International child arrangements

• You are separating and one of you wants to moveYou are separating and one of you wishes to move abroad or return to your country of origin.
• You live abroad and your family is separatingYour family separates while living away from France.
• A decision was made in another countryA decision has been made abroad and you move to France, or vice versa.
• Distance has made contact impossibleDistance has made an existing contact arrangement impossible to follow.

The same questions arise in each situation: where will the child live, how will they maintain a real relationship with the parent living far away, and will the arrangements be respected in both countries?

Before any step, I answer three questions that shape the strategy:

1. I

   Which court?

   Generally the court of the country where the child has habitual residence when proceedings begin: Brussels II ter in the EU (Article 7), or the Hague Convention of 19 October 1996 between its contracting states (Article 5). Following a lawful move to another Member State, the former residence court retains jurisdiction for three months to adapt access rights (Article 8).

2. II

   Which law?

   The court generally applies its own law or the law of the child’s habitual residence.

3. III

   Recognized elsewhere?

   Within the EU, a parental-responsibility decision is recognized without a separate procedure and enforced on presentation of a certificate (Brussels II ter, Articles 30, 34 and 36). Outside the EU, the 1996 Convention or the law of the country concerned applies; a mirror decision may be needed.

Can a parent move alone with the child? If the move changes the child’s living arrangements, the other parent must be informed in advance. If they disagree, the family judge decides in the child’s interests (Article 373-2 of the Civil Code). Leaving without agreement or authorization may constitute wrongful removal.

Maintaining contact at a distance: holidays adapted to both countries’ school calendars, travel and accompaniment, travel costs which the court can allocate between parents, regular video contact, and important decisions taken together about school, health and passports.

The child’s views: a child capable of forming their own views can be heard by the court (Article 388-1 of the Civil Code). In the EU, the child must have been given an opportunity to express their opinion; otherwise the decision risks not being recognized in another Member State (Brussels II ter, Articles 21 and 39).

Child maintenance follows other rules: Regulation No 4/2009 and the 2007 Hague Protocol, generally the law of the child’s habitual residence.

“Analyse every option in every country, use proceedings as leverage, and seek an agreement that holds wherever it will have to apply.”

1. Analyse the situation in each countryHabitual residence, nationalities, existing decisions and agreements, pending proceedings: I identify the competent courts, the law they would apply and what is needed for the arrangements to work everywhere.
2. Build an international parenting planWe define practical, realistic arrangements: residence, school calendars and holidays, travel and accompaniment, travel costs, remote contact, important decisions and maintenance.
3. Negotiate or propose international family mediationI negotiate with the other parent and their lawyer, in France and abroad. Where dialogue is difficult, mediation conducted by an independent mediator provides a way to build an agreement together.
4. Secure the agreement in each countryI draft the international parenting agreement and seek approval by the family court. Outside the EU, I arrange approval in the other country with a local lawyer, using mirror decisions, so that it can be enforced there.
5. Apply to the court where necessaryWithout agreement, or in an emergency, I apply to the competent court concerning residence, permission or refusal to move abroad, cross-border contact, or a prohibition on leaving the country without both parents’ agreement (Article 373-2-6 of the Civil Code).
6. Enforce and adaptI support enforcement of the agreement or decision abroad and help adapt it as the child’s circumstances change: a new school, another move or adolescence.

Indicative sequence: each case follows its own pace.