Hi all. My son born in the phillipines has just received his British passport. l Will be going over to the Philippines next week with the intentions to bring him back to the UK for a holiday with his mother's blessing My question is will I be able to just bring him back to the UK with no restrictions? Do I need any type of clearance Thank barry
My sister flew to the Philippines 10 months ago,she was in the country for 8 hours to collect her 11 month old grand-daughter who had just received her brit passport,the immigration at mactan saw the brit passport,asked maybe 2 or 3 questions and that was it,at Heathrow they didn't even ask one single question,the mother of the child will hopefully be here in a few weeks.The girl has travelled to several European countries since being here,thats her a few weeks ago in the Eiffel tower eating in the restaurant there.Enjoy the holiday with your son,they grow quickly.
Just in passing I have a Filipino friend who was living in Spain. She got a divorce from her British husband. Their son had British nationality. His mother was allowed to go to U.K. and settle there on the grounds that she needed to care for her son, aged 4, who was going to take up his right to live there
I would definitely advise carrying an original birth certificate of the child with you too... to demonstrate that there has never been any sort of visa requirement for him in the Phils.
Are you married as may need DWSD clearance authority to take him out of philippines if not. If he does not have your surname then definitely need birth certificate to show you are father on arrival in UK. On last trip back lady in next immigration booth at heathrow looked lije she was having trouble on that issue.
He will require DSWD clearance as well as affidavit from mother authorising him to take the child unaccompanied.
Yup,just double-checked with my sis she hadn't even heard of DSWD clearance,the british passport was all she had as well as passport photocopies of the mother and father and the mothers hospital record (None of these were asked for or looked at) as the mother was in Hospital with suspected TB that's why it was all a bit of a rush.My sis got the news the mother was in hospital,the baby was left with the family who are a bunch of incompetent's and totally dysfunctional so my sis booked a ticket and was there three days later for a few hours to collect the baby,nothing is set in stone in the PI.
But your sister is not a man. Under Philippine law, the mother has full (amounts to sole) care and control over her children.
I sent my UK-born son (Filipina mother) back to the UK from the Phils, UNACCOMPANIED, when he was 9 years old... and with a British passport. However, my two Filipino stepchildren (who had already previously lived in the UK for a couple of years) , travelling on Philippines passports, had to be collected by their mother, who had been working in the UK, and was at that time still there. In other words... she had to fly out to the Phils to bring them, to avoid DSWD involvement. This is of course a different scenario from the one the O.P. was asking about.
My sister isn't the mother of the child,she wasn't asked anything,she just showed the british passport,thats what carried the weight,not pinoy documentation of which there was none.
Barry, It is best to come prepared in situations like these. I would suggest that you bring with you your son's birth certificate showing that you are the father, with the DSWD clearance and mother's affidavit. These may not he asked from you, but what if, they would? Maybe it's just me, but I always want to be organised. When I travelled with my then 13 month old daughter, I was asked to show her birth certificate. I was using my Phil passport then though.
I will be in a similar situation and we plan to get a DSWD travel clearance for exiting Philippines immigrations for my son.
