permission to travel/letter of consent

[movingf]

Hi,

Appreciate this is not directly a visa question but related

Situation is

Thai Mum
8 yo daughter - Born in Thailand with UK father, unmarried
Birth certificate shows both father and mothers details including fathers UK passport number and details.
We have a certificate signed by her Thai school showing she is attending there.
UK father as far as I know is not in Thailand or UK currently.

Want to travel internationally, UK initially.

Thai law does not recognise the unmarried father as having any parental responsibilities unless gained via a court order

UK father does not want to sign any "permission/letter of consent" to travel.

As mother is considered as having full parental responsibility I don't think leaving Thailand would be an issue although if you can confirm this that would be good.

When leaving the UK would she need that letter or would they let her return to Thailand.

Are there any guidance rules published on the internet / any personal experience of this

I did do some searching but can't seem to find anything that fits this situation

Thanks for your help.
Trevor

[Frontier Mole]

Not sure what the question is?
And particularly in the case of entering the UK.
Are you suggesting the girl is travelling on a UK passport? Or on a Thai passport?

[movingf]

Sorry let me clarify, hopefully this makes more sense.

Father maybe willing to sign a "right of abode in the UK" letter but not the permission to travel letter ( long story )

So on the basis we can get the right of abode processed

Daughter would be travelling from Thailand to the UK for a holiday with mum both with Thai passports.

As mum is considered legally the only one with parental responsibility in Thailand does she actually need the letter of consent from the father should UK immigration query their entry to or exit from the UK?

Thanks

[CR001]

Can i ask what the purpose of your trave to the uk is?

For a right of abode application, you need evidence of the british parent, such as their birth certificate or passport.

If you are hoping to apply for right of abode for the child, it indicates your intention is to move to the uk. What visa would you be applying for?

[Frontier Mole]

There appear to be several issues to unpack.
From a caseworker perspective the most problematic issue will be potential for the daughter’s right of abode. If the daughter arrives in the UK she has an absolute right to remain and by default the mother has a route to remain as the parent of a uk child. So asking for a visit visa to gain entry may appear to a method to circumvent entry under the appropriate route.
The consent letter is not required if the mother has sole custody and there is court documentation to back that up. If there is no official documentation then there is nothing to back that. Letters from a school is not going to be enough.
If the child is issued a visit visa to enter the UK then they are expected to leave the UK.

[movingf]

Can i ask what the purpose of your trave to the uk is? Holiday

For a right of abode application, you need evidence of the british parent, such as their birth certificate or passport. Childs birth certificate has his passport details recorded. I have also obtained his birth certificate. We then just needed a consent form signed for the right of abode. Originally he seemed ok with signing things but has more questions now.

If you are hoping to apply for right of abode for the child, it indicates your intention is to move to the uk. What visa would you be applying for? We don't currently have a plan for the child to live in the UK just to visit for a holiday and a visitor visa was rejected as it would restrict what she can do. they suggested in the rejection email to apply for her UK passport or a right of abode. We don't have a suitable countersignatory for the UK passport so then looked at the right of abode as a way for her to visit for a holiday although it does provide her with additional options.

We were not trying to circumvent anything, original application was for Mum and two daughters to visit the UK so just submitted 3 visitor visa applications, did not realise they could not issue visitor visa for her if I had known I would have saved £120 for the application.

In Thai law as far as I can gather where the father is not married to the mother (as is the case) he has no parental rights so not sure how you would get the court to issue a document confirming what is already law. If my assumption is incorrect then some guidance on how to go about this would be appreciated.

Thanks for helping
Trevor

[Ticktack]

As far as the HO is concerned, the child is a British Citizen. A Brit cannot be issued a visiting visa to the UK. Some other countries like the US wouldn't even allow an American to enter the US with a different passport.

The child would rightly need a British passport or a CoERoA on a Thai passport. This doesn't necessarily mean that the child has to move to the UK permanently, child can enter and exit as they please and live anywhere else in the world.

However, for this application to go through, you would need the British father to be on board. Documents would be needed from him.

Child "might" not need a permit from the dad to travel with the mum. Just that some countries try to safeguard kids from child smuggling, hence it could be a factor. But since the mother has sole custody of the child and a court document to prove that, that's all that is needed to travel anywhere in the world with the child.

Having a British child or Spouse doesn't necessarily mean that one's visa application would be denied. Many people just visit the UK and exit without wanting to stay. However, all circumstances are different.