11 year old son has different name.....??

[ciship]

I remarried two years ago and my 11-year old son kept his original last name. The rest of us in the family traveling will have a different last name from his. Is this going to be a problem for him, or will it be fine as long as his correct name is on his id and birth certificate? Does he need anything signed from his biological father?

[MikeNJ1109]

You might wish to check the Department of State website at [url]www.state.gov[/url]

Overall, the child should have the same proof of citizenship as an adult, be it a passport, birth certificate and so forth. As his mother, you should bring with you documentation that shows your maternal relationship to the child (birth certificate) in addition to your own proof of citizenship. Lastly, a signed and notarized letter from the childs other parent "allowing" him to travel out of the country is something I'd recommend (you should consider including the dates of the trip, the ship you'll be on, the ports you will be visiting, etc.)...many "common carriers" (i.e airlines, cruiseships, trains, etc.) require this. This is for your protection as well as for your son, as the policy is in place to prevent a custodial parent from taking (abducting??) the child out of the legal jurisdiction of the non-custodial parent. There is a story going on now involving a man who was awarded legal custody of his minor child by a court in the United States...the non-custodial mother, a French national, took the child to southern France. A French court ordered the child returned to the father, but the mother is balking...the whole case is a legal and financial mess for the father.

Bottom line is, have your ducks in a row PRIOR to leaving on the trip, you and your son want to enjoy this trip, and not be turned away because you don't have the right paperwork. Consider speaking with the attorney who handled the divorce/separation, they can draft something appropriate.

Mike

[Keksie]

When travelling with my son who also has a different last name I always take a notarized letter from his father stating that I have permission to take him out of the country (I include the dates, countries I intend to visit and a provision for unexpected stops and delays). I have never been asked for it but I would rather be safe than sorry. For identification he uses his passport.

[ciship]

WOW Mike....thanks for all the solid information. Just to be safe, I'm going to talk with his father about a "permission slip".

cq

[CMurph]

I have cruised with my 2 kids 3 times and have traveled internationally with no problem. Same situation, different last names. One way to avoid notorized letters, etc. Get your child a passport. His father would have to sign a paper (you can print it off the internet) and you would submit that with the application. That form shows his awareness & willingness for your child to travel out of the country.

[doone]

My sister ran into this on our cruise a couple of years ago. She could not get her ex to sign the slip, had to go to court and get the court's permission. The judge wasn't happy with her ex as to waste the courts time on something like this. BUT we are glad we went through it, she was asked for this letter at the airlines when we were checking in and also at the pier when checking in for the cruise. She asked in each case what would have happened if she didn't have this slip, the answer was always the same, we would have had to deny you boarding. Better to be safe than sorry and remember, get the letter notarized and be sure your dates of travel are on it.

[kitty9]

The letter must be notorized in order for the ship and airline to accept it. Don't travel anywhere out of the country without this. But, as others have said, your best option is to get passports for everyone in the family.

[sunshine95030]

I'm currently going through the same sort of thing. I don't know where my ex is, and Princess requires either notarized authorization from him for me to travel with my 13 yr old son, OR a letter from the court. I filed papers today requesting the judge to order me able to take my son out of the state/country. Our cruise is just to Hawaii, but we stop briefly in Ensenada which apparently is why they need this documentation. Good luck!

[ciship]

Wow...this is so much more complicated than I imagined. I was just going to go with just his birth certificate and picture ID with me. Guess I better start trying to hunt down my son's dad....sigh........

Thanks for all the info!!

[Smooth Sailing]

We just returned from our cruise on the NCL Sea to Mexico, Roatan, and Belize. Our daughter and grandaughter also went with us. Our grandaughter is 2-1/2 and all we had was her birth certificate - no letter from the biological father - don't even know where he is - could care less - Anyways, we were never asked for any type of letter - had no questions asked or problems at all.