Divorced: Need permission papers for child?

[iluv2teach58]

I was told I may be asked for a letter from my ex husband stating I had permission to take our 13 year old daughter to the Bahamas. I am going to request this from him just in case--better to be safe than have problems. I hate asking him for anything--so I am going to let my daughter tell him she needs it.
Has anyone ever been asked for a letter?

 

[serene56]

I have taken my kids on 5 cruises- Never was I asked for a letter. It may be different if you have a different last name then the child.

 

[Corky]

Haven't been to the Bahama's...but when my husband, our son and myself went on a Western Caribbean cruise when our son was 15 my husband and I each had to write a letter stating that we gave each other permission to take our child into Mexico. Apparently Mexico is where parents run with their children when they are abducting them.

I've never heard of this for the Bahama's, just Mexico...but times are changing. Unfortunately!

 

[Sophie]

we are cruising in january and have a letter from my step sons mother stating he can cruise with us; i am also taking a copy of my papers showing that i have full custody of my children.

 

[Mbandy]

When traveling with only one parent with a child under 18, the parent must have one of the three following things:

1) A letter...SIGNED AND NOTORIZED...from the absent parent giving permission to take the child out of the country. I always suggest including ship and sailing date in the letter.

2) If the traveling parent has sole custody, then a copy of the sole custody document from the divorce papers. Will be fine.

3) If the absent parent is deceased, a copy of the death certificate is required.

I have heard it said that "they don't really check" but be warned, this is a government regulation. If they do check and you don't have it, the child will not bew allowed to travel.

Happy Cruising,

Michael =sailor

 

[mlzangel78]

Off topic but how horrible to begin your vaction by having to produce the death certificate of a loved deceased spouse and parent,,,, I know that its a foramilty but it certainly would not provide me with a great vacation mood knowing im carrying around my spouses death certificate... youd think that carnival could have you fax it or seomthing ahead of time, and some where in your cruise docs, on your passage ticket it would state that the documentation was recieved,,, just a thought

 

[lizardstew]

Mbandy is right. I've worked for various airlines and these types of documents are required to take a child from the US to any other country. Sometimes it is NOT asked for, but I have personally known of people who have been denied boarding because they didn't have the proper documents. I assume the rules are the same for travel by sea as they are by air.

 

[MikeNBec]

I'm a detective who works in the Juvenile Division of the Sheriffs Office here in Greater New Orleans. We've dealt with cases where the mother or father take the child away and the other parent doesn't see 'em again for quite awhile. I'd get the letter just to be on the safe side. Good gotta pay for the bad, as they say..........unfortunately!

As for the comment posted above, :"2) If the traveling parent has sole custody, then a copy of the sole custody document from the divorce papers. Will be fine." thats isn't correct. Sole custody means one parent had custody, but the other parent has visitation at certain times, so a letter from the other parent is needed so that its verified that no vistation rights, ect. are being violated.

 

[Sophie]

i called carnival and asked; and was told to bring my divorce papers showing that i have sole legal and physical custody and that was all i needed for my children; to bring a signed and notorized letter from my step sons mother stating the cruise date, and ship he would be on with us. hope this helps.

 

[cruisegary]

So, what if the joint custody other parent says, no you can not go.

Or, what if you do not know who the father is, where he is, dead or alive?

Etc, etc.

So, is it really a rule, or what so many have said "better safe than sorry?"

 

[lizardstew]

It is really a rule and as I said above, I have personally known people who have been denied boarding because of this. I have also had to deny boarding to passengers when I worked at the airport because they could not produce this information.

If the other parent says no, then theoretically the child would not be able to go.

If the other parent is unknown, then his name probably won't be on the birth certificate. The certificate can be shown to prove that there is no other parent who has rights to the child. If the parent is dead, then a death certificate will be required.

This is to prevent parents from taking the children out of the country with the intention of hiding them from the other parent. Apparently, The only way to assure that this won't happen is to get permission from both parents.

 

[nimbex]

My divorced friend was told by RCCL that she indeed was required to provide a notarized letter from the ex, on a form sent from RCCL, no exceptions. Now we all know that things get passed by... but the way security has changed, I can see the personal saying "NO BOARDING". So this is legit and you have received excellent advice here.

 

[Cruise cutie]

I personally last year in October 2003 had to produce a letter from my Ex-husband giving me permission to take our under age 18 year old son out of the country..by plane to Aruba....we have shared custody....airlines demanded at each stop to see the notarized with travel dates and countries itinerary. listed,this also pertains to grandparents,aunts uncles..whatever.. friends of the family etc..Stephen ( my son's) best friend Jason was with us,had to have a note from BOTH his parents giving him permission to leave the USA to go to Aruba with us....get the documents or risk not being able to board the kiddo....not fun!!...sigh... it is indeed to prevent familial kidnapping by the rotten few.......whether parents, siblings, grandparents etc.....Good luck..:daisy..Joanne

 

[MikeNBec]

Gary, in reference to your quesions:

>>So, what if the joint custody other parent says, no you can not go. <<

Then you have to get a judge's okay to do so. When parents divorce, many times they put the kids in the middle. I have full custody of my kids, but due to visitation arrangements, if I were to take a cruise that my ex-wife (yes, I'm a dad who fought and won custody of his kids, who she left when they were 9 months and 3 years old, and they have never left my house) didn't approve of because it ran into one of her visitation days, I'd have to get my lawyer to have a judge sign an order that it was okay to do so. My kids are now 12 and 8, and there are many times that she has put the kids in the middle because she realized her mistake and can't accept that she put herself in the position in life that she's in now. Sad.

>>Or, what if you do not know who the father is, where he is, dead or alive? <<

I'd once again suggest a letter from a judge (I'd suggest that you don't get pregnant by someone you don't know, but thats a little late if you're in this situation.......LOL).
I'll pass on clicking on this link before it turns into a "Well, MY ex did this and that" stuff.

 

[Crazy for Cruising]

I would like to add a twist to this. I have court ordered custody of my two great nieces and have had for over 6 years. They were taken from the mother by the state of Florida and placed in my custody. The father never participated in any of the court actions. Their parental rights weren't severed. The children do have my last name and I am single.

We went on the Miracle last March to Nassau. I did have my court orders but they did not ask to see them. I had called Carnaval and that is what they had told me I would need. We were booked in a Cat 11 and used the separate check in area for suites. The ladies couldn't have been nicer and never asked anything.

I hear everyone saying get a letter from the judge. Have you ever had to deal with the court system? I have been trying to get the children's case moved from Florida to Kentucky since last March and we are now on the docket for January. I sure hope getting a letter signed by a judge is easier and doesn't require going to court or I will never be able to take the kids out of the country.

 

[lizardstew]

You shouldn't need an letter from the judge if you have orders showing that you have sole custody/guardianship, whether you are the parent or a third party. Essentially, a court order IS a letter from the judge.

I think in most cases, parents (or others - I work in a family law office and we have one case where the mother and grandmother share custody) either share custody or one person has sole custody and the other interested party has visitation. That is when permission is needed from the other parent, not in cases where one person has sole custody and the other parent/person doesn't have any court ordered parenting time.

 

[Mbandy]

Also, if the father is "whereabouts unknown" the mother should apply for sole custoday with the court. Same for if the mother is "gone with the wind". Sadly it does happen.