Welcome to the DAD.Info forum: Important Information – open to read:
Our forum aims to provide support and guidance where it can, however we may not always have the answer. The forum is not moderated 24 hours a day, so If you – or someone you know – are being harmed or in immediate danger of being harmed, call the police on 999.
Alternatively, if you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
If you are worried about you or someone you know is at risk of harm, please click here: How we can help
My son is 12 years old and lives with his mother. We separated 3 years ago but 1 year ago she disappeared (moved house, changed his school etc.) and I have no idea where they. I contacted his previous school but they said I have no parental rights as his father because he was born in 2001 and we got married in 2002.
Now, in 2002 we wanted to visit the Netherlands and my son needed a passport. I couldn't apply for one because I was told I have no PR for my son even though I am named on his birth certificate. His mother could not get a British passport for him because she is Australian and to get an Australian passport for him would have taken months. We were told if we got married I would have rights as his parent. So that is what we did. A few days later we were married, I applied for his passport and it was issued. I have since applied for a second passport for my son because the first one had expired and that was issued too.
I have recently been told I do not have any rights because the law changed in 2003 and because all this happened before the law change I do not have rights. Is there anyone out there who could clarify if I have rights or not? I was my son's main carer for most of his life (cooking, cleaning, entertaining him, educating him, taking him to school, playing sports with him at weekends). I miss him with all my heart and need to have contact with him again.
Thank you,
Sad Dad 🙁
Hi there,
Yes you do have PR as far as I'm concerned, the fact that you married, even after the birth, gave you automatic PR.
The 2003 ruling is more about giving unmarried fathers PR as long as they are named on the birth certificate. The group of fathers that is effected are those with children born pre 2003 that did not marry the mother, even though they were named on the birth certificate.
I got this from the Families Need Fathers website, under the question, " how can an unmarried father obtain parental responsibility?"
www.fnf.org.uk/law-and-information/parental-responsibility
...By subsequently marrying the mother of the child you automatically gain PR [CA1989s2(3)Family Law Reform Act 1987s(1)]
Your sons previous school are wrong to state you don't have PR. you wouldn't have been allowed to apply for his passport in 2002 if you didn't have PR.
I think it's awful that you have been separated from your son in this way, if there's any more information you need please just ask.
Thank you so much for your prompt and concise answer.
I will let the forum know if I have any positive news soon.
Regards,
Kevin.
Welcome to the DAD.info forum.
We don’t like to set ‘rules’, but to make sure that you and the other dads are kept safe, we have some requests. When engaging with the forum, please be aware of the following:
- The forum is not moderated 24 hours per day.
- Many of the moderators do so on a voluntary basis. Whilst they may be able to provide some guidance, advice or support, they may not be able to deal with specifics.
- We are not an emergency crisis service so if you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call emergency services.
- If you are concerned about the safety of a child, please click here to find the support you can get for them (link to new page)
- If you are in crisis, please call Samaritans on 116 123. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
We hope you find this forum a supportive environment and thank you for joining us.