Hi there,

I hope someone can assist me. Next week i will be moving back to England with my son. My husband will not be travelling with us at this time. I heard that if I am travelling alone with my son, then i need a letter from my husband to authourise the trip. I also heard this needs to be signed and stamped by the amphur office??? I am a british citizen and my husband is from the philippines and our son was born in thailand, does the letter still need to be stamped by the amphur office? if it needs to be stamped by the amphur office, does it need to be in thai or is English ok? i really dont want any problems at the airport. sorry for all the questions.

With this combo of parents, you might clarify what citizenship your son has.

Never heard of the amphur being involved in such a letter. Usually just your husband agreeing, I expect, with a signed copy of the data page of his passport.

Mac

ok thanks. my son is a british citizen

Usually a child travelling with a parent, particularly the mother and especially if the child has the same surname, would not be questioned.

There was a recent case of a grandparent travelling out with a child and immigrations wanted some documentation, although I think they were satisfied talking to the child's mother on the telephone. Obviously the age disparity made it obvious the grandparent was not the child's father and caused them to wonder whether the child was travelling with the knowledge of his parents.

In your case I doubt they'd give it a thought. Obviously many travelers are accompanied by children without question. Does the child have a Thai or British passport?

Thanks for your response. He has a British passport. My husband and I recently got married and at the moment the name on my passport hasn't been changed, so still has my maiden name. So my son and I do have different names. Do you think this will cause a problem? I will have his birth certificate with me.

I doubt that it will cause a problem, especially as you have the birth certificate.

But to be 100% sure, why not simply get a letter of consent from your husband?

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

With this combo of parents, you might clarify what citizenship your son has.

Never heard of the amphur being involved in such a letter. Usually just your husband agreeing, I expect, with a signed copy of the data page of his passport.

Mac

Been in this situation before, quite scary. The I/O had to call the childs father as his name was on the birth certificate. This was eventually accepted by immigration. When we were eventually cleared to depart I asked the I/O how to avoid any problems in the future, his reply was to get an authorization letter notorised at the local amphur.

In many ways it should be a comfort that they do ask questions in this situation. Anything that reduces the risk of people trafficking has to be a good thing.

Get a letter of authorisation, perhaps with photocopies of your husbands passport, in addition to a copy of the birth certificate. These checks are there to protect the child so worth putting up with the inconvenience IMO.

Just arrived back in England. The letter of consent was not required at Bangkok immigration or London immigration. Both immigrations asked for my son's birth certificate though. In London they just wanted a document that proved I was the mother, this was mainly due to my son and I having different surnames. In London I showed them a certified translation of the birth certificate as his birth certificate was in thai. They were ok with this. My advice to a parent travelling alone is to ensure you have a copy of their child's birth certificate along with a certified translation if it's not in English.

Thanks to everyone here for their help and advice