Passport / Holiday abroad

[JER2025]

Hey! I’m hoping to get some advice about applying for a passport and taking my children abroad.

In summary ex hasn’t seen children for many years following DV convictions. He applied for contact via Family Court and several Child Arrangement Orders were issued during process i.e, for indirect contact, but all confirming parties agreed children live with me. Last CAO states this and under B30 “living with” orders states children will live with me until further order. Ex then didn’t pursue application beyond this and has continued to have no contact since.

The CAO doesn’t have an expiry date or anything indicating its longevity. So my main question is - Will this entitle me to apply for passports without his consent and take children abroad for 1 week? Thanks in advance for your help.

If the CAO states that the children live with you, you do not need his consent to apply for passports and you can take your children out of the country for up to one month without his consent.

Hey,

If you’ve got a “lives with” order (B30), that usually means you can take the kids abroad for up to 28 days without needing his permission—unless your order says otherwise (most don’t).

As for the passport - technically they like both parents to sign, but in your case, with no contact and a court order confirming they live with you, you can usually apply on your own. Just pop a copy of the order in with the application and include a little note explaining the situation (DV, no contact, etc.). They’ve seen this kind of thing before.

I’d say go for it. You’ve done everything right

Passport applications only need to be completed and signed by 1 parent. You'd give the details of the other parent but they don't need to sign the application. There is no need to send details of the order or any other info unless requested to do so