Custody between China and France: authority and residence

The position in one paragraph

French parental authority is exercised jointly, and international relocation requires the other parent's agreement or a court order.

Where the child is habitually resident in China, removing them to France without agreement is likely to be characterised as an unlawful retention, which triggers a different legal framework from an ordinary custody dispute. The distinction between a visit and a relocation is what matters.

A typical situation

A child lives in China; one parent is in France. That parent wants to take the child to France for an extended period.

Treating an extended stay as a holiday. If the stay becomes indefinite, the characterisation changes and the position becomes significantly more difficult.

What distinguishes this from a purely domestic case

The default regime is community of acquisitions, but a prenuptial agreement can switch the couple to separation of property — which changes everything.

On the China side, the connecting factor has to be established on the documents: Custody is decided by reference to the child's best interests, and the court will look closely at where the child actually lives and who has been the primary carer.

The practical sequence in a France-connected matter

1. Establish the child's habitual residence, which usually anchors the case
2. Document the caregiving history with dated evidence rather than assertions
3. Consider whether a parenting plan can be agreed rather than imposed
4. Address how any agreed arrangement would actually be enforced across borders

Certification differs between judicial documents and notarial documents, so the document type has to be identified first.

How France documents are handled

Apostille from the court or chamber of notaries for judicial documents, or the prefecture.

France uses a communauté system with a well-developed prenuptial agreement practice, and the chosen regime governs the division.

The default community-of-acquisitions regime applies only if no registered agreement displaced it.

What has to be decided before filing

Confirm whether the other parent consents to the move, and whether the child's habitual residence would change as a result.

The boundary to plan around is this: A Chinese custody order is enforceable within China; enforcement abroad depends on the other country's law and any applicable convention. Where value sits in France — typically property, company equity, assurance-vie policies — it is handled by agreement or by a separate route there, not by an order the Chinese court could enforce directly.

If your situation has a France element

Where a child has been taken abroad or is being kept in China, the first question is the child's habitual residence. Send us the dates and locations and we will assess whether a China application is viable.

Frequently asked questions