Iran: child abduction
Published 20 August 2021
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Disclaimer
Any information contained in these pages relating to the legal system in Iran is provided for general information only. Please seek independent legal advice in Iran for specific information on individual cases.
Parental child abduction
Parental child abduction is not a crime in Iran and parents are usually directed to the Family Court to seek to settle the dispute. Parents should seek legal advice as early as possible and may wish to contact Reunite. See our list of lawyers.
Iran is not a member of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and parents must settle the dispute locally. There is no international mechanism to return abducted children.
The Family Court will take into account whether the parents are still married and if they have legally divorced – parents should seek to understand the implications of their marital status from their lawyers.
If the parents have divorced in the UK and if there are any UK court rulings available, and if the decisions and arrangements have been confirmed to be in line with the laws of Iran, the act of the father abducting the child from the mother will likely be considered as contempt of court. If so, it will be punishable by a small cash penalty. However, the child would not be returned to the UK (or any other foreign country) for as long as the father does not wish to return to that country.
Iran does not recognise dual nationality and once in Iran, dual national children are considered sole nationals of Iran and the support British Embassy can provide is limited. Children of an Iranian mother and a British father are not granted Iranian nationality automatically and therefore will travel to Iran on a visa and be considered British nationals.
Child residence/custody
Where parents are unable to reach an amicable agreement regarding any matter concerning their children, these matters shall be decided upon by the Family Court. In Iranian law, a husband is the chief of his household and the relations between married couples are managed and presided over by the husband. A wife and children are bound to live and reside in the house determined by the husband, unless the choice of determining the marital house was given to the wife through legal contracts relating to the marriage.
A husband may require that his wife and children relocate to Iran - and his wife and children, after they arrive in Iran, may no longer leave Iran unless their Iranian father and husband gives them permission by signing documents before a notary public.
Boys and girls under 18 will require their father’s permission to leave Iran but may get a passport and leave once they are 18 (for boys, this is so long as they have completed their military service).
For divorced couples, no foreign/UK court orders will be recognised until they have been upheld and confirmed by the Iranian Family Court, to confirm that the foreign court rulings regarding the divorce and custody of the children have been rendered in compliance with the laws of Iran.
If the divorce has taken place abroad, it has to be rendered in compliance with Iranian law. Otherwise, the couple might still be considered married under Sharia law. In such cases, the written consent of the husband might still be required for the wife and children to travel.
If the wife requested the divorce, it will only be recognised if the request was made on certain grounds (such as addiction to narcotics, conviction of a felony, abandonment, imprisonment, impotence, mental incapacity). It is possible for a woman to obtain the right to divorce from her future husband before or during the wedding, by signing documents before a notary public.
In the case of a divorce, mothers are typically granted custody of children up to the age of 7 for both boys and girls, as long as the mother doesn’t remarry and remains in Iran to allow the father visitation. After the age of 7, custody will go to the father until the age of puberty, which is 9 for girls and 15 for boys under Sharia law. Upon reaching the age of puberty, girls and boys may respectively decide in Family Court which one of the parents they wish to live with. It should also be noted that during this time the father remains responsible for major decisions regarding the children’s education, place of domicile, foreign travel and any other major life changes.
Travel
If parents are divorced, the father’s written consent by means of notary public deed is necessary for the his children to be able to travel overseas and be issued an Iranian passport.
Mediation
Mediation is an option when parents are not able to reach an amicable agreement between themselves about their children’s future but do not wish to take legal action. Lawyers generally provide mediation services or it can be done through friends and relatives.
Reunite is the leading charity specialising in international parental child abduction. The services range from offering practical impartial advice and mediation to providing a helpful support network aimed at those who have had their child abducted. For more information about Reunite and their services, please visit Reunite’s website or call 0116 2556 234.