NRI spouse took our child abroad
What usually matters in this situation, and the papers to keep ready before you meet an advocate or free legal aid (call 15100).
Act fast for the childCourts can pass urgent orders, including on passports and travel. See an advocate now and contact the Indian embassy through MADAD.
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Your situation
- Which describes you? Our child has been taken to / kept in another country
Where you stand
- Next step Indian courts, the MEA's MADAD portal and the embassy can all be used while you are abroad.
Papers to gather
- Marriage certificate, wedding photos, invitation
Basic proof in every case. Where: Registrar, family. - Spouse's passport copy, visa/residence details, foreign address, employer
Needed for service of summons, maintenance enforcement and passport action. Where: Old documents, emails, visa papers. - Child's birth certificate, passport details, school records, travel details
Courts decide custody on the child's welfare and habitual residence. Where: Your records, school, airline.
You may also need, depending on your answers
- Get the marriage registered (if it isn't) — Registration makes enforcement and passport-linked remedies easier.
- FIR, complaint, summons or orders in India — Your response starts here.
- Any Look Out Circular, passport notice or impounding order — May need urgent legal action before travel.
- Income and expense records (both spouses, as far as lawfully known) — Courts require income disclosure.
What the law says
A foreign divorce is generally recognised in India only if the court had proper jurisdiction and decided on grounds available under the law the couple married under, with both sides participating. India is not a party to the Hague Convention on child abduction, so courts decide custody on the child's welfare.
General information, not legal advice.
Saboot will also ask
- First: are you safe right now?
- Where was the marriage performed and registered?
- What do you know about the spouse abroad?
- What cases or orders exist?
Similar situations
- NRI husband abandoned me and went abroad
- Husband got a divorce abroad without my consent
- I am an NRI and my wife filed a case in India
Sources
The full guide: NRI marriage problem — abandoned, divorce abroad, child taken, or case against an NRI spouse · All situations