Different last names for parent and child problems???

[December99]

My boss just got back from Mexico and said that they had a huge difficulty getting on the plane to head to Mexico because apparently beginning January 1 Mexico has imposed a $10,000 fine for people entering their country with children that don't belong to them - so my question is - has anyone encountered running into any problems yet with having children with different names and their parents, particularly the mothers and what type, if any, documentation did you take with you?

As she said, she had the problem with boarding the plane in the United States to get to Mexico but had no problems getting home. I don't know if it would even be an issue getting on the ship for the cruise but it was one I didn't even think about. She did finally point out that she had to sign the passport and as long as she had id, including her own passport, that that should be proof enough - finally the airport agreed.

 

[wovenwonder]

If both biological parents are not traveling with the child then it is a good idea to have a notarized permission from the parent staying on land that the child may leave the country with one parent. It is not a requirement of DCL at this point but I would not leave with my child unless I had it to be on the safe side.

 

[quidam]

Where I live we keep our maiden name when we get married and we can give the father's name, the mother's name or both names to our children.

My child has both names. We have never had any problems, but we each have our own passport.

In March we are bringing our niece along. My sister-in-law got her a passport and we have written a letter which will be notarized saying that my niece is allowed by BOTH her parents to travel with us. We have been told by our TA, and know as a fact, that without that letter she wouldn't be allowed to board the plane with us. In such cases, a passport is not enough.

Hope this helps!

 

[CRB#33]

My children have last names different than mine and I had no problems at all on our cruise this past June. I didn't go to Mexico however. All I carried were birth certificates for each of us. It has your name as her mother on the birth cert. It may be your old name, but you can provide documentation of your new marriage if need be.

Plus your DD is old enough to state to them clearly that she is your daughter.

 

[ldb1030]

Having a notorized letter from the absent parent/parents is nothing new. This has always been required if you are taking someone elses kids to Mexico!
Would be very easy to kidnap a child w/out this!

CHILDREN UNDER 18 YRS WHO ARE NOT TRAVELING WITH BOTH
PARENTS ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD A NOTARIZED CONSENT LETTER
FROM THE ABSENT PARENT OR GUARDIAN. THIS LETTER MUST BE
CONSULARIZED BY CONSULATE BEFORE TOURIST CARD IS ISSUED

The above was copied from the "immigration and customs" page for Mexico.

 

[December99]

Thanks. It will indeed be my own daughter and I have changed my name twice in the last 7 years due to my divorce (went back to my maiden name) and then my remarriage. So in essence I had two different names than my dd. I'll just make sure I have my divorce decree (stating that my name was changing) and then my new marriage certificate.

If anyone reads this and is just coming back and ran into any problems, I would appreciate it if you could PM me or something. Thanks

 

[sandiegosusie]

We were told by Expedia (which I would never go through again) that we should have a notorized letter from my exhusband that it was ok to take our sons out of the country. We did, he signed it, and are awaiting our cruise next month.

 

[kimber79]

Hi December99!

I am a single mom of 2, and we were on the Halloween Wonder Cruise this year. I did not have a notorized letter from my kids dads (although I meant too! ), and did not have any kind of problem. It probably wouldn't hurt to have the notorized letter just in case. I did have each of our certified birth certificates, and the CM at the check in counter just asked who was their mom. I told her "me" , and she said thank you I figured so but I just had to ask!

Have a fantastic cruise!!

p.s. Thank you by the way for all you hard work on the ornament exchange! It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to it again!!

Kim

 

[dbond]

December 99, the issue is not necessarily whether or not she is your daughter, it is whether or not the other parent is aware of the whereabouts of the child and do you have permission from that parent to take the child out of the country? They are protecting themselves from parents fleeing with children over custody issues. I have taken my 2 children out of the country on several occasions since 1997. I had a letter drafted and notarized at that time from my ex giving me permission to travel with them out of the country. I have been asked to see that letter on numerous occasions, DCL did not ask, but Premier Cruise Lines and customs officials in Mexico did. If there is not another legal parent or the ex does not have any custody rights, then copies of birth certificates showing no other parent or divorce decrees that indicate no other joint custody agreements would suffice. It's always been my policy to to be safe than sorry. Some travel agents will strongly suggest that you take legal precautions if they see the 2 different last names.

 

[December99]

Thanks. I did plan on bringing the divorce decree since I do have sole custody and it does not mention anything regarding vacations or traveling with the child. I have a hard enough time getting my ex to send me the child support - I'm sure he has no clue what a notary is. But I guess I'll start now.

But I already knew about the custody part of it - my question is has anyone had any problems when you have a different name than your child - my boss is married and not been divorced with her child but they have separate last names - so this isn't really just a question for divorced people...it's for anyone that has a different last name than their child. But I do understand the divorced people's issue on this also and I deeply appreciate the info - it has been very good and will be needed I'm sure!

 

[Sandyrella]

My husband took our DS (then 4) for a small vacation to St. Petes Beach in September of 2001. Since I wasn't going, he was advised by the TA to get a letter signed by both of us, and a lawyer, stating that either one of us had permission to travel outside of Canada alone, with the child. They both have the same last name but he was asked for it at US Customs at the airport and would not have been allowed to board the plane without the letter and DS birth certificate.

Here in Quebec, we keep our maiden names when we marry. Since I have two children from a previous marriage, they have a different last name from both me and my husband. Although I have their original birth certificates, passports and my legal custody arrangement, I still had my ex co-sign a letter stating that we could both travel with the children. Unfortunately, for some reason that only he knows, he insisted on adding "for travel only in the US". I don't know if this will make a difference if we are travelling to Bahamas....will I need to get another letter for our Feb 2004 cruise? Will anybody ask for it? Will they be forced to stay on the ship? Does anybody care once we are in the U.S.? Who know?? I really hate to ask my ex for another letter as it was like pulling teeth for the first one!

For the record, we have never been asked for a letter when crossing the border by car, but I would not attempt to go through customs at an airport without the letter.