UK immigration ask children if their mum kidnapped them
Published: 2013 July 30 14:37:43 (4819 Views)
Flying back from Spain with her family on a long-delayed flight, Colette Mackintosh 45, was left stunned when UK border officials quizzed her children about whether she had abducted them – because they have a different surname.
Their passport details differ because Mrs Mackintosh changed her name following her remarriage last year.
Colette Mackintosh who has to take a letter from her ex-husband with her when she travels with her daughter, Anastasia Scott aged 12 as she has a different surname .
She doesn't have this problem travelling with her step-daughter, Isabella aged 16 as they have the same surname
When officials spotted this, her children were taken aside and questioned as to whether she was really their mother.
The personal assistant, from Richmond, South-West London, was told she now needs to carry a letter from her ex-husband allowing her to travel with the children.
Mrs Mackintosh arrived at Gatwick from Majorca with her 82-year-old father, stepdaughter Isabella, 16, son Harry, 14, and daughter Anastasia, 12.
She said: 'It was very late at night because the flight had been delayed. We were questioned, which was fair enough, but then they tried to take my son away to question him.
'At that point, I said, "My son does not go anywhere without me, I want to oversee this". He was asked to confirm that I was his mother, to which he said yes.
'I said, "Do I have to go through this every time I land?" and the official said you have to travel with your marriage certificate and a letter from their father giving you permission to travel across borders with them.'
She added: 'It was not a pleasant experience. It was embarrassing to be stuck there when you watch hundreds of people in the other queues going through.
'We were stuck there for 20 minutes and it was all quite a saga.
'The ironic thing is my stepdaughter looks nothing like me, but because she has the same surname they did not ask about her.
'Clearly she is not my daughter, she is blonde, curly haired and looks nothing like me. My own children, who have a different surname to me, are so obviously my children.'
Mrs Mackintosh now keeps a copy of her marriage certificate in her passport with a letter from her ex-husband, whom she divorced in 2004.
The letter says Mrs Mackintosh has permission to travel freely across the world with her children. She added: 'He is a lovely man and it is all very amicable, but there could be a situation where a former partner was not.'
According to the Border Agency, travellers with children should carry evidence of their relationship with a child if the surnames differ.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: 'In order to protect children and detect possible cases of trafficking, Border Force officers may ask adults travelling with children about their relationship with the child.
'We endeavour to do this as quickly and sensitively as possible to ensure there is no delay to journeys.'
The Parental Passport Campaign is seeking to give parents the option for children's passports to identify the names of their parents or guardians.
- DM
Their passport details differ because Mrs Mackintosh changed her name following her remarriage last year.
Colette Mackintosh who has to take a letter from her ex-husband with her when she travels with her daughter, Anastasia Scott aged 12 as she has a different surname .
She doesn't have this problem travelling with her step-daughter, Isabella aged 16 as they have the same surname
When officials spotted this, her children were taken aside and questioned as to whether she was really their mother.
The personal assistant, from Richmond, South-West London, was told she now needs to carry a letter from her ex-husband allowing her to travel with the children.
Mrs Mackintosh arrived at Gatwick from Majorca with her 82-year-old father, stepdaughter Isabella, 16, son Harry, 14, and daughter Anastasia, 12.
She said: 'It was very late at night because the flight had been delayed. We were questioned, which was fair enough, but then they tried to take my son away to question him.
'At that point, I said, "My son does not go anywhere without me, I want to oversee this". He was asked to confirm that I was his mother, to which he said yes.
'I said, "Do I have to go through this every time I land?" and the official said you have to travel with your marriage certificate and a letter from their father giving you permission to travel across borders with them.'
She added: 'It was not a pleasant experience. It was embarrassing to be stuck there when you watch hundreds of people in the other queues going through.
'We were stuck there for 20 minutes and it was all quite a saga.
'The ironic thing is my stepdaughter looks nothing like me, but because she has the same surname they did not ask about her.
'Clearly she is not my daughter, she is blonde, curly haired and looks nothing like me. My own children, who have a different surname to me, are so obviously my children.'
Mrs Mackintosh now keeps a copy of her marriage certificate in her passport with a letter from her ex-husband, whom she divorced in 2004.
The letter says Mrs Mackintosh has permission to travel freely across the world with her children. She added: 'He is a lovely man and it is all very amicable, but there could be a situation where a former partner was not.'
According to the Border Agency, travellers with children should carry evidence of their relationship with a child if the surnames differ.
A spokesman for the Home Office said: 'In order to protect children and detect possible cases of trafficking, Border Force officers may ask adults travelling with children about their relationship with the child.
'We endeavour to do this as quickly and sensitively as possible to ensure there is no delay to journeys.'
The Parental Passport Campaign is seeking to give parents the option for children's passports to identify the names of their parents or guardians.
- DM
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