Legal implications of taking a British child to another country

[askinfforfriend]

Asking this for a friend.
My friend is separating from her dp. They're not married and have one primary school aged dc. Parents are from European country and dc has dual nationality and they live in England.

My friend following the separation decided it would be best to move back home. Stbxp didn't agree or disagree, a bit non committal throughout. Now that the departure date is approaching there is a bit of animosity and my friend is worried he might do something to prevent her from going.

Does anyone know if there's anything he can legally do to prevent her?

Also he has asked to keep the dc's British passport and has it already. His reason was that she keeps one and he keeps tbe other. Is there anything he can do with the passport to stop them leaving? Obviously she can still go with the European passport.

Thanks so much in advance!

@GreenTulips

I take it she has a one way ticket

Not sure, possibly. Flights were booked before decision to separate though

Thanks all, this is helpful

The way to avoid a last minute decision is to approach the matter properly and seek permission, also clarifying when dad will see the child and what the contact/passport arrangements are to be.

Personally I think the idea that one parent holds one passport and the other parent holds the other is a bit strange, unless there is also agreement in writing about when those passports will be used. I mean, let’s just say the dad comes to visit - there is nothing to stop him taking the child back to the U.K. with the passport - except the measures we are discussing here. (And if dad and child have the same surname, they are less likely to be stopped).

The rules protect everyone. Your friend should have everything legally agreed and in writing. Then there will be no anxiety or last minute stress.

If the ex is happy with the arrangement it would be sensible for him to provide a letter that your friend can produce should she be questioned. As pp said having a different name to the child can flag them up, not sure if this is the case here.

Ignorance of the law is not a defence, so if she gets caught and doesn’t have permission, the ramifications can be very serious.

This link is very important:
www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad

If you don’t have written permission, it is child abduction. They are very clear on that.

www.gov.uk/permission-take-child-abroad

Opps...

Sorry heartsonacake, duplicated your link but I guess reemphasising that this needs to be taken seriously won't hurt.

She needs a letter of permission from her ex. Yes there is passport control the U.K. end, it's before you go through to the shops and gate area, they are actively looking for child abduction, potential fgm, trafficking etc. My dd was asked at 15 when we travelled without her father (she told them truthfully he had flown ahead as he had a work conference which they didn't question).

The letter should be notarised ideally and there must be a phone number on it so ex can be contacted by immigration to corroborate.

This is all really helpful and the suggestion that he signs an autorisatiom really the best solution.

Yes good point re the passport, means he would be able to bring her back to the UK if he wanted to.

Also something to bear in mind is that the dad could try to report the foreign passport as lost or stolen and get it cancelled so that when your friend arrives at the airport the passport is invalid and the child won't be allowed to travel.

You don't say if the child was born in the UK or not but if she was, even if she is travelling on a foreign passport the place of birth will be listed as UK and this will alert border authorities to the fact that the child may have a father in the UK and they might ask extra questions. Unfortunately i ternational abductions are becoming more common and authorities are always on the lookout for suspicious travellers.

Sorry if I missed this being mentioned but I notice they're not married. Is he on the birth certificate? Because if he isn't, he doesn't have automatic parental responsibility which makes a huge difference. It means it would be very difficult for him to stop her taking the child abroad.
I'd still advise legal advice though.

Your friend should definitely take legal advice.

I'm surprised that no-one has asked about your friend's intentions. Is she thinking about what is in the child's best interests, or hers? How old is the child? What are your friend's plans for maintaining contact with the father? Children don't belong to one parent or the other, and she needs to have worked through her reasoning for moving and taking the child that far away from the father.

They are both the child's parents, and ideally this would be worked out between the parents.

Does the father know your friend intends not to come back, or does he think it us a visit/holiday? It isn't clear, as you said tickets were booked before the separation. If your friend is planning to go on a visit, but not return, then she is absolutely setting herself up for an accusation of abduction.

I was concerned about being stopped when I took my daughter (who has a different surname from me) to France last summer. She also calls me my name, rather than Mummy, which was another potential issue in that regard.

I didn't have a letter from my abusive ex, but I didn't need one, as I have a court order, so I can take her abroad for up to 28 days without his agreement.

However on the way out of Britain, nobody said anything, and on the way back they just asked if I was her mother and waved us through when I said yes. So I didn't even need to show them the order.

@Brakebackcyclebot

Your friend should definitely take legal advice.

I'm surprised that no-one has asked about your friend's intentions. Is she thinking about what is in the child's best interests, or hers? How old is the child? What are your friend's plans for maintaining contact with the father? Children don't belong to one parent or the other, and she needs to have worked through her reasoning for moving and taking the child that far away from the father.

They are both the child's parents, and ideally this would be worked out between the parents.

Does the father know your friend intends not to come back, or does he think it us a visit/holiday? It isn't clear, as you said tickets were booked before the separation. If your friend is planning to go on a visit, but not return, then she is absolutely setting herself up for an accusation of abduction.

My friend's xp is aware of her intentions of moving back, she's not hiding anything.

Echoing what everyone has said. She needs legal advice ASAP.

My friend's xp is aware of her intentions of moving back, she's not hiding anything.

Being aware isn’t enough; he needs to give written permission.

The Hague Convention is an international treaty to prevent children being abducted, but it can be applied to any child being moved from their country of residence without that parent having consent or full custody. I would start trying to get everything in writing. (All of the previous agreements about how they could move back.
I did this (child’s father is Canadian) and found out afterwards. Solicitor advised me to stay in UK, and after a year, if he hadn’t invoked the Hague Convention, we would be able to say he had aquiesced to the move.

Does he have PR?
Is the country a signatory to The Hague convention?

These are the two crucial questions which will determine which of the advice you’ve received is useful and which isn’t.