This is the issue!
My wife has a first residence permit to stay 2 years in Holland and then she can have extension on the permit without any problem.
But as she is divorced from her former husband since many years and he is living with his new wife in France since some years with a working permit there. He is also an Russian citizen.
They have a boy together that is 6 years old and the father don't pay any attention anytime to his son, only his mother the grandmother wants to see his sons son.
We have been trying to get the boy Leonid's father to sign a document that allows us to take Leonid with us to Holland.
But for about little more than one year he has refused to sign such a paper.
Now since 6 months he said that he will write this document when he comes back to Russia for some holyday.
First he said that he would come in August this year, but then he didn't had any time because very much work load. Now he says that he for certain will come at Christmas time and sign this paper.
The issue now is that a lawyer today said to my wife Svetlana, that now it's not possible to write a permission that allows her son to be in Holland more than one year. After this year she said that we need a new permission to stay in Holland and also have to come back to Russia to sign such a new permission document?
We now wonder if this is correct, even if his father agrees on that Leonid can live in Holland. The issue is also that it's much more easy to travel between France and Holland as both countries are members of the European Union. This will be good for both parties.
If this is the case with the permission, how can we proceed to solve this as we want Leonid to go in school here in Holland and live with us!
We don't have anything against that Leonids father can visit his son or see him.
My wife is also very worried about if she can trust the father's family and if she also agree to sign a look-a-like document that allows his father to take Leonid to France, will they allow him to come back!
The son Leonid don't want to stay with his father, and that can be because he has earlier mismanaged the time when he had his son. He didn't take care of him properly and did drink a lot of alcohol and didn't take any notice of his boy.
Please help us and direct us with this matter!
I studied your question very carefully. I found very strange the opinion of your lawyer in Holland that father’s permission regarding place of living of the child will be required every year. This contradicts with ruling of international law, especially with Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (art. 3):
1. Each Contracting State agrees that the alien wife of one of its nationals may, at her request, acquire the nationality of her husband through specially privileged naturalization procedures; the grant of such nationality may be subject to such limitations as may be imposed in the interests of national security or public policy.
2. Each Contracting State agrees that the present Convention shall not be construed as affecting any legislation or judicial practice by which the alien wife of one of its nationals may, at her request, acquire her husband's nationality as a matter of right.
Your wife has a right for permanent residence in the country of her husband. Following such principle of international law, I think that her minor children have right to live with their mother in the country of her permanent residence. It is possible that the requirement to get father’s consent every year was based on that:
1) at the moment child’s mother has a temporary residence in Holland;
and/or
2) the matter of child place of residence was not resolved during divorce.
If the second assumption is true, in this case the boy’s parents should get a court order or out-of-court agreement regarding child place of living. You need to get a consultation from local lawyer and ask question if out-of-court agreement is a ground for permanent residence of child in Holland. If it is, I can prepare such agreement for the parents. Otherwise, the mother should go to court with a suit and then farther and mother present for judge an agreement there custody will be for mother and right to see the child for father (where, when and how). If your wife has a court order for sole custody, she will be able without worry to send child for visits to father in Italy and also I think she will be able to get permanent residence for child and citizenship in future.
I think it’s strange that father of the child promises to sign the consent for living in Holland only upon arriving to Russia. The place of execution of such consent does not matter for law: he can sing it in any country and at any time. Usually to be valid abroad the document should be notarized and have apostille. But I can assume that between Italy and Holland there is an agreement about legal help where according to it the legalization is not required and just notarization would be enough. There is no problem for boy’s father to go personally to any notary in Italy and sign his consent for son’s living in Holland. If it’s needed, I can prepare the text of such consent for him and he will be able to come with it to notary in his country.
Summarizing the above, I have this conclusion:
1) For your wife it would be easier to legalize the child in Holland if she has a permanent residence in that country herself;
2) Your wife needs to go to court with suit about determination of place of living of the child with her. If would be great if the parents can find a solution and come to an agreement in such matter. The court should sign such amicable agreement.
3) The former husband of your wife should go to notary in his country of residence and sign the now needed permission without waiting for going to Russia.
4) Your wife and her former husband can sign an out-of-court agreement regarding child if Holland authorities accept such agreement.
I would be glad to help you at any stage of the case.
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Russian attorney at law Karina Duvall.
