Take my son abroad

[maz1969]

Hi I have a child arrangement order in place for my nearly 8 yr old son I'm on his birth certificate I have been asking his mums permission to take him on holiday abroad for the past 3 years & she keeps refusing she said not till he's 16 I want to take him next summer to Majorca for a week do I have to apply to the court again or can I just take him? Thanks tom

Ps if I have to go court what form do I Need?

What does your child arrangements order say about going abroad on holidays ? If nothing then you need a specific steps order. C100 from hmcts. Website.

Unfortunately it’s probably best to go to court. You will need her permission, and the passport. Get it legally, and make sure she doesn’t include the flight days on the holiday unless you want to- I got caught out that way- it pulled three days off the holiday as it was international flights. Establish it as a future thing, that every 2 years you can go to a Hague convention country, then you can regularly have holidays if you want. I’d apply for up to two weeks, so that if you want a longer one at some point you don’t have to go back to court again.

It depends on what the CAO says.

If the CAO says that your son lives with you, you can take him out of the country for up to 1 month without needing his mother's consent. That applies regardless of whether or not the CAO says anything about going abroad for holidays. However, if it doesn't say that and his mother refuses to consent you should go to court for a specific issue order. You won't have any problem getting one for a holiday.

Many people take children out of the country without proper consent or a court order. If you do that you may get away with it but you could find that you are refused boarding or refused entry at your destination. I should also add that any parent who takes a child out of the country without consent or a court order is committing a criminal offence although it is highly unlikely they would be prosecuted over a genuine holiday.

If you do need an order it is a specific issue order (not "specific steps") and you need form C100.

Thanks for your replies will take it back to court