Child relocation barristers.
Applications for permission to move a child abroad or within the UK, and representation for parents opposing a move.
Relocation cases decide where a childhood happens. One parent wants to return to the country they came from, take a job abroad, or move to be near family after a separation. The other parent faces the prospect of seeing their child a few times a year instead of every week. There is rarely a middle ground, and the court has to choose.
Clerk&Counsel introduces independent barristers, regulated by the Bar Standards Board, who prepare and argue relocation cases in the family court and, where the issues justify it, in the High Court. Our panel includes counsel who act for applicants and for opposing parents, and who deal regularly with expatriate families, dual nationality children and moves to countries where enforcement of English orders is uncertain.
Instructions come from solicitors and directly from parents under the Public Access scheme. Fees are agreed in writing before work begins, and we will tell you early if the case needs a solicitor alongside counsel rather than letting you find out halfway through.
Building a relocation application that stands up.
The strongest applications read like a plan, not a plea. The court wants to know precisely where the child will live, which school has been approached and what it costs, what the moving parent will earn and how that compares with life here, what visa or residence status applies, and who is in the destination country to help. Photographs of a nice town and a description of a happier life will not carry an application on their own.
The contact proposal is usually decisive. Courts are far more willing to permit a move where the applicant offers long holiday blocks, funds or shares the cost of flights, commits to video contact at times that work with the time difference, and agrees to obtain a mirror order in the destination country so the arrangement is enforceable there. Offering that at the start shows the court that the relationship with the other parent is valued rather than tolerated.
Counsel will also prepare you for the hardest question in the case, which is what you will do if permission is refused. An honest, considered answer is far better received than a threat, and the way that question is handled in evidence often tells the judge a great deal.
Resisting a move abroad.
Opposing a relocation is not simply about saying you will miss your child. It is about testing the plan. Has the school actually confirmed a place. Is the job offer real. Does the immigration route work. Has the applicant considered what the child, particularly an older child, actually wants. Cross examination on the detail is where weak applications come apart.
The second line of argument is the effect on the child of losing the relationship as it currently stands. Where a parent is involved in daily routines, school runs, medical appointments and sport, that involvement has to be described concretely, with evidence, because the court is being asked to trade it for something. Where contact has been irregular, counsel will be straight with you about how that will be viewed.
In some cases the better outcome is a negotiated one: a phased move, a delay until a school year ends, a defined and funded contact schedule, or an agreement to return if the move does not work. Counsel can put those options on the table without conceding the case.
Making the order work in the other country.
An English child arrangements order has limited practical force abroad. Where a move is permitted, the order should address recognition in the destination country, undertakings from the moving parent, and in many cases a mirror order obtained before the child leaves. Counsel can advise on which of these the destination country supports and liaise with local lawyers on the process.
Where the destination is not a party to the relevant conventions, the risk of a later dispute becoming unresolvable is higher, and the court will factor that in. It is not automatically a reason to refuse, but it raises the bar for the safeguards that have to be in place first.
What the court will want to see.
- A written relocation plan covering housing, schooling, income, healthcare and immigration status.
- Correspondence with schools, employers and landlords in the destination country.
- A costed and specific contact schedule, including who pays for flights and who accompanies the child.
- Evidence about the child's current routine, relationships and any particular needs.
- Where appropriate, a Cafcass report or an independent social work assessment.
- For older children, evidence of their wishes and feelings, obtained properly rather than through a parent.
- Advice from a lawyer in the destination country on recognition and enforcement of the order.
Fixed fees for advice, brief fees for hearings.
The usual first step is a written advice on prospects, quoted as a fixed fee against the papers, which for a relocation case often saves far more than it costs by showing whether the plan is ready. Drafting the application, the statement and the contact proposal is also quoted as a fixed fee.
Final hearings are quoted as a brief fee plus refreshers. For a contested relocation final hearing counsel's fee reflects several days of preparation on top of the hearing itself. Clerk&Counsel's service fee of up to £150 depending on urgency is shown separately from counsel's professional fee, and there is no charge to make an enquiry.
Tell us about the proposed move.
Send the destination, the current arrangements and any hearing date. We will come back with counsel options, a fee basis and a realistic view of what the plan still needs.
Common questions.
Do I need permission to move abroad with my child?
If anyone else has parental responsibility, you need their written consent or an order of the court. Moving without that can amount to child abduction. If you hold a child arrangements order saying the child lives with you, you may take the child abroad for up to one month without consent, but a permanent move still requires consent or permission.
How does the court decide a relocation case?
By asking what is in the child's welfare interests, using the welfare checklist, and looking closely at the realistic detail of each parent's plan. Neither parent starts with an advantage. The court weighs the genuineness and practicality of the proposed move, the effect on the child of losing day to day contact with the other parent, and the effect on the moving parent of being refused.
What makes a relocation application succeed?
Preparation. A researched plan covering housing, schooling, income, immigration status and family support in the destination country, and a contact proposal that is generous, specific and funded. Applications fail when they rest on feeling rather than evidence, or when the contact offer is so thin that the court cannot see the relationship surviving the distance.
Can I stop my ex moving our child to another country?
You can oppose the application, and you can apply for a prohibited steps order if you fear the move will happen without permission. Opposing successfully usually means showing that the plan is untested or unrealistic, that the move is driven by a wish to reduce your involvement, or that contact could not be maintained in any meaningful way from that country.
What about moving to another part of the UK?
Internal relocation, for example England to Scotland or London to Cornwall, is decided on the same welfare basis. The court will not usually police where a parent lives, but it will consider the impact on the child's schooling, stability and time with the other parent, and it can refuse a move or make a child arrangements order that effectively requires the child to stay.