Whilst all our situations and the difficulties we encounter are very specific to each and everyone of us I've had the threat of relocation with a child back to an original country of birth given in the past. Quite what possesses another parent to throw in such a nasty, hostile, provoking and emotional threat is still beyond me - and its one you never ever forget.
At the time it was given to me we had no C.A.O. in place and it was a few months after the initial separation. It was not an off the cuff comment - it was deliberate, it was intended and it was repeated several times to reinforce it's seriousness.
It was at a handover and without any warning it became an angry one sided shouting match - to which the threat of relocation and what would have been abduction was made made as her parting shot - made all the worse as it was in a public place. I won't repeat the line given and repeated 3 times as it was said to me but I was left in doubt of her intended course of action if she 'did not get what she wants'.
I had my solicitor write to hers immediately notifying of the threat so it was recorded on file and like you Sam asking the child's passport be held by a third party and if not we would issue an urgent PSO to Court. It came back she denied making such a threat but after a couple of days the solicitor confirmed agreement that the passport would be handed over for safe keeping. The agreement was then withdrawn the following day as confirmed by her new Solicitor ( one of several Solicitors that followed !! ) who claimed her human rights were being denied !
To carry out what is abduction of a child removing them with intent to another country is a very extreme action and thankfully is quite rare. But my point was and still is that the news and media is full on a daily basis of people making
un rational spur of the moment decisions which have dire consequences. You read or hear of them and think why would someone do that with all the serious consequences that follow. People do make some very irrational decisions which they may later regret and wished they hadn't - but its a horrible situation to be presented with.
As a father with no C.A.O. in place at that time and the quantum of time ( a legal phrase we get to learn ) in favour of the mother she could be gone by 4 or 5 days before I realised, if she decided to do what she was threatening.
Her country of birth was at that time not signed up to the Hague Convention of Int. Child Abduction
With the passport now not being agreed to be held by a third party and with all the other unfounded allegations being made from her we decided to issue an urgent application for a P.S.O. for the passport together with a C.A.O. application. The day we filed it I received her own C.A.O. as made on the day after she issued her now denied threats.
At final hearing the issue to passports was heard first - she denied she ever made such a threat - it was all lies to make her look bad - she had a job here - child has just started school and she had no intension of doing what she stated. Her Barrister argued strongly that she had every right to holiday overseas and to travel to her home country to see her relatives - on the basis she had done so on many times within the period of marriage. By complete chance 3 days before the Final Hearing her country of birth did sign up to the Hague Convention.
In summing up on the P.S.O. issue the magistrates decided not to grant this or the passport being held by a 3rd party for the reason she had a job and the child had started school.... and the country in question would be able to give assistance if necessary ! They saw no reason why holidays could not be made by the Ex with our child outside of the U.K. They did state though that they believed she did make the threat but did not intend to carry it out. That's a very big judgement for them to make to make and one that certainly did not make me feel any easier.
It could be that this particular panel of Magistrates made their decision and on another day hearing the same evidence before a different panel of Magistrates or District Judge would have enforced the PSO and had the child's passport held by a 3rd party.
I wasn't asking for a no overseas travel order or only by written agreement just one to take away a very wrong spur of the moment decision against the threat as made to me.
All they stipulated was the standard overseas travel must being given in writing to the other no less than 30 days of travel with airline flight tickets and place of stay confirmations given to the other. But that doesn't stop someone from doing the unthinkable if they are intent on doing it. They would just purchase airline tickets and make a hotel reservation with no intension to use them.
My experience through 4 different cases is that outcomes are quite inconstant and it depends largely on the luck of who hears the case no matter how strong the evidence is.
Your case is different though Sam in that if it went to Court with her issuing a S.I.O. you can counter it with that you have had a PSO to the threat of abduction in place before and that will be certainly be on Court record.
Depending on who hears the case - a panel of Magistrates leaning heavily on legal advice and precedent from the Court Clerk or a District Judge who might take a stronger view on safety, it will come down to how much is in the balance of probability. That's the way of the Family Court unfortunately. Can you persuade them that the threat is still real and likely giving a ruling to deny the freedom to travel.
If she takes legal advice and is represented at a hearing with a Barrister I think unless there is a very strong and clear threat of abduction with evidence then they will press for it being very onerous not to allow a holiday with your child to a country such as Spain - even with the very real fears you have that it will just be a staging point out to Malaysia.
They will say a PSO was in place to prevent it before and nothing happened ( although if your child's passport is held by a Solicitor and they haven't travelled since then the PSO being issued then it's not been tested. )
I'm not convinced you would get a UK Court stipulating that a passport must be surrounded to Border Control of another country and returned on leaving on a return flight home. Even if administratively this could be done post Brexit your Ex would rightly claim a passport is often required at other times on holiday for all manner of identification such as checking into hotel or when using bank services.
If you don't agree to her request ( and I can understand why ) and she did apply to Court for a S.I.O. then if possible I would suggest finding a Barrister who has knowledge and previous experience of Child Abduction cases as they will be very persuasive in the way they would bring and lead your case. Any decent Chambers will be able to suggest Barristers they have with that experience.
It's a horrible situation to be in, and as I know, once said to you it's something that you never forget.
