Children's trips abroad

A child may not be taken out of the country unless both guardians agree to the journey.

If parents jointly exercising custody of a child have a dispute regarding a child's foreign trip, the District Commissioner shall, at the request of the parent, rule on the right to take a child out of the country on a trip. This is to ensure that the rights of the child to have the possibility of participating in an organised holiday or travelling abroad with one of his or her custodial parents are not violated.

The resolution of a case shall include consideration of the purpose of the trip, the duration and the effect on the conduct of the case. When evaluating the purpose of the trip, special consideration is given to whether it is considered that there is a risk that the child will not be returned.

Procedure

When the request is received by the District Commissioner, it is presented to the other custodial parent, who is therefore given the opportunity to state his or her position. Both parties may request an interview with a representative of the District Commissioner regarding the case. If no agreement can be reached, the District Commissioner shall deliver a ruling and the request is either accepted or rejected.

Procedure may take four weeks or longer, as the circumstances may differ. It may not be possible to rule on a case before the child's scheduled trip. The lack of necessary and requested documents and information can delay the processing of the case.

The request needs to be accompanied by a certificate of custody.

Court of appeal

An appeal against the ruling of the District Commissioner may be lodged with the Ministry of Justice within two months of the date of the ruling. The decision of the District Commissioner remains unchanged while an appeal is under process within the ministry, unless the ruling provides otherwise in particular.

Transport of a child abroad

Disputes concerning travel abroad are considered to be of a different nature than those concerning a child moving to another country. If a legal parent wishes to take a child out of the country without the consent of the other parent, it is appropriate that the courts resolve the dispute which would then require a judgment on the arrangements for custody.