Can I Take Children Abroad Without Father's Consent?

Depending on the circumstances, you may or may not require a father’s consent to take your children abroad.  The law states that the person with Parental Responsibility must be sought for consent. In the event where a resident parent has a residency order, the resident parent can take a child out of the country for up to 28 days without consent of the other parent.

This is an issue that causes so much trouble between parents when they cannot come to an agreement. It should therefore be done with care. Parents are advised to do what is in the best interest of their children and not themselves. After all, your children’s father is still very important to your children even if you may not think so.

In case you do not have a residence order, you can take your children abroad but you have to inform the father. A non-resident father needs to be informed about your plans in advance to ensure that you are in agreement come the day of travel. It is important to note that a father has the power to stop you through a court order if he doesn’t agree with your plans. 

It is always reasonable to discuss this matter with the father of your children. Depending on the reasons for travelling, it may be more difficult to get the consent of the father for you to take children abroad. Getting a fathers consent is especially difficult when you intend to relocate with them.

If you are the non-resident parent and wish to take your children abroad for any reason, you will be required to agree with the father if he is the resident parent of your children. Note that his permission will be required even if you just want to take your children for a short holiday abroad.

You can take your children abroad as often as you wish as long as you are in agreement with the father of your kids. No matter the current status of your relationship with the father of your children, it’s important to involve him in a matter like this. Getting his consent may save you a lot of time, money and pain.

If you possess legal Parental Responsibility, granted by the joint registering of your child with your partner, then you have equal legal status and are allowed to take the child or children abroad. However, since the passing of Child Abduction Act in 1984, it has been illegal to take a child abroad without the consent of the other parent. Under a Residence Order, where a child's residence is legally decided, you can take the child abroad for up to a month. A court does have the option though of issuing a Prohibited Steps or Specific Issues Order, which restricts where the child can specifically be taken, and the context under which it is taken. A child must also have their own individual passport, and if this procedure is made, the parent is obliged to notify all others with Parental Responsibility that this is taking place. Failing to adhere to these procedures can result in a forced separation from the child and extended imprisonment.

I have a 1 year old and have booked a holiday with my new partner for 1 week in july, My sons father has told me that he does not give permission for me to take our son out of the country for a week. Can he do this? What would happen if I just ignored him and went anyway? We have not been to court only mediation and I have stopped him seeing his son untill he does go through court as he owes me £20. He is on the birth certificate which would give him parental rights.

My sons farther tried to stop me from taking my son abroard for 1 week by using his parental rights, just because he now has to pay csa.
I applied for a specific issue order (free if your on certain benifits) I applied in person to the court to represent myself, this is so much better my case was dealt and heard with within 2 weeks.
I got my order granted as there was no good reasons that his dad gave for my son not to go away, I'm now going to make a residence order in that way I can take my son away for upto 4 weeks without his permission, quiet sad to go through this really after bringing up my son on my own for 11 yrs.

What papers do I need as a father to take my childrens abroad with mothers consent

My son is 17 months and I want to take him to Abroad for a few months to visit family his dad is not on the birth certificate and been in and out of his life and obit jus started to get money for him through csa and then I received a letter of his solicitor stating he wants contact every week but I'm not happy for this what should I do and is it illegal for me to jus go and not say anything
Not happy for this for many reasons