My partner says Lithuanian law allows them to take our child because they are Lithuanian. Is that true?

No. Nationality does not give either parent the right to move a child abroad. What matters is where the child lives now. If the child lives in your country, a move needs your consent or a decision of a court there.

We are not married. Do I still have a say?

In most countries, a parent who is legally recognised and shares parental responsibility has a say, whether or not the parents were married. The rules on who has parental responsibility differ between countries, so check how it works where your child lives.

Can I stop my partner getting a Lithuanian passport for our child?

Usually not directly. A Lithuanian passport for a child is normally issued on the application of one parent, without the other's signature. If you fear the child will be taken, the more effective step is to ask a court in your country to prohibit removing the child from the country.

If I agree to a trial period in Lithuania, can I change my mind?

It depends on what you agreed and where the child is living by then. A long trial period can shift the child's habitual residence to Lithuania, and with it the right of Lithuanian courts to decide. Put any trial period in writing, with a fixed end date and what happens if it ends.

What if my partner just goes on a holiday and does not come back?

Keeping a child in Lithuania beyond an agreed return date, without your consent, is treated as wrongful retention under the Hague Convention. You can ask for the child's return. Act within weeks, not months.

Partner wants to move to Lithuania with our child

The short answer

Your partner cannot simply decide to move your child to Lithuania. In most countries, including all EU countries, moving a child abroad permanently needs the other parent’s consent or a court decision. That applies whether or not you were married, and whatever your partner’s nationality.

If your child lives with you in your country, a court in your country decides whether the move can happen, not a Lithuanian court.

Why where the child lives now matters so much

Decisions about children belong to the courts of the country where the child actually lives, their habitual residence. That rule decides almost everything:

Before a move, your country’s courts decide on residence, contact and whether a move abroad is allowed.
After a lawful move, once the child has settled in Lithuania, Lithuanian courts will usually decide future disputes. Within the EU, there is only a short exception: for three months after the move, a court in your country can still change its own contact order if you still live there.
After an unlawful move, your country’s courts keep their role, and you can ask for the child’s return under the Hague Convention.

This is why the weeks before a move are when you have the most influence.

If you are open to the move

Many parents agree, for good reasons: family support in Lithuania, a better job, a calmer start for everyone. If you agree, protect your relationship with your child before the move:

Put it in writing

A detailed agreement, ideally approved by a court in your country, is far stronger than an email saying “OK”.

Settle contact in detail

School holidays, long weekends, video calls at fixed times, who travels with the child and from what age the child can fly alone.

Agree on costs

Who pays for flights, and whether maintenance changes because of travel costs.

Agree on a return date for visits

Holidays with you need a clear end date, and so do holidays with your partner in your country.

Think about the future

Once the child lives in Lithuania, any change to this agreement will probably be decided in a Lithuanian court, in Lithuanian, under Lithuanian law. Our guide on seeing your child in Lithuania when you live abroad explains what Lithuanian courts expect.

If you do not agree

Say so clearly and in writing

Silence or vague answers can later be argued to be consent or acceptance.

Try mediation

A mediator can help you look for an arrangement both of you can live with, especially if the real disagreement is about contact rather than the move itself.

Let the court decide

If there is no agreement, your partner has to ask a court in your country for permission to move. That court will decide on the child’s interests, not on either parent’s wishes.

What a court in your country will usually look at

Rules differ between countries, but courts deciding whether a parent may move abroad with a child tend to ask similar questions:

Is the plan real and thought through: housing, school, work, family support in Lithuania?
How close is the child to each parent, and who has done the day-to-day care?
Can the child realistically keep a strong relationship with the parent who stays, and is the contact plan affordable?
What does the child want, if old enough to say?
Is the move driven by the child’s needs, or by a wish to cut the other parent out?

A parent who shows they will support the child’s relationship with you is in a stronger position. The same is true for you: a constructive counter-proposal often carries more weight than a flat refusal.

If you fear your partner will leave anyway

If there is a real risk that your partner will take the child without waiting for agreement or a court decision:

Ask a court in your country for an order prohibiting removal of the child from the country. Most legal systems have such an order; a local lawyer will know the right one.
Keep the child’s documents safe, but do not rely on that alone. A Lithuanian passport or ID card for a child is normally issued on the application of one parent, without the other parent’s signature. See our guide on your child’s citizenship and passports.
Keep evidence of where your child lives: school, doctor, activities, your role in daily care. If the child is taken, this is what proves the child’s habitual residence.

If your child has already been taken

If your partner has taken your child to Lithuania, or kept the child there after a holiday, without your consent, the rules are on your side, but only if you act quickly. A Lithuanian court should decide within six weeks, and if the case starts within a year it must generally order the child’s return.

Read international child abduction and how a return case works in Lithuania, and contact the Central Authority in your country straight away.

An example

Daniel, who is Irish, lives in Cork with his partner Ieva and their four-year-old son. Ieva wants to move back to Kaunas, where her parents live. Daniel is not against the move, but worries about losing touch.

They agree: the boy moves in August, spends half of every summer and alternate Christmases in Ireland, and has video calls with Daniel three times a week. Ieva pays half the flights. They have the agreement approved by an Irish court before the move. If Ieva had left without that agreement, Daniel could have asked for the boy’s return. Now, if they disagree later, the Lithuanian courts will decide, but Daniel has a clear, court-approved starting point.

My Lithuanian partner wants to move back to Lithuania with our child