If you travel abroad with your children but without the other parent, you may have to beware of certain legal situations, whatever your marital status. A Dutch lawyer specialised in the topic tells you how to avoid ending in trouble with the local law enforcement if you bring your child alone on holidays.
We are now in the middle of the holiday season in the northern hemisphere, and many of you may be in a foreign country, enjoying the sun or discovering a new place. At this occasion, lawyer Karen Rueb (EJ Netherlands), has been asked about this topic. A specialist in family law for the NWL lawfirm, Karen has an eye for identifying legal issues related to parenthood or couples. “There is a topic that is widely overlooked”, she says, “and that is the right to go on vacation with your child as a single parent”.
Karen explains that travelling abroad with a child but not with the other parent can raise legal questions, and they apply to you whether you are married or not with the person who shares custody with your child. “If you want to travel with your children but not the other parent, you technically need the authorisation of the other. If you need a visa for the country you plan to travel to, then both parents need to consent to the application of the visa for your child. You can run into problems abroad, especially if your children have a different last name than you”. A case that happens more and more in modern families, even when the parents have been married since the childrens' birth.
The Schengen area suppressed border controls but travelling to or from a non-Schengen country exposes you to potential controls. “In the Netherlands, the Royal Military Police would check on minors or the accompanying adult. There is a special form to be filled by the other parent to express their consent, and you should bring it along as you travel in the country”.
Rules can be different from one place to another and it is recommended that you check with the embassy of your country of destination. There are a number of basic documents that you should take with you anyway, such as a copy of the other parent's passport. If you are divorced with the other parent, it is also a good idea to bring papers related to custody of the child.
But according to Karen, problems can go further. “It is not possible anymore to put your children in your own passport; everyone is now required to have their own documents, even a baby. Governments failed to realise that the necessary procedures have become costly, each journey can lead a family to go through a lot of queries and get a lot of papers, each charging a fee. These documents also typically have a short lifespan, their validity tends to expire after three months, which means you have to go through the same procedure every time you plan another trip”.
But the worst cases are those bringing conflict. “If you were refused the permission to take your child abroad alone, you may appeal to court. This legislation was made to avoid cases of people illegaly taking their child away from the other parent. If you suspect this is happening in your family, you can contact a dedicated centre or call a specialist lawyer”.
