Holiday Season vs Abduction Concerns – When is Port Alert Necessary?

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This one comes from our expert Family Legal Executive, Veronica, and is titled:

Holiday Season versus Abduction Concerns – When is Port Alert Necessary?

With the school holidays now firmly underway, separated parents should know exactly when their child is due to go away on holiday with the other parent. However, in a world where we have become more multi-cultural, there can be a fine line between a child leaving the country with a parent for a holiday and an intention for that parent to remain living with the child in that country.

It is always advisable to have in writing from the other parent details as to where the child will be going, the date on which they will be leaving and the date they will be returning.

A parent with a Residence Order or ‘Living With’ order as they are now known, can remove a child from the jurisdiction of it’s ‘habitual residence’ for a period of up to 28 days without the consent of the other parent.  Any period beyond that date is deemed to be child abduction.  Without a residence order in place, the parent must first obtain the written consent of the other parent in any event.

In circumstances where you have real concerns that the other parent is likely to remove the child from their usual residence without consent, you have the option to apply to the court for a Prohibited Steps Order.  If granted, this order will prevent the other party from leaving the country.  If you remain concerned that this order will be insufficient, you can also apply for a Port Alert Order.

In the recent case of A v B 2021 heard on 11.06.2021 the Judge made clear that it is possible for the Family Court to make a Port Alert order but that:

‘Such an order should only be made where the applicant demonstrates with clear evidence that there is a real and imminent risk that the child/children in question will be removed from England and Wales’. Furthermore ‘It is important that applications for these orders are not made in reliance on evidence which amounts to no more than mere assertion or which is otherwise flimsy or unsubstantiated.’.

In this case, the fact that the mother had threatened to return to her homeland of Slovakia with the child and had attempted to withdraw funds from a joint account was negated by the fact that the mother only the saw the child on a supervised basis and held no British passport for the child. Accordingly the father’s application for Port Alert was rejected.

A Port Alert Order lasts only for 28 days at which point the parent would need to apply again to extend for a further 28 day period if necessary and justifiable.

If you have concerns about your child’s welfare in relation to child arrangement disputes or orders, please contact our expert family lawyer Veronica Beard on 01905 900 919 or veronica@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk for further advice and assistance.

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