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Original poster

British child's passport required as ID in UK hotels?

23 replies

AtticaSilver · 22/05/2017 16:44

I am divorcing H and divorce is most definitely not amicable. He is a lying, manipulative man who has no conscience, but unfortunately he is DS's dad and has a right to take him on holiday. He is taking him away, he says in the UK, for half term and has just asked me for DS's passport as he will need it for "ID in the hotels and B&Bs we're staying in", to quote H. I took DS away recently in the UK and didn't get asked for his passport as ID and I'm worried that H might be using this as a way to get DS's passport and take him out of the country. Anyone know anything about ID requirements for under 16s at UK hotels?

OP posts:
LIZS · 22/05/2017 16:45

No. He's lying.

BenjaminLinus · 22/05/2017 16:46

I've never had to provide ID for my children at any hotel.

It definitely sounds odd. Just say no.

VintagePerfumista · 22/05/2017 16:46

I stayed in a hotel recently alone with dd and wasn't asked for my own, let alone hers.... you do need it for ID in hotels in many other countries.

I'd be a bit wary tbh.

ViolentDelights · 22/05/2017 16:46

No hotel I've ever stayed at in the UK has even asked for my children's names never mind their passport.

WhatHaveIFound · 22/05/2017 16:50

No UK hotel i have ever stayed in has asked for mine or my children's passports.

He's lying. Do not give him the passport and if i were you i'd flag it with the police.

ooerrmissus · 22/05/2017 16:52

That's bollocks. A uk hotel would only ask for ID if you are paying in cash.

MrsPeelyWaly · 22/05/2017 16:52

He's lying and I would be making sure he cant get another passport issued for use sometime in the future.

Is your husband British and originally from here?

Erinys · 22/05/2017 16:57

Definitely lying. Since DS was born we have stayed in a lot of UK hotels in various locations and not once have we been asked to show ID for him (which is lucky because he doesn't currently have any).

I would be concerned.

SisterhoodisPowerful · 22/05/2017 16:57

He's lying. You can phone the passport office and flag his passport so that he can only be removed from the country with formal permission from the other parent.

Original poster
AtticaSilver · 22/05/2017 16:58

Thank you all. I will NOT be giving him the passport. I thought it sounded entirely wrong but I've lived with fifteen years of gaslighting from him and am currently dealing with huge levels of aggression (we're still living in the same house) so doubt myself often and am exhausted by all his lies. He is British-born with UK nationality but one of his parents was from an EU country so he has strong links in that country. He's already arranged to take DS to Europe in the summer without asking me and I've demanded contact information for all the places they'll be visiting. If necessary I'll get my solicitor involved.

OP posts:
LesLavandes · 22/05/2017 16:58

You should be given the hotel schedule. This would be normal. So do get it off him and call hotels and check. However, no hotels in UK ask for a British person's passport! I would never bring my passport when staying at a UK hotel! Absolutely he has either got this wrong or he is lying. Is he British, and your son?

Empireoftheclouds · 22/05/2017 16:58

I stay In hotels with dc's at least 8 weekends a year and have never so much as been ask d their names on check in let alon for ID

He is lying to you

Original poster
AtticaSilver · 22/05/2017 16:59

SisterhoodisPowerful Thank you! I will do that.

OP posts:
AliceTown · 22/05/2017 17:00

There was just a case in the news where the man had to prove he was the child's father. Could that have worried him?

Original poster
AtticaSilver · 22/05/2017 17:02

AliceTown A possibility I guess, but that case was a man and his daughter. Knowing what I now know about H, I think this is about control and manipulation and possibly a dramatic gesture. I would put nothing past him.

OP posts:
CatsInKilts · 22/05/2017 17:04

I looked into this recently as I was planning to take my DD away for a weekend trip. The hotel smallprint did say something about needing ID but we weren't asked for any when we arrived.

There was a recent case in the news where a hotel apparently called the police when a man couldn't prove that the girl he had arrived with was his daughter:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-39514900

Even so, under the circumstances you describe, there is no way that I would be handing the passport over.

Allthebestnamesareused · 23/05/2017 09:52

My DS carries a photo copy of his birth certificate to prove he is under 16 for child fares as he looks older. Just give him a photocopy if he keeps insisting but definitely not the original. Does he originate from another country and are you worried about a kidnap situation?

Movingin2017 · 31/05/2017 07:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JanetBrown2015 · 31/05/2017 08:03

I have never been asked for a passport in a UK hotel! Email him a photocopy and ask him which hotels and then call them and check as it's very very unlikely.

If you think he will abduct the child to the other Eu state this summer then you can get a prohibited steps order (you have to go to court to get one) to prevent the trip abroad and any trips abroad and you could use his ridiculous suggestion he needs the passport for a UK holiday as part of your evidence - keep copies of all emails or texts he sent saying that so you have the proof.

Frazzled2207 · 31/05/2017 08:08

No.

GlitteryFluff · 31/05/2017 08:15

Lots of people who holiday in the Uk don't have passports so surely that's rubbish. And the adult may need to hand ID over for whatever reason but a child? Lots of children don't have id other than their birth certificates.

I'd give him a copy of the birth certificate.

specialsubject · 31/05/2017 14:14

No.
Give him no documents and get the kids passport flagged .

Hissy · 31/05/2017 19:39

Is there any reason why he SHOULDN'T take his son abroad? Other than the fact you don't want him to?

If it's a reasonable request, and if you have opportunity to take ds on holiday, why wouldn't you allow his dad to take him away?

Assuming you have residency and it's an eu Hague convention country, you'd have rights to get him returned

If at all possible, it's best to be reasonable

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