Relocation and Moving Abroad

If you want to relocate with your child (either internally or externally) you will need to carefully consider how the practicalities will work and what life will be like for you and your children when you move. The types of matters to consider are:

• Your proposed living arrangements and accommodation;
• Where you will work;
• Where your child will go to school;
• Healthcare arrangements;
• Your plans for how your child will see and keep contact with the other parent and wider family;
• The financial viability of the move;
• Details of your support network after the proposed move;
• Whether there are immigration requirements that have to be satisfied, and;
• What it would mean for you if you were stopped from going.

If your former partner or spouse wants to relocate with our child, and you do not agree to the proposed move, you should seek specialist legal advice. If an application is made to court, you will need to explain why you disagree with the move. You should consider issues such as the current contact you have with your child and how the move would impact this; any practical difficulties if the child moved; any issues with the proposed living arrangements, education, healthcare or finances; the wishes of the child; and the impact on relationships with other important people in the child’s life. If you are worried the child may be moved without your consent, you should seek urgent legal advice in respect of seeking protective orders from the court. If you believe your child is at risk of harm or imminent abduction, you may also need to contact the police.

When the court considers an application to relocate, the judge’s paramount concern is the child’s welfare. The judge has to consider a checklist of things before coming to a decision (this is called the ‘welfare checklist’). The checklist includes:

• The wishes and feelings of the child concerned so far as they can be ascertained, and bearing in mind the child’s age and understanding;
• The child’s physical, emotional and educational needs;
• The likely effect on the child of any change in their circumstances;
• The child’s age, sex, background and relevant characteristics;
• The risk of the child suffering harm; and
• How capable each parent is of meeting the child’s needs.

The judge will consider how permission or refusal to relocate will affect the parents and the child, and will consider the parents’ plans and whether the wish to relocate and opposition to it are genuine. The judge may well be assisted in reaching a conclusion by a Children and family reporter from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) or by a report from an independent social worker. It is often difficult to predict the outcome of court proceedings for leave to remove, and it is usually advisable to at least try and resolve disputes about where a child lives through mediation or other forms of Non-Court Dispute Resolution.