Permission to go abroad letter

[Beetop]

We are travelling to the Balerics next week.
Divorced from exh, no contact ( his choice) for a long time. Only contact is email. He will give permission via social media or email to travel but he won't write a letter. He doesn't live near us so not a case we can go up.

If I take a print off of the email and social media screenshot do you think we will be okay. Kids are both teens so old enough to travel alone anyway!

You just need to take their birth certificates.

• ...to prove that you are their mother.

I have packed birth certificates, NHS cards and tax credits to prove dc live with me and my divorce cert and the letter from the court issued at divorce stating that the court needed no intervention with the children as my surname is different.

Exh HAS PR though so I was under the impression I needed a permission letter too.

Sorry, you do need a letter written by him if he has parental responsibility, ideally in front of a witness. Alternatively, you can get permission from a court.

If you have a child arrangement order, you can take children abroad for up to 28 days.

So it has to be written and they won't accept a typed and signed (using one of those programs where you actually sign it)...

Fuck

No court involvement at all as he has never contested anything so no residency order or anything.

He's too far to get up to and we really don't want to and he intentionally doesn't know where we live.

It can be typed and signed. You can use this as a guide.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/348110/Letter_of_Consent_for_Minors_travelling_to_UK_Apr08.pdf

You just need his permission. A letter is obviously helpful but is not necessarily required. A screenshot of him agreeing is fine.

When you say old enough to travel alone, do you mean over 16? Because in that case you don't need anything special - a court won't provide an order for an over 16 as it's not legally necessary.

Both are young teens so not sixteen yet.
Thank you an example is very useful.

AliceTown is correct. I'm afraid ILoveGrammar0 is setting the bar higher than it needs to be.

Evidence of consent is all that is required, and a print of a facebook conversation should be enough.

You don't even need evidence of consent. I've travelled abroad several times with mine, never even been asked. Obviously if I had evidence (like a facebook message) I would take it.

I went to france last month with my parents and DS (separated from his father) we went on Eurotunnel, no problems going out. Coming back I got stopped and asked for a letter because ds doesn't have my surname or my parents surname, luckily his dad had wrote a letter which id packed. The man said next time I needed the Letter and birth certificate. He was asking DS who I was thank god ds said mummy and who grandma was.

You don't even need evidence of consent

It depends where you are going and possibly on who is on duty checking passports. Many people report not having any problems, others report being sent back when they have been unable to show that they have consent.

3 times I've been stopped and asked when coming back into the country from France. I have been asked 1 time on going into France. Luckily I have court orders.

I have never been asked for a letter of consent and wouldn't be able to get one anyway as their dad refuses any contact. He also lives hundreds of miles away. I take their birth certificates and my divorce certificate and change of name documents. Never been asked for them even when dd gave the wrong official surname (my maiden name that she is known by) and not her legal surname that's in her passport., Guy did quiz her (she's 14) and I went to produce the documents but she'd explained herself and all was fine.

I must say in 22 years of practice as a family solicitor, and 11 years separated parenting, I have never known anyone be stopped and asked for proof of consent.

I've been asked to prove I'm my son's mum (only ever on return to UK ) but that's a totally different issue.

MrsBertBibby I've come across this more than once.

Mrs BertBibby, one of my male relatives gets stopped most times with his daughter when he drives to the continent (different surname). I never get stopped when she drives across with me and my family.

Well, maybe my clients and I are just super lucky.

I've been stopped numerous times in Spain and Greece and have been held to one side and passports taken in Greece.

My boys travelled to France with their father and stepmother. No one questioned them, probably because they all have the same surname. I wonder if it will be different when I travel with them?

I lived in Greece for many years and travel there at least once a year. I can honestly say, hand on heart that I could probably travel with someone else's passport/out of date passport etc etc for the amount of attention they give to it! Same goes for the kids. Only ever checked coming back to the uk wherever we've been in Europe. Trumps America might be different right enough!

There are certain countries where it's a requirement, I therefore had cockwomble DS father sign an open ended letter for me. I've used it twice, once where I was expecting it, a second time leaving the UK though we all had separate surnames at the time. He's now got DH and I's surname and never been bothered since.