Leave to Remove

If a parent wishes to remove their child permanently from the jurisdiction, they must first obtain the consent of anyone with parental responsibility, which in most cases will be the other parent. If consent is withheld then the parent wishing to emigrate must obtain permission from the court, known as ‘leave to remove’.

Kevin Bristow is an experienced family solicitor in Kent who specialises in dealing with leave to remove cases and recently won a case acting for a father who successfully prevented the mother of his only child from emigrating to Australia.

The courts recognise these as difficult cases and in making their decision, many factors are taken into consideration, paramount of which is the welfare of the child in question. The courts also give consideration to the reasons for wanting to move and the future plans and plans for contact between the child and the parent remaining in this jurisdiction.

In the matter handled by CWJ, the father had always played a very active role in his child’s life and the reality of the situation was that the parents had shared care of the child, with the input from both parent being of significant value to the child’s development.

The case as prepared by CWJ demonstrated to the court that it would not be in the best interests of the child to move to Australia, the effect of which would have been to minimise the child’s contact with the father who had been a dominant feature in the child’s life.

The mother was refused permission to take the child to emigrate to Australia, the result being that the father is able to continue playing an active and significant role in his child’s life on a shared care basis.

We also have considerable experience acting for the party wishing to leave.

If you require help and advice on this issue please contact Kevin Bristow, Partner on 01689 887 816.