The Repercussions Of Family Breakdown Abroad

The breakdown of a marriage can have dire consequences. This is made worse when a marriage breaks down whilst living abroad. The severity of the potential consequences highlight the need for expatriates to plan their move abroad carefully.

One in ten British people live abroad. That's a lot of expatriates, and it's not just retirees looking for sunny climes. Many British professionals are being lured to expat hubs such as those in the Middle East and Far East by the promise of career progression and tax-free lifestyles.

When posted abroad, a professional worker will usually receive plenty of support from their employer with practical issues such as visas, housing and schooling. In the excitement of the move, few expats will give any consideration to the potential fallout of a relationship breakdown. Yet, when children are involved, the breakdown of a marriage abroad can have dire consequences.

1. Child abduction

   A common misconception is that a parent cannot abduct their own child; this in incorrect.

   The removal of a child from their place of habitual residence by a parent can constitute child abduction. By moving abroad as an expatriate, a child can acquire habitual residence in a new country immediately upon arrival. Habitual residence is a question of fact. It depends on the integration of the child in to life in their new home. It comes as a surprise to expats that their children can acquire habitual residence in a country so quickly, even if they did not intend to remain abroad permanently.

   Consequently, if a marriage breaks down while a couple are living abroad, a parent cannot return to the UK with the children if their spouse insists that the children remain there. Parents wishing to return home with their children without their spouse's consent may gamble on whether to seek permission from the courts in their expat home to relocate, or leave without permission and face the consequences.

   Left-behind parents from countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention on Civil International Aspects of Child Abduction 1980 (the 1980 Hague Convention) can make an application under that convention seeking a return of the abducted child back to the child's place of habitual residence. Left-behind parents living in countries that are not signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention can often secure the return of British abducted children through wardship proceedings through the English courts.

   It is understandable therefore that some parents find...