I need help ASAP

Hey Ladies,

 I have a quick question, and I'm on a time crunch! I have a court order stating that I have Elijah for the entire christmas holiday, do i still need a notarized letting from his dad to bring him to England? My lawyer said that I don't need a letter and that I only need to notify him that I'm leaving, but I just wanted your opinions. 

thanks,
alz

This last time my girls came over, they were stopped in passport control, and told that the next time they come over, they would need a letter saying that their dad knew they were traveling over, etc. They didn't mention if it needed to be notorized tho. Just to play it safe, if your ex will write a letter, it is better to send it on with your child.  Mind you, this was the first time they had traveled over without me traveling with them, so that could have been why they were told they needed a letter.

Well, I notified him already. I guess it won't hurt to give him a formal letter with the contact information for him to sign. This all seems so crazy an extreme just to go to England for 2 weeks  , but I'd hate to get turned away after flying for 10 hours on Christmas Day.

Well, I notified him already. I guess it won't hurt to give him a formal letter with the contact information for him to sign. This all seems so crazy an extreme just to go to England for 2 weeks  , but I'd hate to get turned away after flying for 10 hours on Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, with the rise in international child abduction, it's going to become more and more difficult to travel across borders without documentation that the other parent knows where you're at and has consented to you taking the child out of the country.  Yes, it's a pain, and yes, it seems like a lot of trouble, but I'd sure like to know they were checking if it was MY child being taken out of the country by someone else.

 

well, what if he won't sign it, do i have to go to court? That seems silly. Especially since I have a court order showing that Christmas is my scheduled time.

Have you asked him to sign it yet?  Maybe he'll surprise you and be totally reasonable about it. 

Look, I'm not attorney and certainly can't offer legal advice.  Neither am I a travel/immigration expert.  But...I am a single mother who frequently travels out of the country with my children.  I wouldn't risk travelling across borders without something indicating that my girls' father knows where they are and who they are with.  If it were me, I would push the issue.  The LAST thing I need is to be accused of international child abduction.  The state dept website, while not stating that this paperwork is REQUIRED for entrance into the UK, states that it is a good idea to have it.  I have been asked for it once at UK immigration.  Don't know what the response would have been if I hadn't had it with me, but they were quite happy to hear that I did have documentation that my ex was aware I was travelling out of the country with the kids and didn't even examine the letter.

I have the ex from h***, so I definitely choose my battles with him.  But this is one that I am willing to battle with him over every single time, as I feel it is that important.  It's not so much getting his 'permission' (although I let him think that), it's about covering my bahookie....  Even though I'll be travelling on my British passport in November, and my girls will have settlement visas in their passports, I'm still going to have that notarized letter from my ex with me...

You will have to decide what you feel comfortable with and what level of risk you're willing to take...

Well....

I guess that's the thing. I've taken my son before and haven't been asked for anything. Plus my attorney said that I don't need his permission I only need to "notify" him. But my worry is how will immigration know that I have "notified" him, you know? Some people say I need a notarized letter and some people say I don't need anything.

Nelson just seems to like to go out of his way to inconvenience me and being that I have already spent $1200 on plane tickets, I would hate to have him stop me especially when it's my 2 weeks of vacation and he won't even have any time with Elijah.

With my luck, I'm sure if I don't bring a letter they'll ask for one.

WooHoo!!!! I just called the British Consulate and they said that it is not necessary for me to have a letter and that a copy of my court should be fine. 

Getting a notarized letter from Nelson would have been a nightmare. I'll ask him to sign something saying that he's been informed but if he refuses, I'm not going to worry about it. 

thanks for the info ladies!