No Minors Allowed To Leave Poland Without Parental Legal Consent?

I know a woman in Poland that never married and has a 4 year old girl. The father comes and visits once in a while, sometimes he doesn't pay any child support. The woman is raising the child and living at her father's house. She tends to have a less than friendly relationship with the ex-boyfriend who has since moved on to other girls.

What are the chances that this woman could leave Poland with her child (no passport for the child) without the express consent of her ex-boyfriend? She can go to Germany, I guess, but I am not sure she can take the child with her on those trips. Will she have to wait until that child turns 18 in order to be able to leave Poland with her, IF the child's father never gives the little girl permission to leave the country with her mother. Are Polish girls that have never married or that are divorced with minor children may be STUCK in Poland until such children turn 18? Sounds to me like, for an American, he or she is better off dating childless singles or men/women with no children under the age of 18 if they want to bring them to America or elsewhere. True?

This is a matter of who has custody of the child. If she has custody, than she can take her whereever she wants, if they have joint custody, than she needs permission. This is determined by family court.

And for sure get a passport, its required even for infants, because how otherwise can be determined that its really your child? (for practical purposes it won't matter very much for Germany because of the borderless Schengen area, but there can always be random checks).

It may make a difference if the father is not named on the birth certificate. Then there are no rights, except going through court procedures to prove that he is the father. If he then proves that he is the father, the court will tell him to pay maintenance for the child and maybe even the mother.

It would be very hard for the father to do anything, (i.e. prevent the mother from going abroad) if he does not pay child maintenance or is not involved with the child.

The ID card can be used in all of Europe with the exception of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.