International child custody screener

Time-sensitive legal matter. If your child has been taken abroad, contact the US State Department's Office of Children's Issues (1-888-407-4747) and an international family law attorney immediately, in addition to using this screener. See our full disclaimer.

International custody / Hague Convention screener

What is your situation?

Country involved (if known) Hague Convention status varies significantly by country - this affects what legal remedies are available.

Child's age The Hague Convention only applies to children under 16.

Where was the child habitually living before this situation arose?

Do you have a custody order or rights of custody?

How long has it been since the child was taken or the deadline to return passed? Hague petitions filed within 1 year of wrongful removal have stronger return remedies in most cases.

Your international custody assessment

Get an urgent international custody consultation

International custody cases are extremely time-sensitive. An attorney with Hague Convention experience can file a return petition, coordinate with the State Department, and pursue all available remedies. Contact us immediately.

What is the Hague Convention and when does it apply?

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980) is a multilateral treaty that establishes a legal process for the prompt return of children wrongfully removed from or retained outside their country of "habitual residence." Over 100 countries are members, including the US, but notably not all countries - several countries in the Middle East, parts of Africa, and some in Asia are not signatories, which significantly limits available remedies when those countries are involved.

For the Hague Convention to apply: both the country the child was taken from and the country they were taken to must be Hague member countries, the child must be under 16, the parent seeking return must have had "rights of custody" under the law of the habitual residence country (this can include rights from marriage even without a formal court order in many cases), and the removal or retention must have been "wrongful" - meaning it violated the custody rights of the left-behind parent. If your situation involves a relocation you're trying to do correctly rather than a dispute, use the custody modification screener to address the underlying custody question first.

How does a Hague return petition actually work?

The left-behind parent files an application with the Central Authority of either the country the child was taken from or the country the child is currently in (in the US, this is the State Department's Office of Children's Issues). The Central Authority works to locate the child and facilitate the petition. The actual return proceeding occurs in the courts of the country where the child currently is - a court there decides whether the legal requirements for return are met. Importantly, Hague proceedings do NOT decide custody - they only decide whether the child should be returned to the country of habitual residence so that the custody dispute can be properly resolved there. This distinction surprises many people: winning a Hague case returns the child to the original country, but doesn't itself award custody.

What defenses can prevent a child's return under the Hague Convention?

Even when the basic Hague Convention requirements are met, the country holding the child can refuse return based on specific defenses: a grave risk that return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm, the child (if of sufficient age and maturity) objects to return, the left-behind parent consented to or acquiesced in the removal, more than 1 year has passed since the wrongful removal and the child has settled into their new environment, or return would violate fundamental human rights principles of the requested country. These defenses are narrowly construed by most courts, but they do create real litigation risk, especially the "grave risk of harm" defense in cases involving any allegation of domestic violence or abuse.

Frequently asked questions about international custody

Act immediately - prevention is far easier than recovery. Steps include: enrolling your child in the State Department's Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program (CPIAP), which notifies you if a passport application is filed for your child; obtaining a custody order if you don't have one, with explicit travel restrictions requiring both parents' written consent for international travel; placing your child's name on the Department of Homeland Security's lookout system if there's an imminent specific threat; and consulting an attorney about an emergency restraining order preventing international travel. Do not wait until after the child has been taken - by then, your options become significantly more limited and expensive.

This significantly complicates your case but doesn't eliminate all options. Without Hague Convention remedies, you may need to: pursue diplomatic channels through the US State Department, hire local counsel in the country where the child is located to pursue custody proceedings under that country's law, explore whether the country has any bilateral agreement with the US, or in extreme cases involving abduction-related crimes, pursue international criminal remedies (Interpol notices, federal kidnapping charges under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act). These cases are substantially more difficult, expensive, and time-consuming than Hague cases, but international family law attorneys with non-Hague country experience can advise on the specific available remedies.

Generally no, if there's an existing custody order or if both parents have legal custody rights (which is the default when parents are or were married). A parent cannot unilaterally relocate a child internationally without either the other parent's written consent or a court order specifically authorizing the relocation. Doing so without consent or court authorization constitutes wrongful removal under the Hague Convention (if applicable) and may also constitute parental kidnapping under both state and federal criminal law (the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act makes it a federal felony). If you're considering an international move with your child, obtain explicit written consent or court authorization first.

The Hague Convention itself calls for expedited proceedings - ideally resolved within 6 weeks of filing - but in practice, cases frequently take several months to over a year depending on the country's court system, whether appeals are filed, and the complexity of any defenses raised. Some countries handle Hague cases through specialized courts with experienced judges and move relatively quickly; others lack this infrastructure and proceedings can be significantly delayed. The expedited intent of the treaty is frequently not realized in practice, which is a known criticism of the Hague Convention system, but cases still generally move faster than typical custody litigation.

The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA) makes it a federal felony, punishable by up to 3 years in prison, to remove a child from the United States or retain a child outside the US with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. This is a separate and additional remedy alongside Hague Convention civil proceedings - a parent can face both a civil Hague return petition and federal criminal prosecution for the same conduct. FBI involvement and an Interpol Yellow Notice (international missing person alert) may be pursued in serious cases. Criminal prosecution can sometimes create additional leverage and resources (including FBI international investigative capability) that aren't available in a purely civil Hague proceeding.