Divorce and Emigration

[Guest Suziep]

Hi, has anyone out there migrated with their child from a previous marriage?? I am divorced and I will be coming over in September with my Partner of 5 years and my 14 year old son. Ex-hubby throwing all the toys from his pram at the moment and being particularly selfish and pulling out all the stops to stop us from migrating. He has been particularly "difficult" since leaving him 13 years ago due to violence but I am trying to find out if he can actually physically stop his son from leaving the UK even though his son is dead set on going to Adelaide. I will be applying to the Court next week to set a hearing to sort this out as we have a contact order but trying to find out as much as possible prior to any hearing. Any information would be much appreciated. x

[lorluc]

Friends of mine have recently been through this........and it has been a long haul...i won't go into details of their case, as that is not fair..

 

Immigration are very strict on this........permission has to be granted by the father/mother who is not emigrating.....

 

I dont know how far it can go through the courts if the parent is steadfast on not giving permission or whether a court can actually say yes, when a parent has said no.

 

 

As frustrating as it is...it has to be done this way to protect kids from being taken abroad without the other parent knowing about. We've all read those heartbreaking cases where marriages have broken down and a parent has 'abducted' a child and taken them abroad.

 

Good luck

[Guest kangomik]

I agree with lorluc, only in exceptional circumstance will the other parents protests be over ruled.

[lorluc]

I know that a document has to be signed by the parent, giving their permission for the child or children to be taken to Australia.

 

Also the parent is well within their rights to stipulate conditions for their permission...e.g....that the child has to return to the UK on a regular basis to visit the other parent.

 

If a court is involved.....they will want to know where the child will be living, the school they are attending etc.......

 

I suggest strongly that you get all this information together asap.....be prepared.....

[Guest motlyman]

Hi,

 

As i,ve been down this road i feel i can shed some light.

Firstly any statutory declarations are not worth the paper they are written on.

I had one signed by my x giving me permission to take my/our then 9 yr old out of the country, and me thinking all was good only to find a solicitors letter sent to me telling me it had been revoked.

With solicitors now involved it had to go to court for a judge to decide.

He requested a social service councilers report which involved a meeting with me, then one with my x, then us together to discuss an outcome. Obviously there wasnt going to be an outcome due to the nature of the dispute. The next stage is the child being interviewed (in a child friendly way) to find out what the child wants and how they feel.

This outcome of this meeting is passed on to the judge who then makes a decision on whats best for the child, not nessecery whether oz is good or not.

This is when agreements come in to it like, how often visits are allowed and contact ect.

All in all a damn expensive exercise where solicitors make heaps of money off your misery.

The court order is mirrored over here too and the sad thing is, its not adheared to.

But as long as the solicitors are happy with their rakings.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Colin

[Guest ems]

Hi Sue.

Sorry to hear your still having problems in this area. Hope you manage to get it sorted out.xx

[Guest Kazzarazza]

Just wanted to wish you good luck. You could explain to the court that you have researched schools, activities, etc to convince them your son will not suffer in his education. You could also show the court you will encourage your son to keep in contact with his father by using Skype and web cams so they can "see" each other whilst communicating, etc, etc. However, I am sure at 14 years old, your son's opinion will be taken into account - him wanting to come with you and not being a "difficult teenager" should hopefully stand you in good stead. Best of luck to you - hope it goes well.

[Guest Nikkic]

We are in a similar position but I was not married which gives me a little more room legaly however still very difficult morally. I didn't have any violence so I still feel for my ex however am now married to an Aussie and he is very keen after spending 5 years in the UK to get back to Adelaide. The information we have is if it goes through court the judge will work out what is in the best interest of the children first and moremost. If you can show that you will provide a secure home with lots of love and work out a way that your ex will still have contact the juddge should give you permision. It's obviously in everyones best interest for you to try and work together. One thing we have been working in in the fact in the future he might want to retire in Oz and the kids would sponser him!

Good luck with everything!

[Guest Suziep]

Thanks guys for all your help & support. I will be lodging my court application this week which is quite scary even though I have been to 74 hearings lodged by me ex over the past 12 years for trivial things!! We were going to wait until we arrive to sort out a school etc but I will start researching now so that the Courts can see how serious we are about the move, I also have my Uni place sorted & paid for & my son is really looking forward to coming to Adelaide so I have everything crossed! On a plus side we have not received any maintenance payments since 1998 as my ex husband has "no money" - not sure how he would provide for a teenager now!!

[Guest Lisado]

Hi there

 

I contacted my ex and after his initial "I am devastated reaction" he organised a stat dec ASAP as long as we did one for him, to say he could still have access to my son. He hardly sees him here so I reckon it will fizzle out there as no way he will spend the money on flights etc!!! He also insisted on writing a letter to say he and I had come to an arrangement in the UK and expected it to be continued when we move. It is just words!!

 

I sent his stat dec to our CO but not the other letter as couldnt see the point. Then when I check online at DIAC it just says Met when they have asked for confirmation from ex-husband.

 

I haven't heard anything otherwise, so have assumed all is okay.

 

I am fortunate that my ex knows my son will have a better life there and he has just had a new baby so isn't too bothered now bout my munchkin!!

 

I hope everything turns out okay for you

 

Lisa

[Guest Suziep]

Hi Lisa,

 

Many thanks for that & it is good to know that I am not the only person in this situation! Hope all works out for you & you soon receive your long awaited police checks!!

[coolerking]

Hi,

 

As i,ve been down this road i feel i can shed some light.

Firstly any statutory declarations are not worth the paper they are written on.

I had one signed by my x giving me permission to take my/our then 9 yr old out of the country, and me thinking all was good only to find a solicitors letter sent to me telling me it had been revoked.

With solicitors now involved it had to go to court for a judge to decide.

He requested a social service councilers report which involved a meeting with me, then one with my x, then us together to discuss an outcome. Obviously there wasnt going to be an outcome due to the nature of the dispute. The next stage is the child being interviewed (in a child friendly way) to find out what the child wants and how they feel.

This outcome of this meeting is passed on to the judge who then makes a decision on whats best for the child, not nessecery whether oz is good or not.

This is when agreements come in to it like, how often visits are allowed and contact ect.

All in all a damn expensive exercise where solicitors make heaps of money off your misery.

The court order is mirrored over here too and the sad thing is, its not adheared to.

But as long as the solicitors are happy with their rakings.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Colin

 

Can I just ask how it was revoked? I believed it was not impossible to revoke them but could be awkward as say in this case, you may have spent a lot of money on the emmigration process which your ex may have had to pay compensation and court costs.

 

Cooler