Has your child been taken abroad without the required consent, or has your child not come back after an agreed holiday? Then have it assessed quickly whether this is international child abduction and which return route is available. Parental authority, the child’s habitual residence before departure and the scope of any consent are all important. Contact the Central Authority for International Child Protection Matters (Centrale autoriteit Internationale Kinderaangelegenheden) and a lawyer with the relevant expertise. If there is immediate danger, call 112. Return proceedings concern the child’s return to the country of habitual residence and do not automatically decide once and for all with which parent the child must live.
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Written by Öznur Batur, attorney at Arslan Advocaten, practising personal and family law. Registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of practice areas for personal and family law and criminal law. Last updated: 19 September 2026. General information is not legal advice about your own situation.
When is it international child abduction?
Under the Hague Child Abduction Convention, it concerns the wrongful removal or retention of a child in breach of rights of custody. Those rights must actually have been exercised in the relevant situation, or would have been exercised but for the removal or retention. So it is not only about a stranger taking a child; a parent can also be involved in wrongful removal.
The legal classification requires an examination of the situation immediately before the departure or retention. Which rights of custody existed? Where was the child habitually resident? Had consent been given and, if so, for what exactly? A conflict between parents is not automatically an international abduction, but a permitted trip can turn into wrongful retention if the agreed return does not take place. Make a note, therefore, of both the departure date and the return date.
Not returning after a holiday can also be relevant
A parent may have consent for a two-week holiday without having consent to stay living abroad with the child. The scope of the arrangement is then essential. Keep tickets, messages, consent forms and arrangements about school or the return. These can help to establish when the temporary stay may have become wrongful.
If you are unexpectedly told that the child will not be coming back, respond clearly and carefully. Where that is your position, have it recorded in writing that you do not agree to a permanent move. Discuss with a lawyer how to keep in contact without unintentionally making unclear arrangements. An attempt to keep communicating calmly is not automatically consent, but individual messages may later become a subject of debate. The full context is therefore important.
What does habitual residence mean?
Habitual residence concerns the actual centre of the child’s life. School, the duration and circumstances of the stay, the family situation and the social environment may be relevant. Nationality, a passport or entry in a register is not always decisive on its own. The parents’ intentions may also be examined in conjunction with the facts.
Make a timeline of where the child lived, went to school and was cared for. Note temporary trips and any earlier arrangements about moving. For very young children, different facts may carry weight than for a school-age child. A child who stays somewhere for a few weeks does not, for that reason alone, automatically acquire a new habitual residence. Conversely, a lengthy actual stay can raise complex questions. Have that assessment carried out quickly and do not base your approach solely on an administrative address.
Parental authority is more than the name on a birth certificate
Legal parenthood and parental authority are different matters. A parent may appear on a birth certificate without having the same decision-making power in every situation. Parental authority may arise by law, from a court decision or from a relevant agreement. In cross-border situations, international rules may determine which rights of custody exist and continue.
Gather, therefore, documents on parental authority, earlier rulings and arrangements about residence or travel. A general assumption that both biological parents always have the same rights may be incorrect. The question whether rights of custody were actually exercised also deserves attention. Describe the actual care and involvement before the departure. That helps to link the legal test to verifiable facts rather than only to the formal status of parent.
What should you do straight away if the child does not come back?
Record the key facts: the child’s name and date of birth, likely whereabouts, date of departure, agreed return, the position on parental authority and the other parent’s contact details. Keep the communication and travel documents. Report a specific threat or unknown whereabouts immediately to the appropriate support agency.
Contact the Central Authority for International Child Protection Matters for information about the international route. In addition, instruct a lawyer in good time. In an acute emergency, police assistance is needed; in the Netherlands you then call 112. If the child’s whereabouts are unknown, discuss which report and tracing steps are possible. Do not wait until all documents are complete before asking for urgent help. The initial assessment can indicate which missing documents must be gathered as a priority.
What does the Central Authority do?
Within the scope of its tasks, the Central Authority provides support in international child abduction cases and can liaise with a foreign central authority. It can provide information about the applicable route and help with the handling of an application. The government describes this role for situations in which a child has been taken abroad or is being retained there.
The Central Authority is not the same as your own lawyer and cannot promise a guaranteed return. Court proceedings and local representation may still be needed. Ask which documents will be forwarded, who monitors progress and which steps you must take yourself or through a lawyer. A clear division of tasks prevents important procedural steps from being left undone because everyone expects the other authority involved to take them.
The Hague Child Abduction Convention and the age limit
The 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention aims to secure the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children and to protect certain rights of access. The Convention’s return mechanism ceases to apply when a child reaches the age of sixteen. For older minors, other legal routes may be relevant.
Whether the Convention applies between the countries concerned in a specific case must be checked. Merely seeing a country listed somewhere as a contracting state is not always the full assessment; accession, acceptance and relevant dates may matter. Additional European rules may also play a part in certain situations. Have the treaty relationship and the applicable procedure established, therefore, for the country where the child actually is, including the date of departure or retention.
Child in Turkey or Morocco: start with a country check
Where a child is in Turkey or Morocco, the habitual residence, parental authority and the specific international route matter more than a general assumption about nationality or culture. Ask the Central Authority and a competent expert which treaty route or other route applies to your facts. This page gives no unconfirmed guarantee that the same procedure runs identically in every country.
Gather official certificates and have it checked which translations are needed. Note addresses, family contacts and the likely school or whereabouts, in so far as you know those details lawfully. A Dutch decision on parental authority is valuable, but sometimes has to be assessed or used in the other country in accordance with local procedural rules. Agree who will maintain contact with a local lawyer and which language will be used for instructions and feedback.
Which court deals with the return?
Where a child has been brought to the Netherlands from abroad or is being retained here, the Dutch return proceedings are concentrated at the District Court of The Hague. If, on the other hand, the child is abroad, the proceedings in the country where the child is must usually be examined through the route that applies there.
A Dutch parent cannot therefore automatically expect every return issue to be decided by their own local court. The competent court and the nature of the application must be established. Interim protection, contact and a substantive case on parental authority may also require different proceedings. A lawyer helps to prevent an ordinary care arrangement from being applied for when an urgent return route is precisely what is needed. The procedure chosen determines which facts and time limits are central.
The one-year period is no licence to wait
Article 12 of the Hague Child Abduction Convention distinguishes according to the time between the wrongful removal or retention and the commencement of proceedings before the competent judicial or administrative authority. A period of one year may be relevant in this respect. It is not simply about the date on which you first sent someone an email.
After a year has passed, every possibility of return does not automatically lapse. However, the question whether the child is now settled in the new environment may come into play. The period is therefore not a general limitation period that makes all rights disappear at once, but nor is it a safe waiting period. A prompt legal assessment is important in order to start the correct proceedings in time. Ask explicitly which procedural step counts for the period in your case.
Return is not the same as obtaining final parental authority
Return proceedings are in principle intended to restore the situation around the habitual residence, so that the substantive questions of parental authority can be assessed in the right place. The court does not thereby automatically decide once and for all which parent can best care for the child. A return order may therefore go hand in hand with further proceedings on residence and care.
That distinction helps to keep expectations and defences focused. The applicant parent should not merely argue that he or she is the better parent. Nor can the other parent rely solely on the general position that the child is happier in the new country. The specific Convention conditions and exceptions determine the return question. The substantive care situation may, however, be relevant for protection and for the later proceedings on parental authority.
Are there exceptions to return?
The Convention contains limited grounds for refusal. Relevant factors may include the actual exercise of custody, consent or acquiescence, a grave risk to the child and the views of a sufficiently mature child. The precise conditions and standard of proof must be assessed legally. Invoking an exception does not automatically lead to refusal of return.
Concerns about violence or safety must be substantiated specifically and carefully. The court may also consider the protective measures available. At the same time, return proceedings must not be handled as if every safety report were merely a tactic. The file must allow for a serious assessment of the relevant facts. A specialist lawyer can explain which documents are needed and how the protection of child and parent is taken into account in the proceedings.
What if you receive a return application yourself?
Take the documents seriously at once and have the procedure and time limit assessed. Do not assume that enrolment at a Dutch school or a new home automatically makes the earlier departure lawful. A divorce already under way does not resolve the return question by itself either. Your lawyer needs to know why you left, what consent existed and what concerns there were.
Gather the complete communication and existing decisions. Describe safety risks factually and provide appropriate evidence. Also discuss temporary contact arrangements and the possibility of a safe arrangement. A timely substantive response is more important than only explaining matters to the other parent outside court. The court must receive the relevant facts through the correct procedure.
Can mediation offer a solution?
In some cases, specialist mediation can help to reach agreements on return, temporary residence, contact and further proceedings. This requires attention to voluntariness, safety and the international enforceability of agreements. An arrangement must make clear which judicial or administrative steps remain necessary.
Mediation must not become a reason to let a procedural or Convention time limit expire unnoticed. Agree, therefore, how the proceedings will be monitored while talks take place. Where there is a serious imbalance of power or a lack of safety, it must be assessed whether mediation is appropriate and which safeguards are needed. A practical agreement is only usable if it is specific: date, supervision, documents, costs and follow-up must be clear. Verbal good intentions are often insufficient in an international conflict.
Do not bring your child back across the border on your own initiative
Acting on your own can cause new legal and safety problems. Even if you believe the other parent acted unlawfully, your response must be aligned with parental authority, court decisions and local rules. A second cross-border relocation can further disrupt the situation for the child.
Instead, discuss which protective measure, return proceedings or enforcement step is available. Have any return prepared in practical terms: who will travel, which documents are needed and which care or contact arrangements apply? The aim is a lawful and workable solution. Involving family members to exert pressure outside the official route can weaken your evidential position, communication and safety.
Practical example: the holiday becomes a move
This example is fictitious. Parents with joint parental authority agree on a three-week holiday abroad. Shortly before the return journey, one parent announces that they will stay with the child. The other parent keeps the original arrangements and seeks legal advice immediately.
The assessment focuses on the habitual residence before departure, the scope of the consent and the date on which the stay may have become wrongful. The Central Authority is involved and the correct procedure in the country of residence is examined. At the same time, contact and safety are discussed. The parent does not wait until the next school year to have the situation assessed. The example shows that a trip that was initially permitted can nevertheless become an urgent return issue.
What makes your file immediately usable?
Put the key information in a single overview: child, parental authority, habitual residence, travel arrangements, current location and urgent dates. Add certificates, rulings, tickets and relevant messages. State which authorities have already been approached and what responses you received. Through family law at Arslan you can have the required legal route discussed; confirm straight away at the intake that this may be an urgent international child case. For acute help, use the appropriate government and emergency channels.
Frequently asked questions
Can a parent internationally abduct their own child?
Yes, a parent can also wrongfully take or retain a child in breach of rights of custody. Biological or legal parenthood does not automatically give consent for every relocation. The specific situation regarding parental authority and residence must be examined.
Is not returning after a holiday also child abduction?
It can be. Consent for a temporary stay is not automatically consent for a permanent move. Keep the travel arrangements and have it established when the stay may have become wrongful.
Is a Dutch passport enough to obtain a return?
No. Nationality alone does not decide the return question. Habitual residence, rights of custody, consent and the applicable international rules are important. The passport is only one part of the file.
Do I have to act within one year?
Do not wait. The Convention rule on one year refers to a legally relevant starting point of the proceedings, not to every informal report. After a year, return may still be possible, but the assessment may change.
Does a return immediately decide with which parent the child will live from now on?
No. Return and the final substantive decision on parental authority or residence are different questions. The proceedings focus on return under the applicable rules. Further proceedings concerning the child may still be needed afterwards.
Whom do I call in an urgent situation?
If there is immediate danger, call 112 in the Netherlands. For the international route, contact the Central Authority for International Child Protection Matters and a lawyer with the relevant expertise. Report unknown whereabouts, threats and relevant time limits immediately.
Read also
- International divorce
- Married in Turkey, divorcing in the Netherlands
- Married in Morocco, divorcing in the Netherlands
- Having a foreign divorce recognised
- All information on family law
Sources and legal basis
Sources checked on 17 September 2026. The treaty relationship and the foreign procedural route must be established per country and relevant date.
- The Dutch judiciary (Rechtspraak): international child abduction.
- Dutch government (Rijksoverheid): what to do if a child has been abducted abroad?.
- HCCH: text of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.
- Brussels II ter Regulation, additional European rules.
