Octang Frye

Hola guapas,

'Just sent my 12 year old son to visit his grandparents/cousins in the UK.
This was his first unaccompanied flight. His mother gave me a notarized letter (we're not together) giving her consent for a passport.

So I sent him off, with British Airways, but he was detained briefly coming through immigration in the UK. (My poor mum was quite distressed.) Fortunately, they released him into his grandparent's custody after some phone calls and ID-showing. (He's excited that he was "arrested" and can't wait to tell his school-friends.)

It turns out, his mother and I should have provided him with a notarized letter saying we both consented to the trip, where he was staying, with whom, the duration etc.

My question to you is, will he require a similar letter to leave the UK?

Michael

I would suspect not since he would be just returning to the country of residence (jurisdiction). However, I could be 100% wrong.

Octang Frye

If he was leaving with a parent/adult, one might consider the kidnapping angle.
But seeing as he's traveling on his own, and returning to the US, I think it should be okay. I just want to reassure my mum and dad and not cause any stress to the kid.

Michael

If you have a court order indicating that you are the custodial parent, you might want to fax him a copy to be on the safe side. You are correct, all of that has to do with the possibility of the child moving between countries without the custodial parent's consent so immigration is very cautious (maybe over cautious in this case).

Octang Frye

I just bounced around several websites and phone numbers including British Airways, the Denver and Houston consulates, the embassy in Washington. Ridiculous. I forgot how onerous it is to try and find information from these sources.

His mother and I don't have any legal agreement. We've just worked things out between us. Hopefully speak to another live human tomorrow. Thanks for your input, Michael.

Lion in Winter

Not just without the custodial parent's consent. Both parents' consent. The fact that a child does not live with one of the parents most of the time, does not mean that the other parent has no rights.

There is a big difference between physical custody (the child lives mostly with one parent) and sole legal custody. Most divorces result in joint legal custody, irrespective of the physical custody agreement. Sole legal custody is awarded when one parent is a danger to the child or is simply unavailable (has moved away and can't be found, for example). The divorce agreement should explicitly state the terms of custody, and I believe that sole legal custody is the only one where the consent of the other parent is not required.

In this case, there is no divorce agreement so I would have the letter at all times.

I send my child to Mexico with a notarized letter giving the consent of both parents and the letter covers the return trip as well - I specify where he is going, dates and flights. Sometimes he has been asked for it, and sometimes not. I haven't tried sending him solo to the UK yet, but when he has travelled there with me I take a letter with his father's consent to be safe, but he has never been asked for it. He enters the UK on a British passport, so that may make a difference.

robin1234

Don't airlines still provide services for unaccompanied minors? I know they used to. That way, BA staff would have delivered your son to your mother. If they still have such a service, it would be backed up by all the notarized permission letters etc. needed.

When we lived in the UK in the eighties, the young daughter of a friend in the US came to visit us unaccompanied, and we used that service with BA both ways. She was delivered to us at LHR by a BA staff member, and she'd been handed off every step of the way.. How they handled the entry interview, I don't know though..

Lion in Winter

The service definitely still exists, but I imagine the correct documents still have to be produced if requested.

robin1234

Yeah that's what I meant.. The airline would tell you what they needed in terms of paperwork otherwise they wouldn't take the responsibility..

Michael

Initially when I wrote that, I thought his wife was in the UK and he was the custodial parent in the US so in that case, I assumed that he would be the only one required to give his child authorization to leave the US for the UK. I'm not sure what would be required in that case since I don't think you can get a document notarized by two people living in different countries. Maybe in that case, you'd need two separate notarized documents.

lansbury

Far from 100% correct. There are circumstances in which the father may well have no rights at all, and exceptional cases when the mother would not.

lansbury

Does he require one - no. Would having one be a good idea - yes. Even if he has one it doesn't stop him being asked questions and the details checked out. At his age he is old enough that his giving the details of his travel and where he lives, that he is making the trip freely, etc counts for a lot.

Lion in Winter

But then in that case the one parent would have sole legal custody, no?

Octang Frye

Airlines do offer that unaccompanied minor service. British Airways charges $100 per leg, so it would be $200. Which is fine, but you can't book the service online. You have to use a travel agent, for some reason. I don't even know if they exist over here.

And, yes, both his mother and I live in Denver.

lansbury

No custody has nothing to do with it. It is who has or doesn't have parental responsibility.