Children - Travel and Relocation
When divorced or separated, plans to travel with your children can sometimes make for difficult or even contentious discussions with your ex partner. In all instances, we would advise – no matter how difficult, to share your plans with your ex, giving plenty of notice of your proposed intentions and to formulate mutually acceptable agreements.
Children and Holiday Travel
If you are the resident parent and have a child arrangements order, you can take your children out of the country for up to 28 days without permission from your ex. Without a Child Arrangements Order, you will need your ex’s permission if they too have parental responsibility. However, if possible – it’s always better to share your plans with your ex (at least two months in advance) This helps to avoid a ‘clash’ of holiday arrangements whilst giving you time to ‘iron’ out any potential issues relating to contact. By pre-establishing when contact can take place, you can prevent ‘un welcome’ holiday disruptions!
Holidaying abroad can sometimes can cause a greater sense of concern and It’s even been known for ex-partners to refuse to supply passports! It might be that mediation is required or even an application for a ‘Specific Issue Order.’ In most cases, as long as the intended destination is safe and you have a good ‘track record’ as a sensible and reliable parent, it’s unlikely that a court would refuse permission; since holidays are usually considered to be ‘in the children’s best interests.’
If a country is outside the ‘Hague Convention’ (where there isn’t any international legislation on laws relating to children) OR you’re considering a country where there is an element of danger / conflict, then this is a different matter. At the very least, the courts would need to know that ‘strict’ safeguards have been put in place.
Parents Relocating with Children
If you are the resident parent with parental responsibility and you wish to relocate, then technically, you only need your ex’s permission if they too have parental responsibility. However a frank and open discussion – well in advance – will possibly prevent a lot of potential issues. Getting consent from your ex, even if they don’t have parental responsibility is always the wisest move since without it, they could apply to the court to prevent you from moving with your children causing you delays OR the possibility of preventing your move with your children.
If your ex has strong objections, mediation should be considered; this could help to achieve an acceptable solution with regarding contact. Once you agree a degree of consent, a ‘Consent Order’ would help to maintain the situation, should your ex change their mind at a future date.
If the father of your children was never married to you and their name was not on the birth certificates, a ‘Child Arrangements Order’ could prevent you, short term, from relocating with your children. You would need to obtain the court’s permission, but ultimately, if your needed to move in relation to work and as long as the move wasn’t deemed ‘to not be in your children’s best interests,’ a move would be a difficult thing to prevent. However, the court would want to see ‘contact’ measures, between your ex and your children, put in place.
For advice on all travel and relocation matters involving children, please get in touch with RJS Family Law.