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Permission for a holiday abroad
A parent cannot take a child abroad, even for a day trip across the channel, without the permission of the other parent. This does not apply if the parent has a residence order (when a holiday of up to a month is possible without permission) or if no-one else has parental responsibility for instance if parents unmarried and the other parent does not have parental responsibility.
However it is responsible parenting to seek the permission of the other parent even if not strictly needed in law.
Permission should often be recorded in writing as a matter of caution, for certainty and as evidence. This avoids any suggestion of an abduction.
If permission is refused, an application can be made to the court. Permission will often be granted if the plans for the holiday abroad are reasonable and the court is satisfied that the child will be returned. In some exceptional cases, mirror orders may be a good idea. The court will want to know details of time abroad, location, contact details and similar.
Requests for a longer trip than one month are treated the same although the court will want to know more about the trip and certainty of return and any impact on education, the other parent and similar.
