Letter of consent for travel to Rhodes

[Itssnotunusual]

I'm taking my three year old son abroad with my DP (not the child's father) and DPs parents in July. My ex is fully onboard with this and very excited for our little boy never having been abroad himself and has agreed to sign the letter to say he can take him abroad.

Can't anyone help with whether the letter needs to be notarised as the Mumsnet template suggests or can it be witnessed by someone if good standing/ a professional (lots of friends who are teachers, doctors ect so not an issue).

Any thing else I might need to arrange for travel to Rhodes since I'm travelling without the other parent? Just don't want any issues as it's my first foreign holiday with my current partner, and my first holiday with his parents!

I was asked before boarding a cruise in Barcelona. Luckily I had the letter. I used an online template, not notarised, and it was fine. I edited out the notarised bit as that seemed more for the US.

Luckily me and dds dad are on good terms it must be a PITA if they decide to be a dick about it.

Thank you everyone- I'm going to sort the letter as I see his dad relatively frequently with drop offs/ pick ups so it's not much of a hassle to get it signed and dad has already agreed to do something. I will take a birth certificate to, his dad I were never married so my name is the same now as it is on the birth certificate.

It's interesting to see how frequently people haven't been asked for it though but better to be safe than sorry! Glad I don't need it notarised as that would have been bloody expensive in top of everything else

Like many others I’ve never been stopped and my parents have taken the kids away without both of us. Last year I took a group of DS16 friends away and everyone did write a letter just in case - the parents just wrote it signed and included their phone number and all my details. One of the boys was asked and I just had to confirm he was travelling with us.

There is no harm in having the letter, even if you are never asked. I’ve never heard of the need for it to notarised or witnessed but can see how anyone could write it and anyone could be at the end of the phone line.

I always got exH to sign a letter when DD was under 18, I was never asked for it.

I’ve just remembers that more recently, about six years ago, I gave my son some money to help towards buying his first house, I think it was £5000. I had to sign a form from his mortgage company confirming that it was a gift, not a loan. I could have driven over 100 miles to the brokers to sign in person or return by post after the signature was witnessed by a notary. I’d moved myself and no longer knew anywhere I could go so searched online and found that certain Post Offices can witness signatures for a fraction of the cost of a Notary.

It cost me £15 and was a simple process at a sub post office counter not too far from me. I did have to fine one which offered this service, not all did.

I don’t know if this is still possible but it’s worth looking at if you do need a Notary.

Our DD age 14 went on a holiday-flying then cruise with her friend’s family last year. I’d printed a consent to travel form off, me and DH signed it. I enclosed copies of her birth certificate, copy of DH passport, my driving licence and it was never checked!!!
Going out and coming back, no questions asked on the cruise ship.
When our 2nd DS went on holiday with my

DSis we signed forms back then, think they checked once, he went away with them at least 3 times.
Best to be safe tho, you never know if someone at the airport, either end, decides to be in a thorough mood.
Have a great time!

The chances that you will be asked for the letter when you land in Rhodes are basically zero. Hundreds of thousands of people go on holiday with children whose passports have different surnames every year, and in many European countries it is the norm for a woman not to change her name on marriage.

Immigration officers at holiday airports are generally bored, and they are not going to interrogate all of those people in case they happen to catch a kidnapped child whose name doesn't come up on the computer from the Interpol list. At many airports your passports will be checked by e-gates (yes, despite all the guff in the media over the last couple of weeks about "When will we be able to use them?"), and the only thing an officer will do is give you a Schengen stamp.

In the monumentally unlikely event that you were to be asked for the letter, the officer will be amazed that you even have one. The fact that is not notarized will not diminish that amazement. Detaining and denying entry to holidaymakers on the homeopathic off chance is simply not on their agenda (but if they really have solid grounds to suspect that there is a problem, it isn't the letter that's going to stop them investigating).

However, it's worth carrying the letter in case of a spot check when you are leaving the UK. There's no systematic outgoing passport control, but in the last year I've seen the police waiting at the end of the security area at both Luton and Southend, and in the latter case they had so little to do that they even asked me and DP to show our passports. I think that you would probably only take five seconds that all is above board (people who are kidnapping their children are unlikely to give off carefree holiday vibes), but the letter could be useful backup. I still wouldn't bother getting it notarised, though — if anything it might make them more suspicious ("You seem to have planned this trip very thoroughly indeed, Madam").

I have different surname to DD. We’ve travelled many many times. Never ever been asked for anything. I carry her birth certificate just in case.

@Itssnotunusual I take grandchildren abroad regularly I have been stopped often. I use a template but not a notary, I just have it signed by a friend usually with letters after their name.

Notary's are more a European thing. Sometimes I am not stopped but its always there in case. I have found lately that it is more often when returning to the UK

I take a copy of their birth certificate too.

@samarrange I beg to differ Berlin are notorious for it. I have been interrogated and I have witnessed lone parents being taken to a side room. Yet I have travelled through some more dubious airports without a question.

By your assumption the amount of paperwork I take with me would suggest I'm a regular old child trafficker 😬

Take a letter and birth certificate but don’t worry too much

I just don’t understand why they can’t link passports to parents seems a massive oversight

a friend who has children with different surnames has taken hers abroad a lot and has occasionally been questioned, only on return to the UK though never abroad. Now the kids are a bit older they have been asked if she is their mum! Ridiculous

I think a lot will vary by destination. Presumably not many British women kidnap their own children to a Greek holiday island. If you are a man (I'm just guessing looking at your @) and travelling alone with a child to a city where most of the British passengers are probably on business or a couple's city break, then I wouldn't be surprised if they may time for a bit of a chat.

I'm a woman, maybe I need a name change. It was more than a chat, but as I say I have been many places that haven't asked.

I’ve travelled abroad multiples times with my DD on my own who has a different surname to me. I’ve never once been asked for a letter of consent

@Itssnotunusual Take letter - just type it up and add father details to it. No need to notarise.
And - most importantly - take the full birth certificate that has parents names.

99% certainty you wont need any of it. But will give you peace of mind.

As part of my job, I organise school residential trips - often overseas. To prevent child trafficking/abduction the consent of all individuals with parental responsibility for a child need to provide their consent for the child to travel.

You need a simple letter from your ex confirming the details of the trip (dates and destination) and that he gives his consent for the child to travel. Then have a copy of the birth certificate and ideally a copy of his passport (which should confirm his signature one the letter). It only needs to notarised for travel to Portugal which has more stringent rules.

It’s quite likely you won’t be asked for this but, in the event you are asked, you should have everything covered.

We went to Greece when my son was 15, we were asked at Gatwick on the way back, I had nothing as I didn't know, first abroad holiday with DC, I got a telling off by security.

It’s a bit late by that point, coming back into the country

gosh I fly all the time with my kids alone ! I spent most of maternity leave travelling all over the place! Never thought to have a letter or that it might be necessary.

even my own parents took my 4 year old away 3 times on a flight and I never gave them any sort of letter.

Just to add to my previous post, we came through passport control at Gatwick this morning and there are now signs saying if you don’t have the same surnames you may be questioned about how you are related. Seeing as you get in with your ex you should definitely take the letter!

OP the best way to resolve this fully is to get a CAO in place with your ex. That way you are both allowed to take DC out the country for up to 30 consecutive days without carrrying a letter. I used to get asked every time I traveled with DD.

Does anyone know if this requirement ends at age 16?