Travelling abroad with children after divorce or separation
With 2025 almost over, many families will be looking towards 2026 and making plans for family holidays abroad for the year ahead.
Separated or divorced parents planning to travel abroad with their children must carefully prepare in advance to ensure a smooth and legally compliant journey. Holidays in these scenarios require foresight beyond the usual flight, visa and accommodation aspects.
If you are planning to travel abroad with your child without the other parent, and both of you have parental responsibility, you must have their written consent, which applies regardless of your marital status or the nature of your parenting relationship.
Essential documentation
To avoid delays or disruptions, the travelling parent should endeavour to carry the following essential documentation with them, in addition to the flight tickets, accommodation booking and passports:-
- A copy of any relevant Court Orders (Child Arrangements Order or Specific Issue Order).
- Original or certified copy of the child’s birth certificate to establish the travelling parent’s relationship.
- Detailed travel itinerary with flight information, accommodation details and relevant contact numbers.
- Travel insurance covering both you and your child.
- Travel consent letter from the other parent. This must be prepared using specific and detailed information.
It is best to keep the above documentation in your hand luggage and be prepared to explain your relationship to your child and show evidence of consent or legal authority to travel.
What to do if the other parent refuses consent
It is recommended to provide as much detail as possible to the other parent and in plenty of time before the intended travel, ideally prior to any bookings being made, so that you can obtain their consent.
If you have a Child Arrangements Order that states that the child lives with you, then you can take them abroad for up to 28 days without needing the other parent’s consent, but it is usually best to keep the other parent informed in any event, especially if the proposed holiday will disrupt the arrangements between them and the child.
If the other parent withholds their consent or does not co-operate, then a (usually urgent) application for a Specific Issue Order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 will need to be lodged with the Family Court. This may result in a dispute regarding the overall arrangements (re)surfacing.
The Court will need to consider whether the international travel is in the child’s best interests with reference to the welfare checklist. The main issues to consider will be the nature and purpose of the trip as well as the duration of the trip and the impact it would have on the child’s usual routine and contact arrangements with the other parent.
Provided that the trip has been carefully planned and appears to be in the child’s best interests, the Court would provide permission. However, if there has been poor planning or poor communication with the other parent, or worse, there are allegations of international child abduction or concerns regarding the intended destination, the Court can refuse permission, and the other parent may raise their concerns within proceedings to change the existing child arrangements.
Plan ahead
Travelling abroad with your child should be an exciting time and not one that results in distress or, worse, criminal sanctions. Careful planning and appropriate legal advice can help avoid this.
If you are thinking about travelling abroad with your child after your divorce or separation, and are unsure about your rights and responsibilities, then our Family Law Partner, Aysha Chouhdary, and the complex Children Law Team at Geldards have extensive experience in such matters and can advise further.