Taking Children on a Foreign Holiday when Parents are Separated

Where parents are separated and wanting to go on a foreign holiday with their children, they should seek the consent of the other parent. This can be a difficult task, especially where there are communication difficulties or animosity between the parties. The general view of the Courts is that irrespective of the acrimonious relationship between the parents, a child should be able to enjoy a holiday and in addition spend extended time with a parent over the summer school holidays.

Any persons named in a Child Arrangements Order has permission to take a child out of the United Kingdom for up to 28 days without the permission of any other persons with parental responsibility. Equally, even where a child arrangements order is in place, if the other parent does not agree to a child(ren) going abroad they can apply to the Court for a Prohibited Steps Order to prevent the removal of a child from the UK.

Many separated parents have never had cause to refer to the family Courts when making arrangements for their children but problems can often arise when it comes to holidays. If you are aware that there are likely to be difficulties in agreeing arrangements for holidays, then it is likely you will require legal advice or even application to the Court for a specific issue order – the specific issue being the removal of the child(ren) from the United Kingdom. In order to attempt to mediate matters ahead of booking a holiday, or if already booked, the other parent should be provided with full details of the proposed holiday, including travel and accommodation details, including flight details, contact details and addresses of hotels, at least one month in advance.

If you have any difficulties or anticipate any difficulties in negotiating the arrangements for the holidays, then we can assist. The risk to most families is that the holiday is often booked in advance, a considerable amount of money is spent on the booking and ultimately that could all fall apart at the last minute if the other parent makes an application to prevent the removal of the child(ren) from the UK.