The United Kingdom has introduced a new law criminalising the detention of children abroad beyond an agreed or authorised period without the necessary consent, exposing parents and other people connected with a child to a maximum of seven years in prison.
The new offence, which took effect on Friday, November 6, 2026, applies even where a child was initially taken out of the UK legally, with the consent of the other parent or permission from a court.
The provision is contained in Section 137 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which amends the Child Abduction Act 1984 to close a longstanding gap in British law on international parental child abduction.
Under the amended legislation, a parent or another person connected with a child under 16 commits an offence if the child is taken or sent out of the UK with the appropriate consent but is subsequently kept abroad without the necessary authorisation.
The change means that permission to take a child abroad temporarily does not automatically give the travelling parent the right to keep the child overseas indefinitely or beyond the agreed return date.
A circular issued by the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Law Policy Unit on Friday explained that the amendment was designed to cover situations in which a child was initially taken abroad lawfully but subsequently detained beyond the authorised period.
It stated: “Under new section 1(1A) of the Child Abduction Act 1984, a person connected with a child under the age of sixteen commits an offence if the child is taken or sent out of the UK with the appropriate consent and, at any time after the child is taken or sent, the person detains the child outside the UK without the appropriate consent.”
The amendment addresses a legal gap exposed by the High Court’s decision in R (Nicolaou) v Redbridge Magistrates’ Court in 2012.
In that case, the court ruled that the existing law covered the act of taking or sending a child out of the UK but did not extend to the subsequent retention of the child abroad.
Consequently, a parent who initially obtained permission to travel with a child could not be prosecuted under Section 1 of the 1984 Act simply for keeping the child beyond the agreed or authorised period.
The Law Commission examined the issue in its 2014 report, Simplification of the Criminal Law: Kidnapping and Related Offences, recommending an amendment to criminalise parental child retention.
The new provision implements that recommendation and strengthens the UK’s response to international parental child abduction.
Required Consent
Under the legislation, appropriate consent generally requires permission from everyone with parental responsibility for the child or, where applicable, authorisation from a court.
However, the law recognises certain exceptions.
A person named in a child arrangements order as someone with whom the child is to live may keep the child abroad for less than one month without obtaining additional consent.
Similarly, a special guardian may detain a child outside the UK for less than three months without the appropriate consent.
These exceptions do not apply where the detention breaches an order made under Part II of the Children Act 1989.
The Ministry of Justice also clarified that the new offence applies only to children taken or sent out of the UK on or after November 6, 2026. It does not retrospectively criminalise earlier departures.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment following conviction on indictment. Prosecution will also require the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Despite the introduction of criminal penalties, the government expects most international parental child abduction disputes to continue to be resolved through civil proceedings, including applications under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The government has also acknowledged that cases involving domestic abuse require particular sensitivity, stressing that the new offence is not intended to undermine existing civil protections, including protective injunctions, refuges and safe accommodation under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
What New UK Law Means for Nigerians Sending Children Home
The legislation has particular relevance for Nigerians living in the UK who send their children to Nigeria for extended family care, schooling, cultural upbringing or other reasons.
It is relatively common for Nigerian parents in the UK to arrange for their children to spend extended periods with grandparents, relatives or other trusted caregivers in Nigeria. Some families make these arrangements because they want their children to experience Nigerian culture, learn local languages, develop closer relationships with extended family or attend schools in Nigeria.
Others may consider sending children home because of concerns about the cost of childcare and education in the UK, the influence of the social environment, discipline, cultural values or the desire for children to grow up closer to their extended families.
Under the new law, such arrangements are not automatically prohibited. A parent can still send a child to Nigeria with the appropriate consent and make arrangements for the child to stay with relatives.
However, the distinction between an agreed temporary stay and an unauthorised extension of that stay is now particularly important.
For example, if a Nigerian-British family agrees that a child will spend six months with grandparents in Lagos before returning to the UK, the parent or caregiver cannot simply decide to extend the arrangement indefinitely without obtaining the necessary consent.
If the other parent has parental responsibility and does not agree to the extension, keeping the child in Nigeria beyond the authorised period could potentially constitute an offence under the amended law.
The same concern could arise where one parent sends a child to Nigeria for boarding school, an extended holiday or a period of family care but the other parent subsequently demands the child’s return and the person keeping the child refuses without the required authorisation.
The law also has implications for relatives who take responsibility for children sent from the UK. Although grandparents and other family members may be acting in what they consider to be the child’s best interests, they should not assume that an informal family agreement gives them the legal authority to disregard the conditions under which the child travelled.
Importantly, the legislation is not a blanket restriction on sending children from Britain to Nigeria, nor does it mean that Nigerian parents will automatically face prosecution whenever a child stays longer than initially planned. The central issue is whether the child is being detained abroad without the appropriate consent or court authorisation.
Parents should agree in writing on the duration of the child’s stay, the return date, who will care for the child and what happens if the arrangement needs to be extended. Where there is disagreement, obtaining appropriate legal advice or a court order is safer than relying on informal family arrangements.
The legislation concerns children taken or sent out of the UK on or after November 6, 2026. It does not create a general criminal offence under British law for every dispute involving children already living in Nigeria.
