Highlights
- Parents of children whose care is governed by Family Court orders, must get consent from their partner or former partner before the children can travel overseas.
- If the partner denies consent, a court order can permit travel based on individual cases.
- Without consent from the child's father, Brazilian international student Helena applied to Family Court to get permission to travel overseas.
A 12-month judicial process took an emotional and financial toll on a parent.
Helena*’s case represents the situation of many migrant women who separate from their partners in Australia and need to leave the country temporarily with their children to visit a loved one or family back home.
The problem started when international student Helena* became pregnant.
“I met my ex-partner in 2017. We were together for a year, and I then got pregnant.
“I am Brazilian and he is Australian. He didn’t want to assume paternity. We ended up parting ways,” Helena tells SBS Portuguese.
She found herself with no support – emotional or financial from her ex-partner – who also refused to pay alimony.
Without Australian permanent residency or citizenship, Helena says she did not receive any assistance from the government. Source: iStockphoto / kieferpix/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Alone, with a baby in her arms and without Australian permanent residency or citizenship, international student Helena says that was one of the toughest times of her life.
“I came to Australia like most people do – on a student visa.
“I was waiting for permanent residency. The moment my partner and I had a child and would not have been able to raise him in a foreign country like this.
"My family didn’t have supportive financial conditions. Going back to Brazil could be an option, but we know Australia is a wonderful country and I wanted to raise my child here,” Helena says.
After going through a very stressful pregnancy and giving birth to a premature baby, Helena, finally received her permanent residency. Later, she also became an Australian citizen.
She then had to travel to Brazil for family reasons.
I really wanted to visit my family and my child to them.
"When I asked his father to sign the documents to apply for our child’s passport and permission to travel, he refused.
"That was the moment when everything changed for the worse," says Helena.
If you leave Australia without the absent spouse's authorisation, there may be a case for child abduction/international retention.
The problem was not only getting her son a passport and permission to leave Australia, but also leaving Brazil with the child – without the ‘permission to travel’ signed by the father.
Brazil does not allow children to leave the country without the presence of both parents or authorisation from the parent who is not traveling.
At first, she exhausted all standard procedures and legal pathways to get the permission to travel issued.
With refusal from the father, the case was taken to the family court.
The father claimed that I could kidnap our child and not return to Australia.
After spending all the money she had saved – $8,000 on the lawsuit – Helena decided to take up the case and legally represent herself at the hearings with the judge.
With the help of NGOs and free legal support, in addition to the support from some councillors in her local government area, Helena started attending hearings and seeing different views from various judges.
The court may allow the children to travel if it believes it to be in their best interest. Source: Pixabay
It was all very tiring, emotionally and financially.
"The judge then decided that due to my financial conditions, my bond would be anywhere between $70,000 and $75,000.
"I would have to deposit this money to secure my return to Australia. I was desperate, I didn’t know where I was going to get this money from.
“But I didn’t lose hope. I knew that at the next hearing with another judge, I could have a different perspective," Helena tells SBS Portuguese.
And that happened.
"The judge asked for a report from a child psychologist to see if the trip would be beneficial for the child and told us we had to put the interests of the child first.
"I was then asked for a deposit/bond of $25,000, an amount I managed to raise by borrowing from friends and family.
Credit: Image of Courtesy
"I also made a residence certificate at the Brazilian embassy in Australia, proving that our residence is here, in Queensland. Otherwise, I would not be able to return from Brazil,” Helena elaborates.
Helena finally made the trip to Brazil, before returning to Australia.
She says she still hasn’t received the deposit back but is confident that it will be returned to her.
"I confess that during the entire 12 months, I often thought about giving up because the emotional exhaustion was too great, you can’t sleep. You’re alone, you don’t know how things are going to work out.
“But the support of my friends and family gave me the strength to carry on.
The support of my friends and family gave me the strength to carry on.Helena
"I am also willing to help other immigrants who have gone through this conflict.
“My message for them is not to give up,” she says.
Today, Helena says that her ex-partner pays alimony and their son’s custody is shared.
“The case has ended and now I am allowed to travel every two years without having to make a court deposit. It was agreed that each year, our child’s passport stays with one of us."
*not her real name
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