Travelling abroad with a child who has a different surname

Can I take my child abroad if we have different surnames?#

Yes. Parents and children end up with different surnames after a separation, a remarriage or a return to a former name. The different name does not stop you travelling; it makes questions more likely. GOV.UK's guidance on entering the UK says you may be asked at the border to prove your relationship to a child if you do not seem to be the parent, and the example it gives is a different surname. Its guidance on taking a child abroad says a letter of permission may be asked for at a UK or a foreign border.

Whose permission do I need?#

GOV.UK's rule is that you need the permission of everyone with parental responsibility for the child, or of a court, before you take the child abroad. That includes mothers: a mother has parental responsibility automatically, but GOV.UK says she still needs the permission of anyone else who has it. Changing a child's name sets out who holds parental responsibility; if you are the only person who does, there is nobody else to ask.

Two court orders make an exception for short trips:

• A child arrangements order that says the child lives with you: GOV.UK says you can take the child abroad for 28 days without permission, unless a court order says you cannot.
• A special guardianship order: section 14C of the Children Act 1989 lets a special guardian take the child out of the UK for less than three months.

For anything longer, the rule applies again.

What should the letter of permission say?#

GOV.UK says a letter from the person with parental responsibility is usually enough to show you have permission. It should give that person's contact details and details of the trip, such as where you are going and when you leave and come back. If more than one other person holds parental responsibility, you need permission from each of them. GOV.UK says you might be asked for the letter at the border, or if there is a dispute about the trip.

What documents should I take?#

• The letter of permission, unless you are the only person with parental responsibility or a court order covers the trip.
• The child's full birth certificate, or an adoption certificate, as evidence of your relationship. Only the full birth certificate names the parents; the short one has the child's details alone. A copy from the General Register Office costs £12.50 for a birth registered in England or Wales.
• Your marriage or divorce certificate, if your surname is different from the child's. GOV.UK names both for a parent in that position.
• Your deed poll, if your own name has changed by deed poll since the birth, so that the name on the birth certificate can be linked to the name on your passport.
• Any court order you rely on, such as a child arrangements order.

Does the country I am visiting have its own rules?#

Often. GOV.UK's foreign travel advice has an entry requirements section for every country. Its advice for Canada, for example, says a child travelling with only one parent should carry a letter of consent from the parent who is not travelling. Its advice for Belgium says adults travelling with children aged 17 or under may have to prove their relationship, and advises carrying a birth certificate or court order, particularly if your surname is different. GOV.UK also says to ask the country's embassy up to what age it treats someone as a child.

What if the other parent says no?#

Then you need a court's permission first. GOV.UK says the court will want details of the trip, including when you leave, when and how you will return, and contact details for the people with parental responsibility who stay in the UK. Where parents cannot agree on a major decision, GOV.UK points to a specific issue order, and it says you will usually need to show you have tried mediation first. Specific issue orders explains the application, written for a change of name but made on the same form, C100. The Family Mediation Council keeps a register of family mediators, and GOV.UK has a search for legal advisers.

Is it a crime to take a child abroad without permission?#

It can be. GOV.UK says that taking a child abroad without permission is child abduction. In England and Wales the offence is in section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984: a parent, guardian or other person connected with a child under 16 commits it by taking or sending the child out of the United Kingdom without the appropriate consent. That means the consent of the mother, of the father if he has parental responsibility, of any guardian or special guardian and of anyone the child lives with under a court order, or else the court's leave. The short trips above are excepted, and the Act sets out defences, such as believing the other person had agreed, or would agree if they knew all the circumstances. On conviction in the Crown Court, the maximum sentence is seven years' imprisonment.

Northern Ireland has an equivalent offence in the Child Abduction (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. In Scotland, section 2 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 says that, subject to any court order, no one may take a child under 16 who lives there out of the UK without the consent of anyone who has, and uses, the right to have the child live with them or to keep in regular contact; where both parents are in that position, both must agree. If you fear a child is about to be taken abroad without your consent, GOV.UK's advice is to contact the police.

Should we change my child's surname to match mine?#

You do not have to. GOV.UK treats a different surname as something you show with documents, not something you need to fix. Some families decide to make the names match anyway, for example with a double-barrelled surname that keeps both parents' names. That is a change of the child's name like any other: it needs the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility, or a court order. The child then needs a new passport in that name before travelling, because GOV.UK says the name on a passport must match the booking, and for that passport it asks for the deed poll, evidence of the name in use and written consent from everyone with parental responsibility. Giving a child a double-barrelled surname sets out the choices.