My child has not returned home from their holiday abroad. What should I do?
Serena Sandhu, a director of our family law team, writes about a concern many separated parents face during the summer holidays. When a child does not return home as expected, it raises urgent questions about what steps to take and how to navigate this challenging situation.
“… The Child Abduction Act 1984 says that “a person connected with a child under the age of sixteen commits an offence if he takes or sends the child out of the United Kingdom without the appropriate consent.”
“In short, this means that if a child under the age of 16 is not returned home after a trip outside the United Kingdom, it is a criminal offence and also seen as “wrongful retention,” which is a form of child abduction, and what happens next will be dictated by the country in which your child is retained.”
Serena Sandhu
