I have a Taiwanese friend who is a divorcee. She is currently taking care of her 2 year old daughter in Taiwan. She has recently met a guy who wants to bring her to Canada but she said that she cannot leave Taiwan and live abroad for a long time (with her daughter)) because she will lose custody of her daughter to her ex husband. I am wondering is there such a law and where can I find or read more about it? Thanks in advance.
That’s probably an order the judge entered as part of the divorce. It’s very common to have such an order in a divorce to prevent one parent from running away with the kid.
Thanks jmee for the reply. I am wondering is there a way around it so she can leave Taiwan with her daughter without losing custody?
That’s hard to answer without knowing the details of your friend’s case. Plus, I’m not an expert on Taiwan law (my expertise is in U.S. Legal system). Still, I’m trying to give you generally helpful answers.
If your friend wants to “get around” the legal requirement to keep her child in Taiwan, I can imagine three ways to do it.
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Negotiate with the dad. If the parents can come up with an agreement about leaving the country, they may ask the court to enter a new order allowing the new arrangement. Might need a lawyer or two to make this work. And if dad disagrees, then it won’t work.
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File a court action demanding the right to leave with the kid. The court is supposed to consider the “best interests of the child” (not just what parents want), so this won’t work unless dad is an axe murderer. Or if he has abandoned the child, never visits, and the kid doesn’t know him. If you can prove such facts then a judge might let her live overseas with her child.
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I do not recommend any illegal option (such as running away with the kid.) Dad could start a court case to take the child away from mother. Or, if dad is unethical and crazy might do something worse!
Tell your friend to consider what the child needs, not just what your friend wants. Does the kid like dad? Does dad and his family like the kid?
Then tell your friend to consult a good Taiwan family attorney for some specific advice! A local attorney, who handles a lot of family cases, will know more about this than we do.
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jmee, thank you very much for the helpful suggestions even though it is not in your area of expertise. I really appreciate it and will let me friend know about it. Thanks a lot~~
Almost certainly a joint custody arrangement. Joint custody basically ensures both parents have access to the child, as this is seen as in the best interests of the child (and it usually is). If you have a joint custody settlement, then of course, you are not free to move out of the country with the child.
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Thanks for the helpful information. Is there a way around this? Or is like the jmee said that the way around this is to talk with the father and have him sign an agreement?
Honestly, no. If you really think about, it wouldn’t be right if there were ways around this. You could talk to the father, but if he has any connection to his kid at all, he won’t go for it, nor should he. He has rights. She’s either going to have to stay here or give up custody of the kid to be with her new beau. Obviously, this isn’t a qualified legal opinion, but it is likely how things will play out.
It is standard in most countries that a child stays in their country of habitual residence if parents are seoarated. This is partly to protect the other parent. The only way around it would be if the other parent agreed to the change.
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Still generally applies in cases of full custody. As far as I know. if the other parent has any rights at all.
Good point, though I’m working under the assumption of some form of joint custody, which probably describes most divorce settlements these days.
Ask you friend why she thinks she would lose custody of the child, it would make things clearer.
The most likely situation I am thinking of, which is really not very nice, is that is that she removed the child to Taiwan without the permission of the father before any court procedures started, or after the court issued joint custody or even sole custody for the father. If she removed the child illegally to Taiwan, then no court in the world can oblige her to return the child, because Taiwan is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on Aspects of International Child Abduction. Just think of the poor father who woke up one day to find that his child was gone and he may never see the child again. Happened to me and countless others. And now she has found another foreign guy who has fallen in love with her, perhaps in the same country, and she wants to start a similar adventure again, while keeping her child from its father.
If this is the case, I would tell her that she will have no problems and let the father know where she is staying in Canada. You would be doing the child a big favour 
I would have thought that would have been obvious. It’s a local divorce with provisions for both parents to have access to the child.
Where did you get that from? The reason she cannot leave is because her ex husband resides locally and moving the child out of the country would violate parental access under the divorce settlement. Passports also require both parents’ signatures and one could get an order that would block the child from being taken out of the country.
The father is almost certainly local.
Ah I see… I read the original post and for some reason it seemed like the father of the child was a foreigner living in Canada… sorry !