To think passport control need a re-think

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Over how they treat and speak to unmarried mothers going through passport control with their kids with the father's surname - without the dad. Can they not put both parent's full names on the child's passport?

I have a certain amount of unresolved issues over my name not being given to child and also to not being ever asked to marry. And to be lectured and questioned at passport control adds oil to that particular water, there was no respect given and it seemed acceptable to presume I'm people trafficing and I just had to take how they spoke to me as I thought they could detain me if I say 'please don't lecture me'. Ok I know now have to carry birth certificate when I travel to prove I'm not smuggling children which seems a risk of losing further important documents and upsets me that some common sense, a solution or more tact could be saught.

Endoftheline Thank you for the advice. I will carry a letter. Having done a bit of research there doesn't seem to be any standard approved letter, but I will use my common sense (I'm taking my son's friend with my son to France on the ferry, so am not a relative in this case)

I totally understand the need to make sure children are travelling with approval from their parents. I just wish there was a standard agreed official way of proving this.

I’m married and kept my own name. Irish passport so no option to put “also known as Mrs. X” on it. It’s annoying but I just bring copy of birth cert with me when travelling alone with DD.

I wish children’s passports had the details of everyone wth parental responsibility in them. Would make all this much easier!

I kept my name on marriage and dh has a different surname to our children, due to Arabic naming conventions. Their last names are variations of their fathers, but not the same iyswim.
We were asked for the first time recently upon coming back to the UK, why we all had different names. You would think immigration officers of all people would have training in the naming customs of other countries, but it appears not.
I understand they have to be vigilant for people trafficking children, but surely people should be questioned leaving the UK as well as entering it, and this is generally not the case.
I think parents full names should appear on minors passports as pp have suggested.

sorry to jump on this post but does anyone know how my situation would work?

I was married to DDs dad but my passport was always left in my maiden name - we are now separated but not divorced.

if I want to take DD (6) on holiday - she has her father's surname, I have my maiden name, but her birth certificate has my married name. would that matter? obviously I would also have a letter from her dad

I totally understand the need to make sure children are travelling with approval from their parents. I just wish there was a standard agreed official way of proving this

Maybe there should be some kind of 'flight risk' check - kids passport and parent's passport flagged as a flight risk - and a parent could tell the other parent that it's been flagged if they think there's a flight risk.

There should also be a clear link between a parent's passport and their child's passport - so the system knows that the two are linked - and that should be easy to do because you need the birth certificate when you apply for your child's passport.

Bizzarly I always find I get questioned coming BACK into the UK. They don't seem to care who I was leaving the country with

My ds1 and dd have my maiden name however they are both teenagers and clearly able to communicate if I was kidnapping them. Ds2 has my exh name and I got my passport in my exh name because we were Still married then and I'm not paying £70 just to change my name.

Atm this suits us better as I wouldn't put it past ds2 dad to ring the police and say I was kidnapping his son (Yes he's that pathetic)

I've always taken birth/marriage and divorce certificates anyway just so I can prove who I am and who my kids are.

This bugs me as well as it disproportionately affects women.

I have a different surname from my children, in my country married women keep their surnames anyway and it is a huge kerfuffle to change your surname (you have to go to court and have a legally valid reason). I've been stopped going into the UK with my DD and asked to prove she's my child. I showed them a Greek birth certificate and they were satisfied even though as far as they were concerned this could have been a recipe for moussaka.

I totally agree on having parents names in a child passport where possible. It would save so much of this hassle. Whenever I fly with the children I always take their birth certificates and am usually asked for them only on entering the uk on our way home. I've never taken a letter from their dad but I think this summer I'd better do that aswell just in case. If my name was in the passport, all this extra stuff wouldn't be needed.

I’d disagree it’s to protect your child. I routinely get stopped by ukba when I arrive back in the uk. Ds and I have different surnames and his is non English. We share the same nationality.

I’d say it’s more about illegal immigration. I’d be happier if they grilled us on the way out of the uk.

I argued this and the personnel at the airport sort of agreed when we were held up for 30 mins while they took our passports away and we were asked loads of questions.

Ds routinely flies out of the country with his df. They share the same surname but are different nationalities. They have never been stopped - so child protection doesn’t extend to a Brit child being taken out of the country by a foreign national then....,

Op - sorry you feel this way but the best way around it is to take the birth certificate.

I’m married but didn’t change my name . My kids have my dh’s name . We do a lot of travel to the US without my dh. I have never been asked to prove that they were my kids. It’s strange as the US Immigration officers are very strict . Never been asked in Europe either .