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Child custody · 03 Editorial guide

Child custody, travel & safety

Child-location, safety and travel questions can outrun a divorce timetable. Start here when a child is at the centre of the matter.

First job Screen safety, location, movement and existing orders before ordinary research.

Start here

Safety and urgent child-movement issues

Use an urgent route only where immediate safety, removal, travel or time-sensitive court action changes what the user should do next.

Open deadline route

Start here

Key considerations

The first questions are about urgency, governance and preservation — before collection expands or interviews begin.

  1. Is there an immediate safety or removal concern?
  2. Where is the child now, and where do they usually live?
  3. What orders, agreements or travel documents already exist?

Decision map

Keep the question bounded.

  1. Screen urgencySafety, removal and travel risk come before general orientation.
  2. Record location and careCurrent location, habitual residence and who has day-to-day care.
  3. Inventory orders and papersCourt orders, passports, visas and school or medical records.

Quick answers

Need the short version? Start with one narrow question.

These explainers answer one question. They do not replace this topic route or a deep guide.

Quick AnswerChild Custody in ChinaMainland custody is the child’s best interests under the Civil Code — not an automatic mother or father rule, and not a Hague clone. Reviewed 6 Sep 2026.Quick AnswerChild Support in ChinaPRC child support is a needs-and-means obligation after divorce or separately — not a US guideline worksheet, and not optional because custody was ‘lost’. Reviewed 6 Sep 2026.Quick AnswerCan a Parent Relocate a Child Overseas?Taking a child out of Mainland China after separation usually needs the other parent’s consent or a court order — a passport in one hand is not a licence. Reviewed 6 Sep 2026.

Curated resources

Open the asset that matches this job.

01
Guide

Child custody, Hague and China

Safety-first orientation for custody, travel and child-movement questions.

Helpful to prepare

Facts that make the next conversation clearer.

These items are orientation aids, not a legal requirement list.

Where the child is now and where they normally liveAny existing court order, agreement or written communicationEach parent’s location and citizenship or residence contextRelevant travel dates, school or medical information and deadlinesLegal or safety steps already taken

Local context

Add the city only when it changes implementation.

Local court and administrative implementation can matter after the national legal question is identified.

Open city and province guides

Counsel hand-off

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Move carefully. Move with a record.

Use the portal to identify counsel for this practice and related China-side issues.

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