Children abroad

The Hague Convention aims to ensure more efficient and speedy cooperation between countries, so that children are protected and get the best possible service.

The 1996 Hague Convention's guidance covers:

asking for another state's help in tracing a child;
asking for a report on a child 'habitually resident' in another state;
asking another state to protect a child's welfare;
seeking the agreement of another state for a child to be placed there in a foster family or in institutional care or in wider family care;
asking for the transfer of 'jurisdiction' for a child from her home state, enabling an authority to make decisions about a child's welfare; and
providing a report on parent's suitability to have contact with a child living in another state.

These points would include practitioners cooperating to provide information which would help make decisions about;

concerns about significant harm
who has parental responsibility, including rights relating to the care of the child and in particular the right to decide the child's place of residence;
rights of access, which are rights about contact with the child, including the right to take the child for a limited period of time to a place other than where the child is habitually resident; and
who is to be the guardian of the child, who is to look after the child or the child's property or represent the child, and what they are allowed to do.

It applies to child protection cases across the EU and the 11 non-EU states that have so far opted in to the treaty. (The 11 non-EU countries are: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Monaco, Morocco, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay).

Quick links:

Asking another state for help:	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00198728/hague-dept-advice/requests-for-info
Responding to a request from another state:	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00198728/hague-dept-advice/requests
What is 'habitual residence'?	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00198728/hague-dept-advice/qa-hague-convention/#What%20is%20%E2%80%98habitual%20residence%E2%80%99
Detailed advice on the Hague Convention's application:	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00198728/hague-dept-advice