Separated parents pay dearly to visit their children abroad

DIVORCEES whose children live abroad are being forced to pay hundreds of pounds to comply with court visitation orders, lawyers have warned.

Passengers travelling to England must purchase a £210 testing kit, and take their tests on the second and eighth days of isolation. Those who fail to do so may face penalties of up to £2,000.

The Government has an approved list of people who qualify for exemption from the payment – including aerospace engineers, BBC journalists, defence personnel, offshore oil and gas workers, elite athletes and people who have regular work in the UK but live abroad. However, parents whose children live abroad are not on the list, meaning many fear they will be unable to fulfil court visitation orders.

Family lawyers as well as parents forced to pay the £210 a trip are now calling on the government to add separated parents to the exemption list in a bid to put an end to the “significant financial burden” of “seeing your kid”.

Henry McLoughlin, 36, an analyst at a renewable energy firm, lives in London but has a four-year-old daughter in Paris. He said he understands that the £210 kit acts as a deterrent to stop people travelling unnecessarily.

However, he added: “But it doesn’t work if you’re fulfilling your duty about seeing your kid. The deterrent shouldn’t be keeping families apart.”

During the first lockdown in March 2020, there were exemptions for parents dealing with custody issues, meaning that children were able to move between houses. However, there is currently no such system in place regarding international travel.

The £210 required for the travel test package, required since Feb 15, would add up to around £7,000 over a year if the restrictions are not relaxed. If it continues to remain in place, some divorced or separated parents fear they will be unable to meet their legal obligations.

In a worst-case scenario, parents who are unable to carry out visitation requirements set out by judges in family courts could be found in contempt of court. Penalties for such offences range from fines to imprisonment, depending on the seriousness of the breach.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Every essential check that has been introduced … is helping prevent the new coronavirus variants making it into the UK. We keep all exemptions under review.”