"given special permission" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You would use it when someone has been given permission to do something by a higher authority, especially when that permission is not normally granted. For example: The students were given special permission to stay after school and finish their project.
"They were given special permission to work," Ms. Pardo said.
Because I had become attached to it, I was given special permission to keep it.
Tis, who was sentenced to four years in prison for "drugs-related offences", was given special permission to attend the festival in Nottingham.
However, it was expected Mr Murdoch would have been given special permission to fly because of his close ties to both the UK and US governments.
The World Boxing Association championship committee has given special permission to allow Lennox Lewis to defend his heavyweight title against Michael Grant on April 29.
She had so little time to spare, she was given special permission to warm down in the diving well next to the racing pool while the men's 200 freestyle was taking place.
Israel gave special permission for about 500 members of Gaza's small Christian community to travel to Israel and the West Bank to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, said Col. Nir Press, the chief of Israel's Coordination and Liaison Administration, which operates the Gaza crossings.
Maryland was the only state to so openly flout the ban, giving special permission to the Maryland Company in 1781, to perform both in Baltimore and Annapolis.
At 17, I was given special medical permission to play in the first team - back then, the football association only allowed players under 18 to play if a doctor confirmed that there was no medical reason why they shouldn't.
A spokesman for the tax authority said on Tuesday that it was only able to confirm details of the deal because Google had given it special permission.
The data are centrally stored on an NHS server and access to them is given by special permission.
