Stop a child leaving Aotearoa New Zealand

It may be against the law to take a child out of Aotearoa New Zealand

It’s against the law for someone to try to take a child out of Aotearoa New Zealand without the permission of the court if:

• it goes against any court order outlining day-to-day care of the child – including who has day-to-day care, how the day-to-day care should be carried out, and any other contact with the child
• a case involving the child is about to go to court.

Anyone who does can go to jail for up to 3 months, be fined up to $2500 or both. In some instances, taking the child out of Aotearoa New Zealand can be regarded as abduction which can lead to someone going to jail for up to 7 years.

How to stop a child from leaving Aotearoa New Zealand

If you want to stop someone from taking a child out of Aotearoa New Zealand, you can apply to the Family Court for an ‘Order Preventing Removal’. Anyone can apply, however, most people who ask:

• are a parent of the child
• are a legal guardian of the child
• are a spouse or partner of the child’s parent
• have day-to-day care or contact with the child under a ‘Parenting Order’
• are about to apply for a ‘Parenting Order’.

If an ‘Order Preventing Removal’ is granted, the Court will tell the Passports Office at the Department of Internal Affairs. No new passport will be issued for the child while the order is in place.

What is an Order Preventing Removal

If the Court makes an ‘Order Preventing Removal’, your child can’t be taken out of Aotearoa New Zealand by anyone unless the order says otherwise. This may include the person who asked for the ‘Order Preventing Removal’. If you’ve asked for an ‘Order Preventing Removal’ and there is a situation where you think you might need to take your child overseas, you can put the details in your application.

The Court can take action

To stop someone taking a child overseas without permission, the Court can do any of the following.

• Order the child’s passport or travel documents be given to the Court
• Order the person who planned to take the child overseas to give their passport to the Court
• Order the person who planned to take the child overseas to hand over any travel documents
• Order that the child can’t be taken out of Aotearoa New Zealand, either for a set time, or until the Court makes another order
• Issue a warrant so the Police or a social worker can pick up the child and put them with someone who’ll look after them until the Court makes a decision.

If an ‘Order Preventing Removal’ is already in place, but you want or need to take the child overseas, you can apply to suspend the ‘Order Preventing Removal’.

An ‘Order Preventing Removal’ stays in place until the child turns 16 years old, or a judge cancels the order.

An Order Preventing Removal doesn’t alert border staff

An ‘Order Preventing Removal’ won’t let border staff know that a child shouldn’t leave Aotearoa New Zealand. If you want border staff to be alerted if someone is trying to leave the country with your child, you must include a ‘Border Alert Request’ with your application. This will be sent to Interpol.

Once they have entered the alert into their system, the alert will automatically activate if the child presents at the border. This means that when the child’s details are checked by border staff at any airport or seaport in Aotearoa New Zealand, the child will be stopped from leaving the country.