Single mother bringing child to Turkey for holiday - father's approval needed?

nobodiez

Hi all,

I'd appreciate if someone could help me out with a question.
My girlfriend, her daughter and I are going away to Antalya, Turkey next weekend, flying from Belfast. She usually brings the child's birth certificate with her when travelling within EU and that's always enough while passing the boarders (the child's 5 years old).
We are going there for 7 nights holiday, would she needs some sort of the father's approval to bring the child to Turkey on a holiday?
The father's name is on the child's birth cert, however the child is not living with the father, my girlfriend and the father have never been married. She gets a single mother allowance too.
The travel agent said she doesn't need any approval from the father, I'd like to be a 100% sure though.

Thank you.

dave1982

I think you'd need a passport surely?

nobodiez

Oh yeah, she does have & will bring a passport!
I just want to find out for sure if the authorities at the boarder wouldn't ask for some sort of a father's approval

nobodiez

Sorry I probably wasn't clear, she will have a passport with her :-)
Her mother will also have her birth cert with her.
So given this is a 7 night stay with a return ticket, there shouldn't be any problem travelling with one parent?

K.Flyer

Honestly cannot see there being any issue. Plenty of single parents travel with their children on holidays.
The child has a passport so it should be fine.
If you are in any doubt, contact the Turkish embassy in Dublin for a definitive answer.

sarkozy

You really need to ask the right people for a definitive answer. The Turkish embassy and the Citizens' Information Service and NI equivalent (presumably www.gov.uk). There are Irish laws around custody, primary guardians, etc., the EU would have similar.

Regarding a holiday, you'd need to check the laws and requirements in both countries (NI/UK and Turkey) and bring all possible back-up documents to be on the safe side.

I, myself, am looking at getting our son's first passport (he's 11 months old) and it does seem that both parents' consent are needed for a passport application, but there are specific arrangements for different situations.

neemish

Does she have a good relationship with child's father? If so, there is no harm in having him sign a letter giving permission for the holiday. The letter would need to contain where the holiday is to, dates. It also sets a precedence if Dad ever wants to take the child abroad himself, that the Mom's permission is needed.

Also, be aware that if Mom were to get sick on holiday, AFAIK you would have no legal entitlement to care for the child or if necessary, to travel home with her. Just something that you need to check out.

gavindublin

It depends if he has guardianship. If he has been awarded it then as the childs legal guardian she needs his consent. If he hasnt applied and been awarded it then she can do as she pleases.

Welcome to irelands non existent daddy laws.

gavindublin

It depends if he has guardianship. If he has been awarded it then as the childs legal guardian she needs his consent. If he hasnt applied and been awarded it then she can do as she pleases.

Welcome to irelands non existent daddy laws.

pow wow

Whose last name does the child have? You're much more likely to encounter problems if the child doesn't share the last name of either of the adults who she's travelling with.

mrsbyrne

If the child has her own passport then that means that either her dad agreed she could have a passport(he would have needed to be present in the Guarda Station with the mother when the Gaurda signed the passport form) or the mother would have signed a sworn legal affidavit to the effect that she couldn't locate the child's father at the time of passport application.
Either way this child has a valid passport and no further permissions or explanations are needed for or from anybody.
Enjoy your holiday.

mrsbyrne

gavindublin wrote: »

It depends if he has guardianship. If he has been awarded it then as the childs legal guardian she needs his consent. If he hasnt applied and been awarded it then she can do as she pleases.

Welcome to irelands non existent daddy laws.

There are plenty of daddy laws.

gavindublin

mrsbyrne wrote: »

There are plenty of daddy laws.

Come stand in court with me and see how the law protects me so

pow wow

mrsbyrne wrote: »

Either way this child has a valid passport and no further permissions or explanations are needed for or from anybody.

That's not entirely true. A vast amount of child abductions take place with valid travel documents so officials go beyond the 'great you've a passport have a nice holiday' and will often question the adults and/or the children when travelling. I know of women who have been grilled about the fact they didn't have the same last name as the kids (kept their maiden name after marrying while the kids took the dad's name) and instances where the children have been asked things like 'do you know this man' etc. when travelling alone with their father.

If relations are good with the child's father OP there's no harm asking for a letter, not because you necessarily need one, but because if you get asked for one and don't have it you will wish you did!

CrookedJack

I know the question was whether permission was needed, but I find it a bit a bit strange that no one has said she should get the fathers permission simply because it is the right thing to do.

He is the father after all, he really should get a say in whether the child is taken out of the country.

mrsbyrne

gavindublin wrote: »

Come stand in court with me and see how the law protects me so

What is it exactly that you have been refused in court and more importantly, why?

mrsbyrne

CrookedJack wrote: »

I know the question was whether permission was needed, but I find it a bit a bit strange that no one has said she should get the fathers permission simply because it is the right thing to do.

He is the father after all, he really should get a say in whether the child is taken out of the country.

If the father has a healthy relationship with his child who does not live with him, and the child's mother, then he would be fully cogniscant of all impending disruptions to the routine.
The idea of any treats etc being dependent on the non-custodial parents whim, would not sit easy with me at all.

gavindublin

mrsbyrne wrote: »

What is it exactly that you have been refused in court and more importantly, why?

Refused, nothing ive asked for has been refused. Its the fact I needed a full legal team, a summons, a day in court and years of stress, all to be instated as my own sons legal guardian.

And thats just the first one. The assumption, as you have made, is that fathers have been refused or done something wrong just by being in court.

gavindublin

mrsbyrne wrote: »

What is it exactly that you have been refused in court and more importantly, why?

Refused, nothing ive asked for has been refused. Its the fact I needed a full legal team, a summons, a day in court and years of stress, all to be instated as my own sons legal guardian.

And thats just the first one. The assumption, as you have made, is that fathers have been refused or done something wrong just by being in court.

Lingua Franca

pow wow wrote: »

That's not entirely true. A vast amount of child abductions take place with valid travel documents so officials go beyond the 'great you've a passport have a nice holiday' and will often question the adults and/or the children when travelling. I know of women who have been grilled about the fact they didn't have the same last name as the kids (kept their maiden name after marrying while the kids took the dad's name) and instances where the children have been asked things like 'do you know this man' etc. when travelling alone with their father.

If relations are good with the child's father OP there's no harm asking for a letter, not because you necessarily need one, but because if you get asked for one and don't have it you will wish you did!

That happened to me once since I have a different surname to my children. I also let friends and relatives bring my children back and forth to Ireland to see their dad since we emigrated. I now have a signed letter from their dad with a photocopy of his passport for travel purposes, and I sign a letter and add a photocopy of my passport when other people are escorting them. Their dad has never been questioned since he has the same surname. A letter is not necessary as such and it's unlikely that you'll even be asked but there's no harm in having it anyway if you can get it.

kerry4sam

I've just deleted some posts from this thread as
~ not helpful to the op
~ not suitable for our Travel forum

Back-on-Topic,
Thanks,
kerry4sam