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It’s a crime if someone tries to take a child out of New Zealand if:
Anyone convicted of these crimes can go to jail for up to 3 months or be fined up to $2500 or both.
If someone else has the day-to-day care of your child or contact with your child, you need to make sure you have their agreement before you take the child overseas. (If a parent or guardian doesn’t have day-to-day care of their child, they will usually have contact with the child. Contact used to be called access.)
If you want to stop someone from taking a child out of New Zealand, you should apply to the Family Court for an Order Preventing Removal.
You also need to ask the court for a border alert. This means that when the child’s details are checked on the Customs system at any New Zealand sea port or airport, the child can be stopped from leaving the country.
Anyone can ask for an Order Preventing Removal. Most people who ask for the Order:
To stop someone taking a child overseas without permission, the court can:
If the court makes an Order Preventing Removal, it will stop anyone taking the child out of New Zealand – including the person who asks for the Order. As part of your application to the court you can ask to be able to take the child out of the country.
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