Travelling alone with child - different surname to me. Panicking!!

[meagain3]

I’m taking my 5 month baby abroad alone, DH doesn’t like flying so he’ll drive and meet us there. Me and Ds are flying there alone to meet him.

i have changed my surname by deed poll to be the same as Ds but I haven’t changed my name on my passport as it’s still valid for another 8 years. I have booked my plane ticket in my old name/name on passport which is obviously different to Ds. Will I get stopped? What paperwork should I bring if anything…

You need a signed letter from DH saying he has PR and consents to this trip, and a copy of the BCs. For both children.

Okay thanks! His birth certificate has my new name on too. Just my passport in the old name😅

I assume you have paperwork for the deed poll. Take a copy of that too.

I do. So Ds birth certificate, my deed poll and a consent letter from DH!

So the names on dc’s birth certificate don’t match yours…? I’d get some sort of legal document to prove that the person on the birth cert is the same as the person on the passport.

I’d hope you would be stopped to be honest.

Cross posts - yes take the deed poll with you!

I should imagine that will be fine.

I think you should get your DHs authorisation signed by the police (you both need to go to the police station with your documents). I am sure there is proper official advice on the Government website, have you checked that??

Yes- basically, you need proof that everyone with PR knows where the children are and is happy with that. :)

After this it might be worth paying out for a replacement passport.
Saves this hassle for the next 8 years.

I’ve travelled extensively with my child who has a different surname to me. I take his birth certificate. The first time I travelled I took a scan of my ex’s passport, under which he wrote a letter to give consent.

I’ve never had to show any documentation or even been asked our relationship either leaving or re-entering the country.

To make it clear (these obviously arent the real names)

2 years ago I got a new passport in my birth name ‘holly jones’
1 year ago I changed my name by deed poll to ‘holly Taylor’

Ds was born 5m ago. His birth certificate says
Mother - ‘Holly Taylor’ formally known as ‘Holly Jones’

Ds ‘name’ on his birth certificate and passport is Charlie Taylor

My name on my passport is ‘Holly Jones’ still.

We go away in 5 weeks. I could try and change the name on my passport now but worried it won’t return to me in time!

oops editing to say actually I cannot change the name on my passport anyway as already booked flights in the same name as my current passport name and it won’t allow to change the name on the ticket

Why would the police be involved? They've not got time to investigate actual crimes, never mind signing letters for holidays.

The official guidance is here, OP - https://www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad The government website says letter plus proof of relationship (eg birth certificate). Given your change of name, I think deed poll certificate as well would be a good idea.

Have a great trip!

I’ve flown loads with my 2dcs who have a different surname AND nationality than me 😅.
It’s fine, honestly! I’ve had to show my paperwork on most occasions but was happy to do so, as it means they check these things out. They just check the paperwork and sometimes ask a few questions, then wave you through.

I’ve taken :
birth certificate
letter from dcs’ dad

If your passport name doesn’t correspond with the name on your birth certificate, just take the official deed poll doc.

Can’t find anything on gov website about having to go to a police station to have authorisation signed.

It's very unlikely that OP will get stopped, however, it is a possibility and if she was to get stopped without the correct paperwork it could ruin their holiday.

Don't do that - you'll need to pay to change the name on your flights too. People travel all the time with their names differing from their children. Fortunately, I think it's more common now than it once was.

Shes going to take the correct paperwork from the sounds of it. And I take the correct paperwork but it doesn’t involve the police signing it. I was just reassuring the OP as she seems to be worried.

@meagain3 given his birth certificate has both your new and former name on it, I’m sure that plus deed poll plus letter from DH will be more than enough.

No you really don’t and this is catastrophising.

i have a different name to my kids and have flown long and short haul with them many many many times without my husband.

Never brought a letter except once to the US and they didn’t ask for it. . So I borough their birth certificate as this shows my name and marriage certificate to show the link between hubby and myself and children.

I was never asked once for any documentation. Also for reference I have a different nationality passport than my kids and again was never asked. Call the airline as they will be best to advise. I did get questioned once abiut flying when pregnant but had a letter for that to prove I was under 7 months. ….

Be calm. Not worth panicking about people do this all the time.

Unrelated to the thread but I'm just curious though - you say "DH" - as in "husband". Are you actually married? When you marry you can change your surname but you don't have to do a deed poll for it.

What? I have a different surname from my children and am no longer in a relationship with their father. I take them on holiday all the time! Never been asked for anything!

I have not took his surname. We both kept our original birth name then we both decided to change our surname via deed poll last year as we are both estranged from our families and didn’t want Ds to have either of the birth names we had.

You're taking quite a big risk if you choose not to get signed authorisation.

If they do decide to stop you, and they can't get hold of their father, you could be detained and even separated from the children whilst they investigate. Depending on the type of relationship you have, if they do get hold of him and he says that he doesn't consent, you could, in theory, be arrested for child abduction.

My friend was delayed for hours coming back from Canada (funnily enough, not on the way out but on the way home) because her Dad hadn't got proof that her Mum consented to the trip and the time difference meant her Mum (who he is still together with) didn't answer the phone when they tried to contact her. They held them both at the airport until they managed to get her to confirm she agreed to them travelling, by which point they'd obviously missed their flight and had to pay a huge whack to switch to a different one. And she was 16 at the time, so it just goes to show that you're not "safe" until they are 18.

Just remembered that was what my friend was told to do but that was for grandparents to take the grandchildren without the parents and many years ago. You'll probably be fine with the birth certificate and change of name certificate. I take my children abroad often without their dad and never been asked for authorisation but we do share a surname.