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PostPosted: 08/13/18 6:30 am • # 1 
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Worth sharing with friends who plan on travelling

Parents, children with different surnames must carry birth certificates when traveling, according to new rule

By Priyam Chhetri

Parents on Twitter are outraged by the new traveling policy set by the UK Home Office. According to the new rule, parents with different surnames than the child need to carry their birth certificate . The parents are expected to produce the certificate wherever necessary.

The passport will no longer be enough to identify their relationship and, thus, they must produce the documents. While the Home Office has said the stringent rule is meant to prevent trafficking and sexual exploitation, Twitterati is still pretty enraged over the matter.

The Home Office tweeted, "If your family has different surnames, please bring birth or adoption certificates to help get through passport control quicker. We have a duty to safeguard children and to prevent people trafficking, child sexual exploitation and other crimes. That is why Border Force officers sometimes need to ask additional questions."

Additionally, the office says, "If you are travelling with children who have a different surname, you may be asked questions at the border to prove your relationship. You can help by bringing with you the following documents: a birth or adoption certificate showing your relationship with the child, divorce or marriage certificates if you’re the parent but have a different surname from the child" and or "a letter from the child’s parent or social worker giving permission for the child to travel with you"

Parents feel that this requirement doesn't take into consideration many social factors. Many parents don't share a surname with their child for various reasons, the most common being not taking up the father's name at the time of marriage. Often, the parents of a child may not even be legally wed. There is also the case of children traveling with their guardians. They feel it is an additional process that is backward and "appalling".

One Twitter user wrote, "I am fundamentally against this. My husband and I have different surnames. And our son bears my husband's. Not unusual for parents to have different surnames in the 21st Century. Appalling stuff by @sajidjavid and the Home Office." Another one wrote, "Seriously? I am not taking my entire family's birth certificates with me every time we go abroad. What exactly is it that you are trying to establish? Surely all that matters is that we have valid travel documents?"

A third one chimed in, " can we not ask HMPO to try harder. Safeguarding children is crucial, but vilifying those who make a choice not to take each other's name is not the answer. 1.13m children have co-habiting, unmarried parents. An outmoded view of family is out of touch."

https://meaww.com/passport-parents-with ... rtificates


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 7:10 am • # 2 
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Maybe it's just me but I don't get why people are rebelling against this ~ the "name game" has changed dramatically over the years and I would want to protect my child and myself in all cases ~ if carrying a child's birth certificate while traveling guarantees that, then it's a "no brainer" for me ~ what am I missing?

Sooz


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 7:18 am • # 3 
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sooz, it's hard enough to keep up with kids, luggage and passports. When I see families at airports, especially those with 3-4 kids, I am amazed that they can travel at all. Especially if the kids are young. Think about a family of 6, with kids 6months to 7 or 8 years old. They would probably have at least 4 suitcases to check, along with 3-4 carry ons (extras for the baby's stuff and so they don't have to pay for extra checked bags). The youngest might be in a stroller or in a parent's arms. THEN they get to the desk/kiosk/boarding area and have to produce 10 different documents? What a hassle. Not only that, but the agent will have to take the time to check all of those,holding up the process....


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 11:04 am • # 4 
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I was born in Ontario and my original birth certificate was wallet sized and it does not show my parent's names.


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 2:32 pm • # 5 
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So how else do the border folks know you're not kidnapping a child? In Canada, parents travelling alone with a child, even with the same last name, have to show a letter proving they have the other parent's permission to take the child with them.


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 2:53 pm • # 6 
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So, what if adoptive parents allow their children to keep their birth name so they know their heritage? In the US a new BC is issued when an adoption takes place, but the name is up to the parents. Would those parents have to carry a passport, birth certificate and adoption papers? It's becoming a lot more complicated and imo, a little silly. With the Amber alert system and other similar systems around the world, a kidnapped child should/would be on a "watch" list at any border one would think. Picture and all.
Besides, birth certificates can be easily counterfeited........just ask the conservative "birthers". :lol


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 3:31 pm • # 7 
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Not all kids are on Amber alert systems. Most of the time the kids could be on a plane and in some other city or foreign country before the parents, custodial parent or police even know they are gone.


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 4:00 pm • # 8 
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jimwilliam wrote:
Not all kids are on Amber alert systems. Most of the time the kids could be on a plane and in some other city or foreign country before the parents, custodial parent or police even know they are gone.


Fair point. What I don't understand is that since the kids are required to have passports, why the request for BCs, which must be presented to get a passport and as shift said, his original BC has no parents listed?


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 6:58 pm • # 9 
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The difference being that we are talking about UK birth certificates not Ontario ones. The UK certificates do list parents' names. (So does mine from Manitoba, btw. as does my daughter's from B.C.)


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 7:17 pm • # 10 
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jimwilliam wrote:
The difference being that we are talking about UK birth certificates not Ontario ones. The UK certificates do list parents' names. (So does mine from Manitoba, btw. as does my daughter's from B.C.)


Right. However, other countries may follow suit. And, is this for UK residents only or is it also for anyone entering the UK from other countries? The OP didn't specify. That could create problems.


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PostPosted: 08/13/18 7:55 pm • # 11 
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jimwilliam wrote:
The difference being that we are talking about UK birth certificates not Ontario ones. The UK certificates do list parents' names. (So does mine from Manitoba, btw. as does my daughter's from B.C.)

The article says nothing about "UK birth certificates". It only says "birth certificates".

BTW, you can get a "long form birth certificate" showing parents' names in Ontario - I had to get one when I applied for a UK passport. I'm a patrial and needed a birth certificate that showed my parents' names along with copies of their birth certificates and their marriage license. But that's not the one that most people have.


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PostPosted: 08/14/18 9:54 am • # 12 
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Right. However, other countries may follow suit. And, is this for UK residents only or is it also for anyone entering the UK from other countries? The OP didn't specify. That could create problems.


If it applies to other countries the requirement would be listed on it's website and it would be up to the traveller to be familiar with it just the same as they have to be familiar with visa requirements wherever they go. In some cases several documents other than a passport are necessary to get visas. (ie: Canadians of Pakistani descent need criminal records checks, letters of invitation and a complete itinerary which will be checked before getting a visa to India.) Visas, even tourist visas, for many people wanting to visit Canada from several areas of the world, require letters of invitation from Canadian citizens.


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