JAJ

You forgot Northern Ireland. Actually it's the same Act, although phrased differently for the different jurisdictions.

bromleygirl

I was once in your position 6 years ago when I returned back to the UK with my US born children. It's not impossible to do but it will not be easy. I was lucky in that I was able to reason with my ex and negotiated a lower child support payment.

As other's have said you will either need the agreement of the child's father to allow you to leave the county or you will need to present a case to a family law court requesting they authorise you to leave the country and gain a court order which you will always need to carry when travelling. As the child resides here, this is where they are considered habitually resident and it will be the county, state jurisdiction that decides if the child can be removed.

I would certainly obtain your US citizenship as soon as possible. It will give more weight to your case if you do try to return to the UK and give you more options now and in the future.

Neko128

The problem with this is that, unless she has permission from the other biological parent to take the joint child with her, she could actually be charged with kidnapping. Any attempt to move the child without permission either from the other parent (IN WRITING and NOTARIZED for self-protection) or from the court in her jurisdiction, could be viewed in the future by a court as illegal.

Neko128

I know you already said you're short on funds - this is a truly, truly terrible situation, and I sympathize - but the answer here is, you have to make the courts work for you. The problem here is competing priorities; you have a right to be kept safe from your ex, but your child and your ex have rights and cannot be separated without cause. They're separate problems, but the solutions clash. So... Deal with the one, but make sure that the other has been mentioned. Find a lawyer, and seek protection; if the situation really is bad, it's entirely possible you may be able to get a restraining order, or at least a temporary protective order of some sort. To be honest, if you have grounds to actually receive legal protection against the ex, you may well have grounds to get permission to remove the child also.

And one thing to keep in mind, you may be able to negotiate with the ex - get him to agree that if he gives you permission to remove the child to the UK then you won't pursue any other legal avenues against him, or something like that.

But the most important thing is to retain competent legal counsel as soon as possible. Even if any of the respondants here are lawyers, they aren't retained by you, and "some guy on the forums told me it's okay" won't stand up in court. There are avenues for receiving free legal advice and aid if necessary, especially in cases where your ex is potentially abusive.

On top of everything else, though, don't panic. Remember that, no matter what, the child's interests need to take precedence, and that *is* the point of view the courts will take when considering this, if it comes to that.