Taking child out of the country

[FuckOffPeppa]

I have a 4yo dd who's bio father has no contact with (his choice). I am with a new partner now. Ex has parental responsibility for dd.

Dp and I would like to take dd on a trip to India next year. We have taken her to Spain and Italy without any problems but I'm assuming I will need either consent from ex or a court order to be sure we don't get stopped and accused of abduction on entering the country if going so far away.

I am going to try to contact ex and ask for a signed letter of consent but am expecting him to either refuse or just not reply, meaning I will have to go to court.

Has anyone done this? Is it easy? Am I likely to be refused permission? If ex refuses would a judge overrule him? How long does it take?

Recently took dc around the world on my own and was never asked - we all have the same surname so maybe that is a factor?

The law is that in the absence of a court order giving residence you need the consent of everyone with PR to take a child out of the country. If you cannot get consent you can get a court order which is unlikely to be refused for a genuine holiday. If you do not have consent or a court order you are committing the criminal offence of child abduction. You also face the risk of being refused entry by the country you are going to. Some countries are hotter on this than others.

Every time someone asks this question people come on and say they have taken their children abroad without the necessary consent and haven't had any problems. Of course, it is possible that will happen for you. But the safe thing is to get your ex's consent or, if he refuses, a court order.

I thought I read that you only need their consent if the trip is for longer than 30 days?

Technically you do need the permission. But practically, the only reason you would be stopped or have a problem is that the non resident parent makes a formal official complaint about your actions: eg has you charged with abduction or similar.
Since your ex has no contact with the child, and presumably no contact with you, how would they even know you were going anywhere? And even if they did, what would they gain from doing anything about it? Is it remotely likely since he doesn't see her at all?

I can't imagine why you would go to any trouble for a situation that is purely theoretical. Just go. Nothing will happen.

Prh47 is correct. You can go for up to 28 days if you have a residence order but otherwise you need the consent of the other parent with PR or you need a specific issue order from a court.

As prh47 said, loads of people post on these threads saying they've gone without any trouble but checks are made and would you really like to be refused entry on arrival in India? Just get consent - there's a reason the law is as it is.

As I said in my OP I'm fully aware that I need to get consent/court order. I'm not going to risk not being allowed into India!

I'm asking for advice from people who've been in this situation, how easy is it to get the court order, how long does it take?

"Just get consent - there's a reason the law is as it is"

Knowing my ex it is unlikely he will give consent, hence my asking to hear from people who've had to go to court

I'm asking for advice from people who've been in this situation, how easy is it to get the court order, how long does it take?

Unfortunately time scales can differ greatly from court to court.

Maybe worth contacting your local court and see if they can tell you?

Ok, thanks. I'm so sad and frustrated that I'm in this position

Sorry, I misunderstood. It depends on the court but I'd say between about 4-12 weeks. There may well be a requirement to attend mediation first though. Once you're in front of a judge it should be straight forward - if it's a genuine holiday and the child is not at risk of harm or abduction then it's highly unlikely the court would refuse consent.