> Hi all....
>
> I'm in the process of being transferred by my company to Aus, from
> Denmark. I am an Irish citizen, as are my two sons, and I have held
> full custody of them since, July last year, from the Danish Courts,
> where we have lived for the past 3 years.
>
> Danish custody is quite straighforward, with the parent holding full
> custody, having all rights, and the non custody holding parent having
> really only visitation and contact. The right to travel is enshrined
> in the custody law, and if you have full custody, then you have the
> right to determine where the children should live.
>
> I have submitted my papers to the Immigration department in Sydney,
> and
> they have now asked for a Stat. Dec. from my ex-wife, as they say the
> custody papers dont contain express permission to leave the country.
> She won't sign, no chance. And she lives in Ireland. It's quite
> annoying because every single government department in DK and my own
> lawyer tell me that under Danish Law, her permission is not required,
> and that I can leave. Whats the best way of handling this, and
> getting
> the Australian Immig. Service to recognise the Danish Law?
>
> Thanks in Advance..
>
> Pete
DIMA regulations and policy state very clearly that the law of the
child's *home* country normally takes precedence. If your Danish
lawyer can write to DIMA stating how Danish law works - if it really is
the case that custodial parents can remove them from the jurisdiction
permanently - then your case officer ought to accept that.
If they don't believe your lawyer they ought to be able to verify things
to their satisfaction through the Australian Embassy in Berlin (the DIMA
office there is responsible for Denmark).
However there are constant reports of DIMA case officers simply not
understanding DIMA's own rules in this area and asking for court orders
or permission from the other parent, when this is not required. If
your case officer refuses to apply the law, then you need a good
Australian immigration lawyer to sort things out, try Peter Bollard in
Sydney - http://users.bigpond.net.au/onk/
--
This is not intended to be legal or professional advice in any
jurisdiction
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