Relocating to New Zealand with child when absent father cannot be found

[Jackfli2]

Hi,

Looking for some advice on a slightly complicated situation.

My partner and I are looking to relocate to New Zealand as I’ve recently been offered a job over there. We have a child together, and I’ve also been a dad to her older son for the last 7 years—he’s now 11.

The issue is that his biological father is on the birth certificate but hasn’t had any contact since he was around 6 months old. There’s been no involvement, no financial support, and we don’t know where he currently lives.

If we move, he would be going with his mum, his half-brother and step-sibling, so it would be the family unit staying together.

We’re trying to understand what the realistic options are for taking him abroad in this situation. Has anyone been through something similar where the other parent is completely absent? Did you need a court order, and how long did it take?

Also, if the father can’t be located, how does that work in practice?

Longer term I would look at adopting him if possible, but right now we just want to understand the correct legal route to relocate as a family.

We’re happy to go through the proper process, just trying to get a realistic idea of timescales and what to expect.

Thanks in advance.

If the childs father is not in his life and there has been no contact between them since the child was an infant then I would simply make arrangements to emigrate and not look back. I presume that the childs paternal relatives are not in his life either?

Yes in theory the childs biological father could petition the court to stop him being removed from the country but in reality no court is going to grant such a request when he has effectively not seen the child in 11 years and is not a
part of his life

I’d just crack on tbh. The bio dad isn’t around to object. If you really want to do it properly you could prioritise adoption now, and consult a family solicitor who will talk you through the process.

Get legal advice. As to whether you need the father’s permission to remove a child to NZ.
Some nationalities do I believe. America I think is one.
Depending on yours you may need advice.

I would contact a solicitor. It would probably mean a simple court application to confirm your partner is allowed to take the child, I doubt it would be expensive - but it would mean there are no laws broken. If bio dad is alive and if he is on birth certificate he still has the right to report the child to be taken out of the country without his consent - and this would cost much more to put right.

We are in a very similar situation and looked into this a couple of years ago. We were advised to apply to the court for permission to emigrate. I think they attempt to make contact with the bio father by any possible avenues and would then make a decision without his input if no response is received.
We were strongly advised not to attempt emigration without this as is it possible you could arrive at the new country, be refused entry and have no choice but to return home. Considering the costs and personal upheaval, this is a big risk.
We decided not to go ahead in the end due to other reasons so cannot give further advice about court etc but we were led to believe it would be quite simple to get approved based on the circumstances.

You definitely need specialist legal advice from a relocation expert / child abduction solicitor. Technically, it is an offence to remove a child from the jurisdiction without consent of all those with PR or a court order.

As the father has PR you either need his written agreement or a court relocation order. The court could make the order if it was satisfied that the father could not be traced and the move is in the child's best interests ( think you would get your order whether or not the father was found and objected but it will take time).

Legalities aside, NZ immigration authorities will probably want the child's birth certificate that shows there is a father with PR and will therefore either want evidence of the parental agreement of a court order.

As for adoption, if the child was adopted, you would have PR and the birth father would lose his PR but step parent adoption is unusual and although the birth father's consent to the move to NZ would no longer be necessary, you would need to trace father or get the court to dispense with service ( after proving attempts to find) to get your adoption order - so it makes more sense to apply for a relocation order.

Legal advice first. The last thing you would want is to make the move and then something pop up that woood force you to come back.

As others have said, you need legal advice.

The most immediate concern would be that you wouldn’t get him out of the country. At Departures they quite rightly check to make sure that everything is as it should be. You might find that you get stopped, and you definitely don’t need that hassle! (We got stopped in Germany once, with the officer asserting that my ex-husband might actually be my new boyfriend and not my children’s father! Never occurred to me that we needed to take their birth certificates everywhere with us 🙄)

yes this. This is the time to consult a family lawyer, not MN.

I had a friend in a similar situation. She needed a court order. That was relocating to Australia. (It was fine, and not all that complicated or expensive in the end.... the bio dad briefly kicked up a fuss but only because they were able to contact him using a tracing agent. The proof he had not been involved at all was the main factor).

You and your partner should also, separately, look into the legalities around location of the DC you have together in the event of your relationship ending.

Does your DP have the right to work in NZ or good prospects to get this? Are you married? If the answer to one or both these Qs is no she’d be unwise to relocate countries with you unless she’s wealthy.

I'd also just go. What the bio dad doesn't know won't hurt him.

And presumably, if he did find out late that his son is now in NZ... Well, you're a long way away to be bothered by him.

I can also imagine the courts taking a dim view of bio dad complaining, if he hasn't seen or contributed to his son's upkeep in 11 years. He'd get laughed out of the room.

Technically it’s illegal to take a child out of the country if the other parent is on the BC and doesn’t consent (unless you have a child arrangement order, then resident parent can take them out the country without consent for 28 days).

If he was nasty, he could report it. I’d definitely speak to a solicitor. I presume it would be a specific issue order you would need, maybe child arrangements.

Adopt the child now ?

A relative in a similar position had to formally adopt his wife's son.
You do need professional advice though.
Your use of the word partner implies that you are not married, so you also need to check whether you need to be married for her to obtain a word visa.

So you are seriously advocating the entire family get on a plane to NZ and risk being refused entry when immigration see the child's birth certificate? What a potential waste of time and money and goodwill on the part of the prospective employer. It is far better to get the situation sorted legally before departing.

If he is on the b oirth certificate then NZ are likely to need his permission - as others have said, you need specialist advice.

If the OP is not married to the 'partner' she might not even be eligible to go on the OPs visa. I think this family need to get some urgent legal advice. The step son issue may turn out to be a red herring.

It depends on the immigration rules of the country you are moving to. I moved abroad with my youngest 2 boys 10 years ago. No contact with their biological father for 7 years prior to moving but I had to jump through a lot of hoops and track him down to obtain his permission just to get temporary residency for them. It was difficult, stressful and time consuming. Please don't take other poster's advice to just move abroad and fuck it as he's had no contact and unsure of his whereabouts. If he is on their birth certificates he has parental rights even if he hasn't been in their lives unfortunately. As far as I know the resident parent can obtain a court order in the UK to obtain sole custody in situations like this but it's a process and you probably be best doing this well in advance. All the best 😊