One of the most challenging aspects of life as an international family, is that if the relationship breaks down, one or both partners may wish to relocate. When you have children together, deciding where your children should live and getting permission to relocate with your children can be challenging.
In order to relocate with a child, you either need the consent of their other parent or permission from the Court. In this article, we look at what the Court will consider when looking at a child relocation application, to help you understand how to give your application the best chance of success.
Child relocation applications
Child relocation applications are rarely straightforward. They are often met with great opposition from the other parent and family members, and emotions can interfere with logic. One parent will have reduced contact with their child, or the other will be unable to move to the country of their choice. It is a difficult balance for the Court to strike, particularly when they must also consider the interests of the child. Having a specialist team of lawyers by your side is essential and it can make all the difference to your case.
Welfare of the child
In child relocation cases, the welfare of the child is the Court’s paramount concern. While the UK is one of the most liberal countries for allowing child relocation to go ahead, there are still many obstacles that you may face when convincing the Court that relocation is in the best interests of the child.
The child welfare checklist
The welfare checklist is set out in Section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 sets out the welfare checklist, which is a series of factors that the court must consider. These are:
Any wishes or feelings the child has expressed, which will be considered in the context of the age and understanding of the child
Physical, emotional and educational needs of the child
The likely effect of any change in circumstances on the child
The age, sex, background and any particular characteristics the Court considers relevant
Any harm suffered by the child or whether they are at potential risk of harm or suffering
The capabilities of each of the child’s parents, as well as any other person in relation that the Court considers may be relevant. For example, this may be extended family, step-parents or others
The powers available to the Court under the Children Act 1989
Our international child relocation lawyers have a full understanding of each of these factors and can help you to build a case which will give you the best chance of success.
How to make a successful child relocation application
Making a child relocation application to the Court requires careful planning, skill and understanding. We will gather and build evidence to demonstrate all of the following factors.
The reasons you wish to or need to relocate
Where you plan to live, as far as possible, we will include details about the area, including maps and a list of amenities.
Details of how you plan to fund the relocation
Detailed information about what the new location can offer your child. For example, details of schools, nurseries, sports clubs, medical facilities and outdoor areas
Information about the school your child will attend, whether there are places available, whether it will incur any fees, and how it will work in terms of following on from their current education
Whether you will have a support network of family or friends and how far away you will live from them
Details of your employment or work, including working hours and any childcare arrangements
Any cultural differences which may have an impact on the child, including language
Any proposal for contact between your child and their other parent or family members, including costs and how this will be funded
The effect that refusing relocation will have on you, physically, emotionally and financially.
It is always best for parents to come to an agreement in respect of the arrangements for their children, such as where the children should live, holiday contact, and taking a child abroad, whether temporarily or permanently. While we can assist you with relocation applications, we can also work with you to find the best possible solution for you and your family.
Contact our Family & Children Top Rated UK Solicitors in Manchester, London and Birmingham
In this difficult time, our specialist multi-cultural team of international family solicitors can offer you expert advice and representation in all aspects of divorce, separation, finances and issues relating to children.
For an initial consultation, call the International Family Solicitors at IMD Solicitors on 0330 107 0107 or request a call back.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
F v F - Acted for a German husband in a complex financial remedy matter. He decided to instruct IMD Solicitors after he had lost trust in his previously instructed solicitors and feared that he would not achieve a favourable outcome from the proceedings. The relevant assets were spread across the globe with some located in the UK (including a multi-million pound business), Gibraltar, Spain, Dubai, and Poland. The overall value of assets exceeded £24 million. The husband had been cut off from the matrimonial assets and excluded from control of the business that had been established by his family. The case involved the instruction of numerous experts, for business valuations, Capital Gains Tax reports, and opinions on the enforcement of orders in foreign jurisdictions, and dealing with several applications, including applications for orders to freeze assets, prevent the disposition of assets, for the joinder of parties, and to litigate conduct issues. The final result exceeded the client’s expectations.
L v L - We were instructed by a mother in a complex international children matter. She was required by orders of the UK courts to return the child to the UK from Poland. She had travelled with the child to Poland but, following unsuccessful application to extend her stay there in August 2017, she decided not to return to the UK because the child disclosed sexual abuse by a member of the paternal family and the father. In September 2018, the Polish court dismissed the father’s Hague Convention application for the child's return on the basis of Article 13(b), a decision which the father appealed. In March 2019, the father applied to the UK High Court for an order for the child’s return pursuant to the procedure set out in Article 11(6) – (8) of the Brussels IIA Regulation. Despite the father's unsuccessful Hague Convention application in Poland, the UK court ordered the return of the child. Article 11 does not allow the court of the returning country much discretion. After all of this, the mother instructed IMD Solicitors to apply to discharge the orders of the UK Court for the return of the child. Even in the face of the fact that most applications to discharge such return orders fail, we succeeded. We are currently awaiting a decision in the UK courts on a further application for the transfer of jurisdiction to the Polish courts where the mother resides with the child.
G v P - We represent a Spanish mother in respect of an urgent application for a Child Arrangements Order and Specific Issue Order in the UK seeking the relocation of the child to Spain. This was after the return of the child to the UK under Hague Convection proceedings which this mother lost in Spain.
She was asking for an order for the relocation of the child back to Spain and an urgent interim Child Arrangements Order to allow her to see the child pending the final outcome of the UK proceedings. IMD successfully argued that, regardless of the return of the child to the UK under the Hague Convention, the mother should be allowed unsupervised overnight contact with the child. We were delighted to be able to secure her contact with the child for Christmas and she said that it was the best Christmas gift she could have wished for. The outcome of the application for the relocation is pending.
S v V - We currently represent the father in Child Arrangements Order proceedings issued by the mother in relation to variation of a UK order made in the face of numerous other international proceedings. He is an Italian National who has been living in France for the last 20 years and the mother is a Lithuanian national. The child is now 11 years old and proceedings concerning the child have been ongoing in various jurisdictions for the majority of the child`s life. Contested divorce proceedings including child arrangements took place in Monaco. The French Court and authorities were also involved, and various proceedings had been ongoing between parties since 2013 in France and Monaco.
The parties’ divorce was pronounced in Monaco. Thereafter, in December 2020, the mother submitted an application to relocate to England with the child, and the relocation took place in June 2021. Upon relocation, the she lodged a child arrangement order application, seeking to register a judgment made in Monaco and to vary the same in respect of the contact arrangements between the father and the child. The father seeks for the child’s return to Monaco.
Due to the parties’ mutual allegations and the associated international elements, various authorities and courts that have been involved in the case, the local authority has become involved with the family and a guardian has been instructed to represent the child in the UK proceedings. At present, these proceedings in England are ongoing and the outcome of the professional reports regarding the family are awaited.
P v P - We have acted for the Respondent Husband in relation to the financial remedy proceedings in the UK. The parties had various assets in the UK and Romania consisting mainly of the portfolio of properties but conduct issues were raised by the Wife due to a business of the Husband over which she had lost control and her allegations of dissipation of assets. The value of assets excluding the business were in a region of £3 million.
K v K - We act in financial remedy proceedings for a wife who is a Polish national. The matter's complexity mainly comes from a dispute between the parties around land in Poland. Its value was initially in dispute but was then assessed by a joint expert to be in the region of half a million pounds. The total assets in this case are estimated to be worth over £1 million. The land in Poland is a subject to contract with a third party and is being leased as a photovoltaic (solar) farm. The division of the land to achieve an equal share of the assets is complicated due to the contract in place and plans for the future use of the land. Currently the parties are awaiting a final hearing but efforts are being made to reach a settlement with the aid of alternative dispute resolution and in order to save the parties money and avoid further delays.
R v O - We acted pro bono and worked together with a law firm in Poland to ensure that the Costa Rican Mother regains access to her child. The Mother's only child was abducted from the UK in 2014. The Mother was successful with the abduction case and the UK family courts ordered the return of the child. The orders were recognised in Poland but unfortunately due to various issues with the Mother's immigration status and court's delays in Poland, the orders were never enforced. The Mother was facing removal from the UK and prospects of never seeing her child again. We have corresponded with various courts in Poland dealing with international abduction matters and we decided that an application for contact should be issued rather than any proceedings for further enforcement of the orders, as the Mother had not seen the child for around 7 years. At the same we secured the Mother's stay in the UK making successful outside of immigration rules application to extend her stay. We now receive regular photos from the Mother with her daughter, as face to face contact is taking place. We helped to secure an order of the Polish courts for the Mother to see the child regularly in person, whilst when she instructed us she was facing a prospect of never seeing her child again and being deported to Costa Rica.
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