Family and couples · Children · cross-border
International parental child abduction and France: what to do, in order
When one parent takes or keeps a child abroad without the other’s agreement, time matters. The 1980 Hague Convention lets you ask for the return of a child under 16, but after one year the return can be refused if the child has settled. In France, abducting your own child is a criminal offence, punished by three years in prison when the child is kept outside the country (article 227-9 of the Criminal Code).
- Hague: child under 16
- EU: six weeks per court
- Kept abroad: 3 years in prison
- Official texts cited
- Sources checked on
- Drafted with AI assistance, our method
General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.
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Do you need a custody order before you can act?
No. Under the Hague Convention, custody rights can arise by law, by a decision or by an agreement: joint parental authority is enough to ask for a return. A court order does make proof easier.
Read the referencesYour child has been taken abroad, or you fear a departure: I can help you order the steps and write the summary of facts.
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What should you do first, and in what order?
The first steps depend on one question: is the child still in France? This order keeps the best chance of a return.
Departure imminent: ask for an emergency travel stop
At the prefecture, urgently, when a departure is being prepared without your consent. It blocks the child leaving for fifteen days at most, while you go to the judge.
Apply to the family judge
The judge can ban the child from leaving France without both parents’ permission. The ban is entered in the wanted persons file.
Child already gone: file a criminal complaint
A parent abducting their own child commits an offence. It is aggravated when the child is kept outside France or for more than five days with their whereabouts unknown.
Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-7Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-9
Ask the Central Authority for the child’s return
The French Ministry of Justice sends the request to the Central Authority of the country where the child is, if that country applies the Hague Convention or an agreement with France.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abductionRegulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 22 to 24
Act within one year
After one year, the foreign court can refuse the return if it finds the child has settled in the new environment.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
Gather proof of habitual residence
School certificate, lease, custody order or agreement: whether the removal was wrongful depends on where the child lived before leaving.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
Is parental abduction the same as refusing to hand over a child?
Refusing to hand over a child (non-représentation) means not returning the child to the person entitled to have them, for instance after a contact weekend. Abduction (soustraction) is when a parent takes the child away from those who hold parental authority or with whom the child lives.
Both offences carry one year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine. The penalty rises to three years and 45,000 euros when the child is kept more than five days with their whereabouts unknown, or wrongfully kept outside France.
Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-5Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-7Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-9
How can you stop an imminent departure from France?
If a departure is imminent, ask the prefecture for an emergency travel stop (opposition à la sortie du territoire): it lasts fifteen days at most. That gives you time to apply to the family judge, who can ban the child from leaving France without both parents’ permission.
Keep the messages, tickets or announcements that show the plan to leave: they prove the urgency.
Service-public: travel stop and court ban for a childCode civil (Civil Code), article 373-2-6
Which return route applies in the child’s current country?
The country, the child’s age and the time elapsed decide the route and the deadlines that matter. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Fictional example · route to follow
Return within the EU: the Hague Convention and Regulation 2019/1111, six weeks per court instance.
- First step
- File a criminal complaint for child abduction
- Next
- Apply to the Ministry of Justice’s Central Authority for return
- To prepare
- Gather the custody order, proof of habitual residence and a timeline
How do you ask the French Central Authority for the child’s return?
The return request goes to the French Central Authority at the Ministry of Justice, which passes it to the Central Authority of the country where the child is. Include the birth certificate, any custody order or agreement, a recent photo and a precise timeline of the departure.
Within the EU, except Denmark, Regulation 2019/1111 supplements the Hague Convention: each court must decide within six weeks, save in exceptional circumstances.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abductionRegulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 22 to 24
What if the country has no agreement with France?
With no agreement, there is no comparable return procedure. What remains is the criminal complaint, consular help, and having French orders on the child’s residence recognised locally under that country’s law.
The list of countries bound to France by the Hague Convention or a bilateral agreement changes: check it before you start.
Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-9Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
What does article 227-9 of the French Criminal Code say?
Les faits définis par les articles 227-5 et 227-7 sont punis de trois ans d’emprisonnement et de 45 000 euros d’amende : 1° Si l’enfant mineur est retenu au-delà de cinq jours sans que ceux qui ont le droit de réclamer qu’il leur soit représenté sachent où il se trouve ; 2° Si l’enfant mineur est retenu indûment hors du territoire de la République.
In plain English: Abducting a child or refusing to hand them over is punished by three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine when the child is kept more than five days with their whereabouts unknown, or wrongfully kept outside France.
What else do parents ask?
Do you need a custody order before you can act?
No. Under the Hague Convention, custody rights can arise by law, by a decision or by an agreement: joint parental authority is enough to ask for a return. A court order does make proof easier.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
Can you go and bring the child back yourself?
It is risky. Taking the child back without an order or agreement can itself be a wrongful removal under the law of the country where the child now lives. Go through the Central Authority and the courts.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
How long does a return case take inside the EU?
Regulation 2019/1111 requires the first-instance court to decide within six weeks of the application, and the appeal court within six weeks too, save in exceptional circumstances.
Can the other parent oppose the child’s return?
In limited cases: if the requesting parent was not actually exercising custody or had agreed to the move, if the return would expose the child to a grave risk, if a mature enough child objects, or if the child has settled after more than a year.
Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abduction
Which texts are these steps based on?
- Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-9Légifrance
- Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-7Légifrance
- Code pénal (Criminal Code), article 227-5Légifrance
- Code civil (Civil Code), article 373-2-6Légifrance
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1111, articles 22 to 24EUR-Lex
- Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on international child abductionHCCH
- Service-public: travel stop and court ban for a childService-public.fr
Texts cited last checked: 17 October 2026