Travelling with a child with a different surname

[slh2009]

Hi I've read that some people have had problems at immigration, UK and abroad, when travelling with a child with a different surname.

My friend who works for Border Control said I should take a letter from my partner giving his permission for me to travel with my son, and a copy of his passport.

I just wondered how often people get questioned in reality, has anyone had experience?

[Chunksmum]

Hi, I have been questionned twice in the past and was told to send my partner through with my child or if travelling without then always bring copy of child's birth certificate.

[enjoy]

I always have abcopy of the birth certificate in my wallet.

Isually l am too lazy to get it out of questioned, but l would not travel without it.

But l honestly think it is quiet discriminatory: we are married, just not having one family name and l have to prove constantly l have the right to travel with them.

[wienekegommers]

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[simonethebeaver]

I've taken my marriage certificate to show I'm married to someone with that surname, which has been accepted. I find it really irritating too - I look exactly like my children and our passport records show we have travelled repeatedly together. The idea that surname is so crucial grates.

[Belle]

I had no idea this could be an issue, although our kids have both our surnames so I guess that might be why it's never come up.

[slh2009]

Thanks all, looks like I had better take a copy of the birth certificate too as I am not married and my partner is not travelling with us. I would never have thought about it being an issue either but happened to read something about it and thought I'd better investigate, glad I did!

[GinaG3]

Things like this never used to be an issue. As kids we used to be on my mums passport, never had our own. I suppose they have to be on the ball with people not having permission to travel with their kids etc.

[buggie]

From a safeguarding POV I can completely see why this can be an issue - if some were happily ushered through it'd provide too big a loophole to be used by those trafficking children.

Know it sounds extreme, but it is a huge issue & thus there have to be procedures in place to protect children and unfortunately can't exclude the nice looking families.

I feel more angry that there are people so nasty as to traffic children/adults than the officials trying to prevent it.

Ironically, the old style thing where children were on their Mum's passport would've avoided this (although then create an issue for Dad's travelling solo with kids).

Am sure there are lots more occasions where Dads are vilified and eyed suspiciously when with their kids - how many of our other halfs have had occasions where they've had to "prove" their the parent/are acting with the Mum's consent?

[bkkmei]

I think even with the same surname, it may be advisable to be prepared if one parent is travelling with the kids. My husband sometimes takes the kids travelling without me and I give a notarised letter of consent. He's never been questioned though.

[Yak]

Both me and OH have a different surname to our son. Never occurred to bring his birth cert with us when we travel, but thinking we should do in future.

[JulieP]

I have a scanned copy my marriage certificate as a pdf on my iphone which seems to be acceptable. Have been stopped on several occasions and staff have said that although it's obvious they are my kids, they still have to go through the motions.

[srisky]

I'm glad they are vigilant about this. However , what happens if e.g grandparents take the kids on holiday? How is a letter from the parents giving consent verified as authentic? Anyone have experience of this?

[bkkmei]

Possibly this is where the notarised document comes into play.

However, one thing you can do is contact by email the embassy of the country that is being visited and ask what the situation is.

This is what we did for Greece and were advised about the notarised letter of consent.

[Sanne Panne]

I am always asked for the birth certificate when entering or exiting the "other" country. Wondering if UK border control has the parents' names logged when they scan the childrens' passports because they never ask me if they're mine when I leave the UK with them... (my passport is EU but non-UK and my kids' passports are British AND they have different surnames).

[devsdev]

The letter of consent is also to prove (however far it can) that the travelling parent is not abducting the children in case of custody battles etc.

[simonethebeaver]

But devdev, that only works if you're in a 'custody battle' with someone with a different surname. If you're genuinely concerned that your ex will take the kids out of the country against your wishes for nefarious purposes, you need a prohibited steps order.

[devsdev]

Simone, agreed. I think they can ask for a letter even if names are the same. I remember reading an article about a mother trying to get back her kids from Russia (she had actually sent them to visit their dad) and it referred to this. Our kids have both our names, but I travel with a letter and birth certificate.

[AnyaJoeli]

I've travelled to Canada twice with my son without my husband and have had to have copies of my son's birth certificate, our marriage certificate (I haven't changed my passport to my married name yet), and a letter of consent from my husband. They are all checked carefully, but I've always wondered how they know it's authentic as I could've written the letter myself rather than my husband...

[Fra81]

Me and my son have different surnames as well as different nationalities! We have travelled on our own without dad numerous times and I never got questioned. In any event I carry the birth certificate with me, but I don't have a letter of consent each time.

[heber jumble queen]

This is odd. I've never even considered this and have travelled abroad with my sons several times who have a different surname to mine. It's never been an issue for me - are you talking about very young children?

[srisky]

I am really glad I read this thread, as it would have never occurred to me to take these documents/letter (my passport has my maiden name).

[slh2009]

Thanks everyone, this has been really helpful. I just wondered if people get the letters of consent notarised as well?

[canela]

I have a different surname to my kids and they look nothing like me. I have travelled loads with them on my own and never once been asked. I've never thought of having to take proof but I will now.

to be honest it all seems a bit random. In many countries women do not change their name so they always have a different name to their children, who take the family name.

[trillian42]

I don't think that a different name is considered strange at all. I think that they are even used to seeing parents traveling with kids of a different nationality. the question here is that they need to know that the other parent is aware that you are traveling with the kid or not.

So, even if your name is the same, you should have a letter of consent with you. notarised is the best, but within the EU we just do it with the signature of two witnesses. they don't usually ask for the paper, but in the rare chance that they do and you don't have it, it can be quite horrible. We started carrying it when we learned that when entering the US, a friend traveling alone with her small child was requested to prove that she is not abducting the kid, and until they could reach the father to verify, she was separated from her child. for over 7 hours. if you've ever been around American immigration officers, you know how horrific all this had been.

oh, and we do the same for when the grandparents travel with our kids.

btw, our children have both of our surnames, but right now their travel documents are of a different nationality from mine.

also, it's important to mention that women are much less questioned about this than men.