04 May When’s the right age to travel
There is no set age a parent is able to travel internationally with their child/ren and indeed the Court when considering an Application by one parent to travel will have regard to a variety of factors including:-
1. The age of the child/ren;
2. Their primary attachment/s;
3. Whether they travelled during the relationship/marriage;
4. The time each party is spending with the child/ren and the length of the intended holiday relative to the periods of time spent away from the non-travelling parent;
5. The location of the proposed trip and whether the countries to be visited are parties to the Hague Convention relating the international abduction of children and/or any travel warnings in place;
6. The link the travelling parent has to the country to be visited and whether they present a flight risk, in terms of remaining with the children in that country and not returning – special attention is also paid by the Court to the ties the travelling parent has to Australia especially where travel is proposed to a parent’s “home” country or to visit family abroad.
Each case is determined on its facts and there is no rule book on when an overseas travel application will be successful and when it will fail.
What is important is that the Court are carefully stepped through all of the evidence to ensure an informed decision is being made and one that is in the child’s best interests.
We have successfully represented both travelling parents and also non-travelling parents in resisting applications for travel brought by the other parent.
Contact us to further discuss and bear in mind the delays in having a Court hear such application, as the Courts do not consider pre-paid travel a reason to “jump the queue” in front of all the other parenting cases awaiting Court, so it’s vital the court application is filed well before any intended travel and/or flexible travel arrangements booked at first instance.
Related Tag: Family Law Gold Coast