Legal Advice on Travel

onlythedon

I wonder if anyone can help me? I'm pretty sure before I start the advice will be not to go somewhere if I am unsure of the consequences but I will ask anyway.

My child is due in July and my partner is from Laos. I would like to take the baby to see his family but I guess you can never be sure of what will happen in these situations. Our child will be an Irish Citizen and will have an Irish passport (hopefully). In the event of everything going wrong, can he stop me leaving the country with the child?

Does it guarantee me any extra security not to have him named on the birth cert or as guardian for the child? I don't want to sound mean, but for sure I would want to protect my child, especially in a country were laws are a bit lenient!

godtabh

make sure you are on the birt cert if you want to have a chance of any rights

athtrasna

godtabh wrote: »

make sure you are on the birt cert if you want to have a chance of any rights

I believe the OP is female...the post indicates this. The mother must be registered on the birth cert.

onlythedon

I am the mother. I want to bring the child to the fathers home country, but I want to know my legal rights about bringing the child back out.

GerardKeating

onlythedon wrote: »

I am the mother. I want to bring the child to the fathers home country, but I want to know my legal rights about bringing the child back out.

Has the fathers home country signed the Hague convention ?

onlythedon

GerardKeating wrote: »

Has the fathers home country signed the Hague convention ?

No.

godtabh

athtrasna wrote: »

I believe the OP is female...the post indicates this. The mother must be registered on the birth cert.

Sorry I read it the first time and assumed a man. The second time it was more clear

Peregrinus

onlythedon wrote: »

I am the mother. I want to bring the child to the fathers home country, but I want to know my legal rights about bringing the child back out.

You're asking a question about Laotian law and how it is administered in practice in Laos.

Not many people on boards.ie will be able to tell you very much about that, I'm afraid.

onlythedon

I was more asking about the rights, if any, of being an Irish citizen abroad, or if this would fall outside of that remit.
I am working on the other part.

It's worth a try... thanks though.

Atlantic Dawn

Some countries like Ireland give more rights over the child to the mother and some like Saudia Arabia would give more to the father. Not having his name on the birth cert would likely give you more rights no matter the country but a DNA test could overturn that.

Peregrinus

Well, as an Irish citizen abroad you are entitled to consular support if you need it. So far as I know, Ireland has no diplomatic or consular representation in Laos, but as an Irish citizen you are also an EU citizen, and in that capacity you can seek assistance from any EU diplomatic mission - e.g. the British.

But the consular support they would provide to you would be limited. If, hypothetically, you were involved in a custody dispute with your partner who wished to stay in Laos and keep the child with him, the consular authorities would tell you that this was a private matter between you and your partner, and the fact that you are an EU citizen, and so is the child, does not give you any special status or have much bearing on the outcome of the dispute. They would advise you to retain a Laotian lawyer and (possibly ) assist you in finding one. But I doubt they would assist you in paying for one.

You were asked above if Laos had ratified the Hague convention. That's actually not relevant; the Hague convention deals with international child abduction, but there is no abduction involved in you and your partner bringing your child to Laos. If a dispute arises after you get to Laos, that's the same as any other dispute arising in Laos between the parents of a child, and it will be decided in the same way (which, I strongly suspect, involves the Laotian courts deciding what is in the best interests of the child, having regard to Laotian values and understandings of what is best for children, as to which I have no clue). Even if Laos had ratified the Hague Convention, in these circumstances it would not operate to give you a right to remove the child back to Ireland

onlythedon

Thank you for the information.

easygoing1982

I've absolutely no legal experience and am just a lurker here but i have to ask.

By putting up this post are you expecting trouble with your partner in laos.If so why would you even contemplate taking the child out of the country.

Its certainly not a normal question someone in an equal loving relationship would be asking. I dont mean to judge but it's something that popped out at me straight away

haveringchick

If you are not married to this man and he has not obtained guardianship of this child either through your cooperation or through the courts then your child has only one legal guardian.
You.
Your job is to do everything you possibly can to protect your child.
If this man is pressuring you to take your child somewhere you don't want to go, then you simply refuse. If you are afraid of him or intimidated by him then you go to the Gardai and report him for intimidation. You can get a protection order against this man if he is threatening you.
You can go to any woman's welfare group ( there are many) and seek assistance.
The important thing is, if you have any suspicion or concern that your child will be abducted abroad then you simply do not travel.
Relying on the notion that your child is protected abroad by his Irish citizenship is nonsensical and I would find it alarming that you would think that.

onlythedon

I'm just doing research as I have two male friends abroad. Their situation is not so lucky in that country because they are the man in the relationship and so live there because of the child. Both of them are separated from their partner. Both have advised I look into it even though I don't foresee a problem, just taking their advice on board.