LEGAL EAGLE: Guidance for separated parents seeking consent to take their child on holiday

For a parent to take a child outside of England and Wales, consent is needed from anyone else who holds parental responsibility.

I am separated from my daughter’s father but want to take her on holiday this summer. Do I need his consent, and what do I need to do about this?

Taking children on holidays abroad is a common issue that comes up between parents who are separated.

The bottom line is that for a parent to take a child outside of England and Wales, consent is needed from anyone else who holds parental responsibility for the child (which usually will just be the other parent).

It is really important that you get consent before taking a child on holiday, as failure to do so amounts legally to abducting the child, which is a criminal offence that can have significant consequences.

Consent should always be obtained as early as possible to avoid any issues and should ideally be obtained in writing.

One reason for this is that written consent can be provided to airport/border officials if required, but it also reduces the possibility of verbal consent being withdrawn at the last minute.

The best course of action for obtaining consent is to write to the other parent setting out the details of the holiday (destination, duration, arrangements etc.) and ask them to reply confirming they consent.

A question that comes up often is what happens if the other parent refuses consent – in this situation, you can apply to the court for a Specific Issue Order, which is an order of the court that would permit you to take the child on holiday – the court consider various factors when deciding whether to make such orders – one factor that is often especially relevant is if the parent who isn’t consenting says there is a risk that the child won’t be returned.

As of April 2024, the Family Procedure Rules changed to place a greater emphasis on attending mediation before attending court – if consent is refused and there are no urgent time limits involved, then mediation is something that you should consider before making any application to court.

One other relevant point to note is that anyone who has a Child Arrangements Order stating that a child is to live with them can take the child out of the jurisdiction (i.e. out of England and Wales) for up to 28 days without the consent of anyone else.

We at Ben Hoare Bell LLP have the appropriate expertise in assisting in such matters.

Please contact us on 0191 565 3112 or [email protected] for advice on the subject.