Road Safety
Unfortunately, there is no global standard for the approval of child restraint systems, so whether or not you can use yours will depend on the country you are going to visit. Let’s be a little more specific.
If we travel to any European country, the use of child seats is covered by a European Directive and therefore all European countries must use the same criteria. Your child seat can be used in any country within the European Union and, in general, in countries that have agreements with Europe, such as Switzerland, Israel, Serbia, Ukraine or Russia.
If, on the other hand, we travel to North America, our child seat will not be considered valid, as they apply a different certification standard, called FMVSS213, and it is compulsory to use a seat of that type. This is the same throughout the USA and Canada.
However, in Mexico there would be no problem if we used our child seat, and the same is true in countries such as Paraguay, Costa Rica and Argentina.
Other countries, such as Chile, do not have their own regulations, instead they have child seat certification mechanisms and this means that you would not be able to use your child seat.
European child seats are generally accepted in Asian countries, with the exception of China, which has its own child seat certification.
Finally, Australia and New Zealand also have their own child seat certification regulations, which are significantly different from the American and European regulations, for which reason your child seat would not be accepted there either.
It should be noted that child seats must be installed in cars and since there is no global standardisation of cars or common safety criteria, each area applies the concepts that they consider the most appropriate for reducing accidents and injuries in the event of a collision. In many cases, these measures are not aligned, making a product such as a child seat quite different depending on the area of the world where it is marketed.
As a final recommendation, it is best to check with the consulate or embassy of the country you are visiting to ensure that your product is valid.