New UK law criminalizes child retention abroad without consent

The United Kingdom has made it a criminal offence to keep a child abroad without consent after an initially lawful trip.

The change was announced in a circular issued by the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Law Policy Unit on Friday, November 6, and published on its website.

The provision came into force under Section 137 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. It inserts a new Section 1(1A) into the Child Abduction Act 1984.

Previously, the Act criminalised taking or sending a child under 16 out of the UK without appropriate consent, but not retaining the child abroad afterwards.

Under the new law, a person connected with a child including a parent, guardian, or person with parental responsibility commits an offence if the child was taken abroad with consent but is then detained abroad without the consent of each person with parental responsibility or without leave of the court.

The offence covers cases such as a parent refusing to return a child after an agreed holiday, enrolling the child in school abroad, or withholding the child’s passport.

Two narrow exceptions apply. A person named in a child arrangements order as the person the child lives with may retain the child for less than one month, while a special guardian may do so for less than three months but neither exception applies where a court order is breached.

The offence carries up to seven years’ imprisonment on indictment.

In case of family disputes, prosecution requires the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The new amendment applies only to departures on or after November 6, 2026.

The government says most cases will continue to be handled civilly under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The Ministry of Justice also shared that the law will not override protections for domestic abuse victims, who rely on refuges, protective injunctions and safeguards under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.