Abduction

This page provides information on abduction and the unlawful removal of a child from the UK including how to prevent abduction, what to do if a child is abducted, and how to lawfully remove a child from the UK.

What is child abduction?

Child abduction is when a person takes or sends a child under the age of 16 out of the UK without the consent of those with parental responsibility or consent from the court.

If the person is the resident parent of a Child Arrangements Order, they can legally take or send the child outside of the UK without the appropriate consent for up to 28 days.

If the person has a Special Guardianship Order for the child, they can lawfully take or send the child outside of the UK without the appropriate consent for up to 3 months.

There are three broad categories of child abduction

1. Abduction - where a child is taken or sent abroad without the appropriate consent. This is the only category which can currently be a criminal offence in the UK.
2. Wrongful retention - where a child has been kept in a foreign country following an overseas trip without the appropriate consent.
3. Threat of abduction - where there is a risk that a child will be taken or sent abroad without the appropriate consent.

What is the law relating to child abduction?

It is a criminal offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984 for a person to send or take a child under the age of 16 outside of the UK without the appropriate consent.

Appropriate consent is needed from the:

• mother of the child;
• father of the child, if he has Parental Responsibility;
• guardian of the child (if appointed);
• special guardian of the child (if the child is under a Special Guardianship Order);
• holder of a Residence Order (if granted prior to 22nd April 2014);
• holder of residence named in a Child Arrangements Order (if applicable);
• Local authority if the child is in care;
• Court if the child is detained or a ward of court.

How long can you take your child out of the UK for without breaking the law?

If you are the holder of a Residence Order (prior to 22nd April 2014) or are the holder of residence named in a Child Arrangements Order, then you may take the child outside of the UK for up to 28 days without the appropriate consent. The exception is if the order expressly prohibits this clause.

If you intend to take the child outside of the UK for more than 28 days, the appropriate consent will be needed. If you cannot obtain the appropriate consent, you will need to apply for permission from the court.

The courts can place restrictions on or require that a passport be surrendered if there are concerns about the frequency of trips abroad or that there is a risk of abduction.

If you wish to take the child abroad for a short holiday, it is recommended to seek the consent of the other parent before going. Parents should be reasonable about this and provide plenty of notice.

How can you take your child abroad if you cannot obtain the appropriate consent?

If you are unable to receive the appropriate consent from everyone with parental responsibility for a child, you can apply for consent from the court to take the child abroad.

It may be a criminal offence and/or contempt of court to take a child abroad without the appropriate consent. Information on obtaining the relevant consent can be found on our Travel and Relocation page and our Removal from Jurisdiction how to guide.

Is it considered abduction if a child is taken to another country in the UK? 

Abduction applies when a child is taken or sent outside of the UK. It is not a criminal offence to take or send a child to England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. However, it is recommended that you receive consent from the other parent, as you may receive criticism for unilaterally moving a child from one jurisdiction to another.

If there are any existing court orders in respect of a child under 16, they will be recognised and enforced in all courts inside the UK, provided the order has been registered in the court of that jurisdiction. To register, you will need to send a certified copy of the order to the court who can then register the order and acquire the power to enforce it.

An application can be made to the High Court for the return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction, and is also the process for securing the return of a child if the child has been taken to a country which is not part of the Hague Convention. This is explained in part 3 of Practice Direction 12F.

What happens if you illegally removed your child from the UK, but you were unaware that you were breaking the law?

If you send or take your child outside of the UK without the appropriate consent, then you may be committing a criminal offence.

There are three defences:

• Where you believed that the other parent has consented or would have consented had they been aware of all of the circumstances;
• Where you have taken all reasonable steps to communicate to the other parent the intention to remove the child but had been unable to do so;
• Where the other person whose consent is required has unreasonably refused to give that consent. This defence is not applicable if the person who refused consent is the holder of a Residence Order, is named as the holder of residence under a Child Arrangements Order or a Special Guardianship Order, or if there is an order in place prohibiting the removal.

How can you prevent abduction?

If you fear that your child will be taken abroad without your consent, you can consider the following:

• Ask your local police to issue a ‘Port Alert’ if your child is likely to be taken abroad (within 48 hours) without the appropriate consent. A Port Alert means the police can contact the National Border Targeting Centre to alert all UK points of departure to try to prevent an abduction. A Port Alert is active for 28 days, allowing you to seek legal advice if you have not already done so. If you wish to extend the expiration date beyond 28 days, you will need to apply for a court order.
• Where there is risk of abduction, you can apply for: 
  • A Prohibited Steps Order from the courts to prevent the removal of the child from the UK. 
  • A Child Arrangements Order to determine who the child should live with. 
  • An application to the High Court to make the child a ward of court. If you are seeking this route, we recommend you contact a solicitor, or see our information page on Wardship.
• Contact the Passport Office (HMPO) as you may be able to stop your child obtaining a British passport without your consent. You will usually need a court order to do this. 
• Contact Reunite: The International Child Abduction Centre. They can provide parents with a Child Abduction Prevention Pack.

What do you do if your child has been abducted and may be taken to another country?

• Report the incident to the police. When a child has been abducted and is considered to be in danger of serious harm or death, the police will use The Child Rescue Alert Scheme. This can provide an early warning system for local radio and television stations. The police also have the power to arrest anyone who is suspected of abducting a child, and they can circulate the child's name to all UK points of departure via the Police National Computer.
• If your child has been taken abroad but you do not know their location, the police can contact Interpol. Interpol may be able to work with police forces abroad to help find your child.
• Check if your child is in a country to which the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction applies. The Convention is an agreement between various countries, which can help return an abducted child who is under 16 years old to the country where they usually live. Call the FCDO on +44 (0)20 7008 5000 to check whether the country where your child has been taken operates the Convention with the UK (or the country where your child usually lives).
• If a child has been abducted to a country that has signed up to what is known as the Hague Convention, then it is possible to submit an application to the Central Government Authority in the UK, namely the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU). When ICACU receives your application for the return of your child, unless you already have a legal representative in England and Wales whom you want to act for you, it will send your application to a solicitor whom it knows to be experienced in international child abduction cases and ask them to take the case for you. You will then be the solicitor's client and the solicitor will make an application for public funding to meet your legal costs. The solicitor will then apply to the High Court for an order for the return of your child.
• Contact a solicitor in the UK or an organisation that can help such as Reunite.

What can the law do to help you if your child has been abducted and taken to another country?

If your child has been abducted from the UK, there are two international conventions that can assist you in tracing and returning your child. The conventions are known as:

• The Hague Convention
• The European Convention

These conventions have created a network of countries that work together with the intention, in most cases, to return the abducted child back to their place of residence.

The countries that have joined the conventions are known as contracting states. The UK is a contracting state under both conventions.

What is the Hague Convention?

The aims of the Hague Convention are:

• To secure the prompt return of children who have been wrongfully removed to or retained in a contracting state (i.e. to return the abducted child back to their place of residence).
• To ensure that arrangements for children under the law of one contracting state are effectively respected in other contracting states (i.e. to ensure arrangements for the children issued in one country are implemented and respected in another).

To rely on the Hague Convention, your child must be under the age of 16 and have been habitually resident in one contracting state and taken to another.

How can the Hague Convention help you?

You can apply to the Central Authority where your child is usually resident or to the Central Authority of any other contracting state for assistance in securing your child’s return. The Central Authority of the country where your child is shall take all appropriate steps to obtain the voluntary return of your child. If this is not possible, court proceedings can be started.

If a claim of wrongful removal or retention is made within the first 12 months, the contracting state where your child is will usually return your child to their original country so that the court in that country can decide what should happen in your child’s future. After the 12-month period, it is more difficult for your child to be returned as they may be settled in their new environment.

Will your child meet the requirements of the Hague Convention?

A parent will find it very difficult to rely on the Hague Convention if:

• The child is not habitually resident in a state which is party to the Convention;
• The child is considered habitually resident in the state where they have been taken;
• The parties were in agreement with the move;
• The child does not want to return to their resident country and they have attained the age and degree of maturity appropriate to have their decisions taken into account (usually the age of 7 or above);
• There is no custody right being breached;
• The other parent was not actually exercising their custodial rights; and,
• The child is now settled in their environment.

A defence is available to wrongful retention under Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention if it can be established that the child would be exposed to physical or psychological harm, or otherwise placed in an intolerable situation, if the child was made to return to the resident country.

The case of Re E (Children) (FC) [2011] clarified the scope of Article 13(b) in determining that:

• The risk to the child must be "grave" (the issue of gravity characterises the risk to the child, not the harm);
• The court made clear that exposure of a child to hearing or seeing their parent being abused can satisfy the criteria under article 13(b); and
• The court is not restricted to simply looking at the immediate future of the child, but can take a longer-term interpretation.

What is the European Convention?

Like the Hague Convention, the European Convention binds all the contracting states into working together to return the abducted child back to their place of residence. However, the European Convention differs from the Hague Convention as it looks at Child Arrangements Orders (previously known as Residence and Contact Orders (prior to 22nd April 2014)) rather than residence and contact rights.

The European Convention can be used to enforce Child Arrangements Orders and Residence and Contact Orders (prior to 22nd April 2014). However, this convention has been largely superseded by the Hague Convention.

If the child has been taken to a country that is not a member of either convention, it is more difficult to have the child returned.

What if your child is abducted to a country which is not party to either Convention?

When a child is abducted into a non-convention country, there is no network of authorities working together to ensure the return of the child. If you want your child returned to the UK, you will either have to come to an arrangement with the other parent or start legal proceedings in the country where the child has been abducted.

However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office may help. The Child Abduction Unit can give advice and provide practical help when dealing with authorities overseas.

Is there Legal Aid for abduction?

Legal Aid may be available for parents and persons with Parental Responsibility for children who are at risk of abduction or have been abducted.

You may be able to get Legal Aid to:

• Secure the return of a child who has been unlawfully removed within the United Kingdom;
• Prevent their unlawful removal from the UK; or
• Secure the return of a child who has been unlawfully removed from the UK.

Terminology

Habitual residence

There is no legal definition of habitual residence; it is not a legal concept to be equated with domicile. It is a factual exercise identifying the degree of integration by the child into his environment, whatever that environment might be.

Wrongfully removed or retained

There must either be:

• Wrongful removal, which occurs when a child has been taken from their place of habitual residence without the appropriate consent; or
• Wrongful retention, when the child is not returned.

Child Arrangements Orders

There must be a breach of arrangements made with respect to the child; otherwise, the removal or retention of the child is not illegal for the purposes of the Convention. Where the parent has regular contact and exercises their parental nature with the child, this can amount to custody within the Hague Convention, even though there is no order from the court to prove this. Because of this, some unmarried fathers without parental responsibility will be able to claim custody rights under the Hague Convention.

If a child has been abducted, it is important to start proceedings as soon as possible; otherwise, the child may settle into their new environment. Once a child is settled, it is harder to remove the child as it may be in their best interest to remain.

Useful contacts:

International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU)

Office of the Official Solicitor, Victory House 30—34 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6EX

Telephone: 0203 681 2608

Reunite International Child Abduction Centre

PO Box 7124, Leicester, LE1 7XX

Advice Line: 0116 2556 234

Telephone: 0116 2555 345

Email: reunite@dircon.co.uk

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AH

Telephone: 020 7270 1500

Email: consular.fco@gtnet.gov.uk