UK criminalises keeping children abroad without consent

The United Kingdom has criminalised the detention of children abroad beyond an agreed period without the appropriate consent, introducing a new offence punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment.

The new provision makes it an offence for a parent or another person connected with a child under the age of 16 to keep the child outside the UK without the required consent, even where the child was initially taken abroad lawfully.

The offence, which came into force on Friday, November 6, under section 137 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, amends the Child Abduction Act 1984 to address a longstanding gap in the country’s child abduction laws.

A circular issued by the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Law Policy Unit on Friday said the amendment was intended to criminalise situations in which a child was initially taken abroad with permission but subsequently detained beyond the authorised period.

The circular stated, “Under new section 1(1A) of the Child Abduction Act 1984, a person connected with a child under the age of sixteen commits an offence if the child is taken or sent out of the UK with the appropriate consent and, at any time after the child is taken or sent, the person detains the child outside the UK without the appropriate consent.”

It added that the offence was designed to ensure that the law applied consistently to both the unlawful removal of children from the country and their wrongful detention abroad after an initially lawful departure.

The circular explained that the new provision followed a gap exposed by the High Court’s decision in R (Nicolaou) v Redbridge Magistrates’ Court in 2012.

In the case, the court held that the words “takes or sends” in the existing Child Abduction Act referred to the act of taking or sending a child out of the UK and did not extend to the subsequent retention of the child abroad.

Consequently, a parent who initially took a child abroad with the consent of the other parent or a court could not be prosecuted under the existing provision for keeping the child beyond the agreed or authorised period.

The circular stated, “As a result, where a parent had taken a child abroad lawfully (for example with consent from the other parent or person with similar responsibility, or with the court’s permission), it was not an offence under section 1 of the 1984 Act to detain the child abroad beyond the agreed or authorised period.”

The Law Commission subsequently examined the issue in its 2014 report, Simplification of the Criminal Law: Kidnapping and Related Offences, recommending that the law be amended to criminalise parental child retention.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the new offence is intended to address that gap and strengthen the legal framework for responding to serious cases of international parental child abduction.

Under the law, appropriate consent generally means the permission of all persons with parental responsibility for the child or, where required, authorisation from a court.

However, the legislation provides exceptions in certain circumstances.

A person named in a child arrangements order as someone with whom the child is to live may detain the child abroad for less than one month without committing the offence.

Similarly, a special guardian may detain a child outside the UK for less than three months without obtaining the appropriate consent.

These exceptions, however, do not apply where the detention breaches an order made under Part II of the Children Act 1989.

The circular also clarified that the amendment would apply only to cases where the child was taken or sent out of the UK on or after November 6, 2026.

It further acknowledged the complexities surrounding child retention cases involving domestic abuse.

“The Government recognises the complexities that can arise in cases involving domestic abuse and is clear that the new offence is not intended to cut across civil measures,” the circular stated.

It added that victims of domestic abuse would continue to benefit from existing protections, including refuges, safe accommodation, protective injunctions and safeguards under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

The government said the new criminal offence would complement existing civil remedies and custody arrangements rather than replace them.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s equality impact assessment, the new offence carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment on indictment, while consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions would be required before prosecution.

The government, however, expects most international parental child abduction disputes to continue to be handled through civil proceedings, including applications under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.