Single- parent applying for children's passport.

[101waystoworry]

Hello everybody, I have two children (under ten) and am a single parent (I have been since my youngest was 10 months). The dad is on the birth certificate but hasn't seen the children for years, they have my last name though. I really want to take them on holiday but am a little panicked at applying for passports, it says I need to put dad on the form, will they contact him? Does he need to sign anything? I don't really want him to know (the relationship was abusive and I am still petrified of him!)
Thank you for anyone who comments. :)

I countersigned passport applications that a friend was making for his two children. They definitely didn’t contact the mother because when the passports came through she was cross that it had been possible for the dad to apply without her knowledge.

You could ring the helpline and check if you even need to put the dad’s name on?

I have applied for DC passports as a single parent and the passport office has never contacted xH.

You do need the DC’s dad’s permission to take DC out of the country though. He would be unreasonable to refuse you taking them on holiday but it does mean that you need to tell him when and where you are going. I travel with a letter from xH giving consent to take DC out of the country - and he usually makes sure he has flight details and addresses of where we are staying before signing it... I find it intrusive because I am the main carer and of course I am not going to abduct them, but as they are his children too, he has the right to ask for that information.

The rules are here:

www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad

If you are officially the RP you can take them abroad for up to 28 days without the other parent's permission. You have to put the father's details on the paperwork but they don't contact him.

Thank you! I wouldn't even know how to contact him to ask for permission, who asks you if you have permission? I thought if they had my last name then the airport would be ok about it.

I wrote a supporting letter which I included in my daughters application. I gave them his full name, DOB, last known address and most importantly - that he was a British citizen. Passport came through within a week and I've applied for two over the years. I've never asked permission to travel either, although I am always stopped at immigration - ironically to come back INTO the country. Just make sure you have their birth certificates on you and you'll be fine.

Thank you Evidence based that is really frustrating, he doesn't see the children at all, Social Services have deemed him unsafe to be around the children on his own but he doesn't see them regardless and because I haven't taken it to court I guess he technically still has PR.

Thank you Wittsendargh So you don't need to take a letter or anything, just their birth certificate? _

@101waystoworry I've never needed one. As long as it's not over 28 days you can do as you like. And in reality, how would they ever check if you're out of the country for more than 28 days a year? They don't have the resources to track people like that.

@Wittsendargh That is really reassuring, thank you!

Plus, the guidance says you need a letter. How could they prove if the absent father has written the letter or not? Are they going to call him? The CSA have had no luck trying to trace my ex, so good luck to a busy boarder official trying to do it 😂

@Wittsendargh CSA are great at finding people right!

XP had been gone for 5 years when I applied for the dc's passports and they didn't contact him. I just put his date of birth and name on the form.
Nothing happened when I renewed them either.

@101waystoworry 😂😂

I applied for a passport for my son when I wasnt married to his father. He has both of our names. No one ever contacted him and I went to Thailand and then Singapore and back to Thailand and then eventually back to the UK. No one ever asked me if I had permission. The only time I ever had an inkling of questioning was when travelling with his father when he was 4, and they asked my son his name and to point out his parents.

If the children have your name I cant see it being an issue unless you go to a country where they have specific issues with child abduction.

When I took my child on holiday we were stopped on the way back into the UK. I had her birth certificate with me and showed them that. They didn't want anything else. I didn't have a letter anyway. She has a different surname to me

Thank you so much @SayNoToCarrots @purpleme12

Thank you @megletthesecond I can stop panicking now I guess.

I got DD a passport when she was 5 and renewed it last year, I put whatever details I had of him on the form.

I have just been abroad for a week. I took her BC, my BC and copy of marriage certificate, decree nisi and deed poll, just in case, but nobody stopped us to ask.

Officially, unless you have a Child Arrangement Order saying that the child lives with you, you must have the fathers permission to take them out of the country. I didn't get permission though and he did know she was going.

www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad

It is all on the above link

I’m applying for my sons first passport online but because my son doesn’t have contact with his father due to domestic violence and we both haven’t got passports ourselves there asking for grand parents details I’m abit baffled

This is because you need to prove you are a British citizen so you can pass your British citizenship to your child.

Were you born in the UK to British parents? If so, you would only need grandparents details for your side of the family.

Are you getting a passport for yourself too? If you had your own passport you could have used your passport details to prove your child's right to British citizenship

yes it would seem sensible to get one for yourself at the same time. Or first. As PP said, you will need to prove your child's entitlement to a British passport

If you are planning to travel then also apply for GHIC for you and child

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/