LisaT

A friend of mine has been separated from her hubby for 3 years now and they have 2 children aged 11 and 7.
She would like to immigrate to Oz one day but her ex won't agree for her to take the children (which is understandable).
Is there a certain age that the courts would maybe listen to the children's choice and make a decision? At the moment they would like to go but are obviously still young.
Has anyone had a similar situation?

Boomerang

I believe the courts normaly use social visits to determine the childrens wishes without making direct questions in terms of who to choose, mummy or daddy.

LisaT

The kids live with my friend but she wants to immigrate and take them to Oz so she'd trying to find out if this will ever be a possibility or if she'll have to resign herself to the fact she's staying in the UK.

Jane and Russ Middleton

Hi Lisa,
Hope you are well, I read something about this subject a while ago on the immigration site, do a search. I think lacey21 wrote something.....sorry to be so vague but it was a while ago.
I hope you are still coming on Sunday it will be great to meet you
Jane xxx

LindyLooPot

Hi Lisa

It was great to see you the other day, Looking forward to seeing You and Tony on Sunday, Dave cant wait either.

Hope you find some positive information for your friend

See ya

Lidna (just thought you had not seen this spelling for a while??)

nurselindsey

Hi I'm sure she wont mind me mentioning her but have alook out on the boards for debbiemc she has just gone through a similar thing with an ex and has now applied for her visa. Pm her or look out for her i'm sure she'll help you out.

Lindsey

LisaT

thanks, I have found some threads

joho

Does the dad have a lot of contact with them. If he does then I can understand him saying no, its the ones that never see their kids, never pay upkeep that I think shouldn't have a say.

Jo

meelie

You need parental permission from their Dad to be able to take them out of the country otherwise it constitutes kidnap. My daughter was 15 when we moved here and I had to get a signed letter from him stating that he gave unconditional permission for me to take my daughter out of the country. If your ex doesn't agree with you taking them then it can mean having to take the matter to court. Another ex pat (debmc) on here is going through this at the moment. Good luck

JAJ

With respect a good family law solicitor is the place to get answers like this, not an online forum!

A few general parameters are:
- once child is age 18 there is no more concept of "parental rights" (but those aged 18+ may cause dependency and assurance of support issues on the Australian visa application)
- in England and Wales, the law states that only in exceptional circumstances should the movements of 16 and 17 year olds be restricted
- under that age, parental rights are stronger (although unmarried fathers usually have fewer rights, or none at all). They can be overridden by a court order, courts may well listen to children of a particular age - especially teenagers - but every case is different.

And before making a fuss about this, your friend ought to see if she's eligible to migrate to Australia in the first place (other than the child custody criteria) - no point spending time and energy getting a court order if there's no chance to migrate in the first place.