{"id":84524,"date":"2021-07-08T12:46:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T10:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/servizi-consolari-e-visti\/italiani-all-estero\/minori-estero\/sottrazioneinternazionalediminori\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T11:59:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T10:59:39","slug":"sottrazioneinternazionalediminori","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/servizi-opportunita\/italiani-all-estero\/minori-estero\/sottrazioneinternazionalediminori\/","title":{"rendered":"International child abduction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>(Reference Office: <\/strong><strong>D.G.IT<\/strong><strong>. \u2013 Protection Unit)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The term <strong>\u201cinternational child abduction\u201d<\/strong> refers to a situation in which a child permanently resident in one State:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>is unlawfully taken <\/strong>to another State; or<\/li>\n<li><strong>is unlawfully kept<\/strong> in another State (so-called \u201c<em>failure to return<\/em>\u201d) (for example following a stay abroad),<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><u>without the consent of the person exercising parental responsibility or without judicial authorisation<\/u><\/strong><strong><u>.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The abduction and keeping of a child abroad constitute a criminal offence under Article 574-<em>bis<\/em> of the Italian Criminal Code, unless a more severe offence (e.g. under Article 605 of the Criminal Code) is detected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With a view to preventing child abduction, it is advisable:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to enquire about the provisions governing custody and access rights in the other parent\u2019s country of nationality (or residence);<\/li>\n<li>where possible, to have any child custody order obtained in Italy (or in the country of residence) recognised in the other parent\u2019s country of nationality (or country of residence), or to initiate similar proceedings directly in that country;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>to have the other parent sign an undertaking to return to Italy on the agreed date;<\/li>\n<li>to ask the competent judge to prohibit the expatriation of the child and\/or the parent without the other parent\u2019s consent;<\/li>\n<li>not to grant consent to the issuance of the child\u2019s passport or withdraw the consent previously granted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>If the abduction has already taken place<\/strong>, the parent or the holder of custody rights, when different, may:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>apply to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.giustizia.it\/giustizia\/it\/mg_12_4_4_2.wp\">the Central Authority at the Ministry of Justice<\/a> (<a href=\"mailto:autoritacentrali.dgmc@giustizia.it\">dgmc@giustizia.it<\/a>) if the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 or Regulation (EU) 2019\/1111 applies between Italy and the country to which the child is presumed to have been taken. Where the relevant conditions are met, an application for the child\u2019s return or for arrangements governing access rights may be submitted through the Central Authority;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>consider filing a complaint with the competent judicial police and law enforcement authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) cannot:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>represent Italian nationals in court;<\/li>\n<li>provide economic and financial support, unless the person concerned is destitute and resident abroad;<\/li>\n<li>take action in breach of local laws or international rules;<\/li>\n<li>bring a case before the local courts to obtain recognition or enforcement of an Italian court order;<\/li>\n<li>forcibly repatriate an abducted child.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>There is only one possible way to \u201cprevent\u201d situations of conflict:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>prioritise the child\u2019s best interests as a primary consideration, seeking to reach an agreement on custody and\/or access arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Reference Office: D.G.IT. \u2013 Protection Unit) The term \u201cinternational child abduction\u201d refers to a situation in which a child permanently resident in one State: is unlawfully taken to another State; or is unlawfully kept in another State (so-called \u201cfailure to return\u201d) (for example following a stay abroad), without the consent of the person exercising parental [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":46091,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-84524","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84524"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210198,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/84524\/revisions\/210198"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}