Glyn Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Hi, Happy New Year to all! We are currently considering a move to Perth, I travelled and worked around Oz a couple of years ago stopping off in Perth. As much as there is a great deal to consider for our move, our main and very big issue is that of my partner's daughter who is currently 7. Myself and my partner are not married but she has a daughter from a previous marriage. Her ex husband does see his daughter twice a week but these have to be supervised visits and he pays no maintenance. Does anyone know and can give advice please on whether we would be able to legally move her to another country without the father's permission and if we needed his permission but he refused to give it, whether we could do anything to legally to change this etc. My partner's daughter has stated that she is more than happy and actually quite excited about the prospect of moving to Oz, does this have any bearing on the matter. Furthermore, due to the cost of living here we have not resided together and therefore have no joint bills etc to prove our relationship. Would this matter? We would appreciate any advice that anyone can offer. Thank you very much :0)
Fox Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 My advice would be to seek legal advice on this. I am no legal bod myself but for what it's worth I understand that you must get permission from a child's biological parents to take any child out of this country, and I think that it can also include foreign holidays as well. A solicitor will be able to tell you if there are any loopholes or special circumstances where this is not required. If you do need to obtain the father's permission then I would get that before you start the visa application process. I say this because if the father decides to be awkward and you end up having to go to court he may drag it out so long that your visa could run out. A court will put the child's best interests first though, so that's a good starting point. Hope this helps
kellyjamie Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Fox is correct you MUST obtain permission from the father he has to sign a declaration to the effect. There are no ways round it im afraid unless the child doesnt see the father and you are unable to contact him, but thats not your case. If he refuses your only course of action is to go to court but this is a tough and emotional situation. Theres a few of us on here who have been through this situation all with different outcomes, different advice and experiences. The first thing is to talk to the father and take it from there but be prepared that this could be a tough situation understanably for all involved Goodluck
Pumpkin Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 I agree with the others, you need to take legal advice and if the father refuses, you are likely to have a battle ahead. I do not think the opinion of a 7 year old will sway the decision tooo much, perhaps with an older child it would start to carry more weight. A 7 year old really is not old enough to understand the enormity of it and probably just sees it as a big adventure or holiday. Additionally, regarding your status with your partner, what visa are you thinking of going on anyway. As you do not live together, you would not qualify as defacto and you would have to get your visas indepedently anyway - is this possible?
Guest guest36187 Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Good Luck. You could always PM Tracey123. They have been through this situation x
Guest Mrs Wrigles Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Good Luck. You could always PM Tracey123. They have been through this situation x Hi Jo and Glyn, Tracy123 aka Geoffrey has made his way 'home' and is back in Oz he is staying with his brother at the moment so not sure he will have access to a pc there. I am his OH and am still in the UK (only until 3rd Feb!!!). Just wanted to let you know in case you were to PM him as you are unlikely to get a reply straight away. Jo is right that we went through the court process earlier this year in order to get my eldest boy who is 10, permission from the courts to be able to move him with us to Oz. Am happy for you to PM me and am happy to answer any specifics. Just to reiterate what others have already written - you will need permission to take your partners daughter CAFCASS will be involved (although I think the new government are goign to abolish them so not sure what will take their place??!) and they will interview the little girl but as others have said they are unlikely to use much of what she says to influence their final recommendation. It is a very stressful and expensive process - I was off work with anxiety/stress for about 2 months after it all so be prepared for the challenges Ultimately if Oz is where you want to go then the court process had to be seen as an integral part of the whole visa application process and I would agree with others who say that this should be the first thing you do before making any visa application. We were successful in our application but I know of others where for a variety of reasons the courts have rejected the application. Best of luck whatever you decide to do Happy for you to PM me if you want any more information Tracy xx
ali Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Tracey will be a gold mine of information for you having gone through this herself - she will also keep things realistic for you as I know her 'struggle' was a long one. The other thing that people have said is that they have re-searched Australia, areas, jobs, schools etc., and provided information as to why the move will be good for the child. Included in that is also how contact will be ensured with the absent parent. As pumpkin says - it will also depend upon the visa you're applying for regarding proof of relationship. This fact sheet may be helpful: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 35. One-Year Relationship Requirement
Guest Mrs Wrigles Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 Tracey will be a gold mine of information for you having gone through this herself - she will also keep things realistic for you as I know her 'struggle' was a long one. The other thing that people have said is that they have re-searched Australia, areas, jobs, schools etc., and provided information as to why the move will be good for the child. Included in that is also how contact will be ensured with the absent parent. As pumpkin says - it will also depend upon the visa you're applying for regarding proof of relationship. This fact sheet may be helpful: Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 35. One-Year Relationship Requirement Thanks Ali, am I happy to share the info that we put together for our application - there is a HUGE amount of information required by the courts - ultimately you need to show that your move to Oz is well thought through and that you are able to evidence things like work, schools, the area etc. Although Geoff and I didnt have jobs organised we still gave examples of the sort of woth we would be able to do once we got out there - a bit pie in the sky really but it just shows the judge that you have thought about things. They want to know that your move to Oz isnt to pee off the non-resident parent and that you have considered, as Ali said, contact arrangements. Its good to go to your solicitor with as much information prepared as possible - we had written war & peace when we went for our first appointment and a lot of that was used in the first letter sent to my ex which basically formally set out our intentions and gave him the opportunity to respond (which he didnt do but that was to be expected!!) Like I said - happy to be contacted and help if I can. Best wishes Tracy x
Guest JK2510 Posted January 2, 2011 Posted January 2, 2011 We were in a similar situation to yourselves. The one wise move we did do was contacting my ex before we parted with any money for an agent and getting skills assesssed etc... We explained what he had to do emailed him the stat dec our agent gave us and all he had to do was sign it in front of a soliciter. TBH I've never got anything back off him sooo darn quick. He has very little contact with the kids(only his mothers doing) and I've had no maintainence for 2.5 years. I'm sorry I can't help with your other query but one step at a time works well and I think your biggest test would be sorting out the child issue. All the best. Like the others say Tracey123 has recently gone through all of the court process and his information was excellant and informative.
Samlouise Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Hi all, I joined this site yesterday and have no idea what i'm really doing so forgive me for being rude and interrupting this post. I myself am in a bit of a situation similar to Glyn and i'm looking for advise, experience and new friendships too I live in Manchester UK, i've been to Australia 3 times, 2 was holidays and one was working. I have a daughter to a previous relationship and know I have to go to court in order to stand a chance of living in Australia. First payment will be made this month, no mediation required as he's not going to change his mind. What am I to expect? I know everything I need to do i'e school, work, housing situations etc I'd just like some advise and experience from people in similar situation/s. My husband is Australian ( I didnt meet him on my travel's - he was my reason for travel as we met on facebook lol ) we have a child together been married 2 years - together for almost 3. Thank you very much in advance. Sam
Glyn Posted January 5, 2011 Author Posted January 5, 2011 Hi, thank you very much for your advice. We still have an awful lot to look into before applying for visas but this could obviously be a massive stumbling block. My partner's daughter is very excited about the prospect of moving to Oz with all things considered (she is a mature 7 year old). We're hoping that her father will do the right thing and look out for his daughter's best interests but obviously if the Court route is required we will have to follow it up. We're keeping all of our limbs crossed for a positive outcome. Thanks again xx
Guest Noodle Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I agree totally with everything everybody has said. I was fortunate with my ex - FOR ONCE!!! I sought legal advice and told of the possible outcomes. I was told to try and discuss with him first and see what he said. No probs there and did not have to go to court, I typed up a letter for him to sign in front of a solicitor. This was then forwarded with our application several months later. Best of luck Leila x
woodymcfc Posted January 6, 2011 Posted January 6, 2011 We were in court yesterday for our first hearing with regards to my OH's daughter, the judge and a cafcass officer were there. Our daughter (my step daughter) has not seen or heard from her biological dad for the past 6 years and as expected he didn't turn up for the hearing ! The judge seemed impressed with all the evidence we had from trying to contact him over the past twelve months, letters, affadavit's from process server etc..... and instructed the cafcass officer to do a report which involved all parties !! He gave a timeline of 14 weeks and to set a date for the next hearing the day after. He did ask were we are in the visa process so I explained that we are waiting on sponsorship from WA then hopefully we would apply for the visa. He didn't ask for any kind of fact finding report from us so hopefully if the outcome of the cafcass report is good he may give us the order at the next hearing, fingers crossed !!!!!
Quinkla Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 We're hoping that her father will do the right thing and look out for his daughter's best interests but obviously if the Court route is required we will have to follow it up. How is it in the child's best interests to lose contact with her father? If you had the child's best interests at heart you would settle in the UK so she could continue to have a relationship with both her parents.
k8bug79 Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 How is it in the child's best interests to lose contact with her father? If you had the child's best interests at heart you would settle in the UK so she could continue to have a relationship with both her parents. That is a bit harsh, without knowing all the circiumstances. For example in mine the Dad doesn't keep in contact barely sees her and there are issues, which I won't go into now, as to why that is definitely in my daughters best interest. Also the joba nd money prospects are better for us and my daughter. This could be the same for the OP and it is unfair to say that they should compromise on their relationship for sake of their ex's relationship with their daughter. I think of course in an ideal world we would all stay close and create a loving family relationship but thisn't isn't always what is best and it is possible to maintain a good relationship froma distance, I know this as my daughter currently has a good relationship with her grand parents who both live in foreign countries.
Quinkla Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 That is a bit harsh, without knowing all the circiumstances. For example in mine the Dad doesn't keep in contact barely sees her and there are issues, which I won't go into now, as to why that is definitely in my daughters best interest. In this case, the father sees the daughter twice a week.
Guest Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 How is it in the child's best interests to lose contact with her father? If you had the child's best interests at heart you would settle in the UK so she could continue to have a relationship with both her parents. Why would you have to lose contact? People can stay in contact wherever you live these days, what a boring life it would be if no one ever moved anywhere.
Rudi Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Hi, Happy New Year to all! We are currently considering a move to Perth, I travelled and worked around Oz a couple of years ago stopping off in Perth. As much as there is a great deal to consider for our move, our main and very big issue is that of my partner's daughter who is currently 7. Myself and my partner are not married but she has a daughter from a previous marriage. Her ex husband does see his daughter twice a week but these have to be supervised visits and he pays no maintenance. Does anyone know and can give advice please on whether we would be able to legally move her to another country without the father's permission and if we needed his permission but he refused to give it, whether we could do anything to legally to change this etc. My partner's daughter has stated that she is more than happy and actually quite excited about the prospect of moving to Oz, does this have any bearing on the matter. Furthermore, due to the cost of living here we have not resided together and therefore have no joint bills etc to prove our relationship. Would this matter? We would appreciate any advice that anyone can offer. Thank you very much :0) Hi As others have said, you will need the biological father's permission to bring his daughter to Australia. The fact that he has regular contact will not go in your favour. However, you need to establish whether you, as individuals are able to get visas to be allowed to come and live here. As you are not married, do not live together and seem not to have much proof of your relationship, it would mean that you would be assessed individually. That means two lots of visa application costs and that you would both require the skills and work experience to be allowed to come here. Good luck Love Rudi x
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.