Children are not permitted to leave the country without a passport, and both parents must sign for one. I have child's passport in safe deposit box. My wife, who I helped immigrate from Poland to California has said a few times she would like to return to Poland, but I want child to stay in California. If child goes to Poland, even just to visit, I have no real way to bring her back. A fight in Polish court would be close to hopeless for me, an American father. It seems custody would be shared if divorce happens in California, but in this case if passport is available to wife she could theorietically still take the child, even if illegally, and once the child is in Poland Polish courts have full jurisdiction. So, what would likely happen if I don't give the passport to the mother? Can a court force me to give up or replace a "lost" or unavailable passport?
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Can I withold child's passport to prevent mother taking child to Europe after divorce
- Thread Starter amberfun
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How old is the child?
jharris352
New Member
She could replace the passport as lost if she wanted to.
And Dad could place a "flag" on the passport to prevent his child from being taken out of the country without his consent. Mom would have to go to court to get permission to take the child out of US Jurisdiction.
With the distrust going on in OP's marriage, perhaps he should start divorce proceedings...Don't you think?
It depends on the custody order. You should really have the child's passport flagged until there is a custody proceeding. Also if you haven't filed your divorce papers, then do so. Request that there be a restraining order preventing the child from being removed from courts Jurisdiction until custody has been established.
jharris352
New Member
Just a small correction in Bay's terms. You request Injunctive relief not a restraining order. Sounds the same, works about the same, but it's different. It actually may be part of the Courts standing order in any divorce filed. Courts usually have a standing order that says things like: You can't destroy the other's property, you can't turn off utilities, you basically are not allowed to act like a 3 year old even if you really really want to.
In this case, I would specifically ask for an injunction barring her from taking the child out of the state without the court's permission. I would further ask the court to give you the passports if she is going to have the children. Then, like Bay says, I would flag the passports (I'm not sure how to do that, maybe Bay knows).
In this case, I would specifically ask for an injunction barring her from taking the child out of the state without the court's permission. I would further ask the court to give you the passports if she is going to have the children. Then, like Bay says, I would flag the passports (I'm not sure how to do that, maybe Bay knows).
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