American Child in DR wants to get home.

how old is the child?

I had to write and legalize a letter of permission to send my children (this time 15 and 17) alone to Switzerland. To come in the country it is not needed, but to go out. They never had to show the permission, but by law no minor can leave the country without parent or without theire permission.

If the child is an American and the mother in America has sole custody, wouldn't the father's restraint of the child here be considered kidnapping or something like that? I'd call the American Embassy or something like that.

Ann99501 said:

American Child went to DR to visit Father. Father will not allow the Child to come back home to America where child was born and raised. What are the childs rights? American parent has full complete custody of child. Father was kicked out of America and can not return. Any Advise is greatly appreciated. Also: At what age is a child considered an adult in DR.

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What is the american parent's stance in this situation?** I think if the american parent wants the child, assuming she's female, a US citizen, and knows the location of the child, she should go to the US embassy in Santo Domingo and tell them the story.* If she can't afford that then she should tell the story to a State Department office in the US.

The mother needs to retain an attorney ASAP.

Legalize the custody documents.Translate them to Spanish. Apostile EVERYTHING! Hire a good lawyer in DR (e.g. Guzman Ariza). Do not hire first barrio lawyer that comes your way. Provide the lawyer with the aforesaid documents. Get the lawyer file "querella" in Tribunal de Ni?os, Ni?as y Adolescentes in jurisdiction where the child is "withheld" and speak to "fiscal de menores". If in SD go to Procuraduria Fiscal de Ni?os, ni?as... Marisol Tobal is the person to speak to. Get the paperwork rolling NOW!

sounds like just one more trick to get money, don't send any money, not for food, not for clothes, not for "an operation", not for a doctor. if you have the proper documentation, have a little money, you can fly down to SD, hire the appropriate "security" company, they will drive you to the location of the child, have a discussion with the offending party, in a couple of minutes you'll be on your way to the airport. slimeballs when they are wrong do not run to the "authorities"...........

That is the way to do it in Bananacountry.

amparocorp said:

sounds like just one more trick to get money, don't send any money, not for food, not for clothes, not for "an operation", not for a doctor. if you have the proper documentation, have a little money, you can fly down to SD, hire the appropriate "security" company, they will drive you to the location of the child, have a discussion with the offending party, in a couple of minutes you'll be on your way to the airport. slimeballs when they are wrong do not run to the "authorities"...........

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Useless advice, the OP won't be able to get the child out of the airport and be charged with child abduction. Trying to be "tiguere" without being one won't get you results, just problems.

Ann99501 said:

American Child went to DR to visit Father. Father will not allow the Child to come back home to America where child was born and raised. What are the childs rights? American parent has full complete custody of child. Father was kicked out of America and can not return. Any Advise is greatly appreciated.

Also: At what age is a child considered an adult in DR.

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It is not unusual for a child to be sent to DR to stay a while to try to address behavior issues they may have had in the US. I'm not clear that the mother does not agree that the child should stay. Is this the case?

ginjer29 said:

It is not unusual for a child to be sent to DR to stay a while to try to address behavior issues they may have had in the US. I'm not clear that the mother does not agree that the child should stay. Is this the case?

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WOW, how would gather any of that from the OPs statement? Legal process through a lawyer/police seems to be the only recourse.

ExtremeR said:

Useless advice, the OP won't be able to get the child out of the airport and be charged with child abduction.

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Depends, OP says that mother "has full complete custody of child." If that includes independent right to travel, she might be able to travel with child, and would not be abducting her child. We can't know that without knowing what her custody documents say. I'm wondering if he's also not allowing access to the child, which can be even trickier.
And yes, getting the child back may need a Dominican tiguere, not an American one.

Feel for you

Ann, going to pm you, you've asked a specific legal question which I'm not qualified to answer, but just wanted to extend my support at a difficult time.

Your best bet is the legal approach.

I'm no lawyer and I don't have the years of experience living here but I've done some reading on this subject. The D.R. is a current member of the Hague Convention for child abduction. If you have legal custody of the child and you and the child are both U.S. Citizens - the father is in the wrong. Now here is the bad news. While a U.S. Citizen living in the U.S. would be nailed to the proverbial cross for abducting their own child, here in the D.R. things work a little differently even if you have a lawyer, even if the law in "print" is on your side, you may not be able to get your child back. I do not mean to frighten you but please have a look at the following link and be prepared for a long and difficult legal battle. Also, when you set foot on Dominican soil you may be putting yourself at risk in ways you don't understand. If you are here and the father sues for custody and support in this country you can be forced to stay here or pay 1 year of court approved child support. If you fail to pay you can be put into a Dominican jail. God knows what else can be done but protect yourself. Some of the other advice here is correct. Get a reputable lawyer, the Guzman law-firm here is reputable and I have used their services myself. They are reasonably priced but worth every penny in my opinion. Also, you will need a lawyer in the U.S. that deals with these types of cases. The link I've attached will put you in contact with a man who is dealing with this situation and may offer you real advice with real experince.

Bring Kali Home Homepage

I am so sorry and I wish you the best.

Get the documents translated into Spanish and Apostilled (legalized) by the Department of State (if your custody/court paperwork is State), if federal, then by US department of State. Apostille is a legal seal validating the document internationally. MUST HAVE SPANISH TRANSLATION.

To the OP? Do you speak Spanish? If yes, and have money, hop on the first plane to Santo Domingo and go to Procuraduria General (en la Feria). Ask to speak to Magdalena Eugenio or directly her boss Marisol Tobal (she is the Attorney General for Minors). She is very proactive and JUST. She will make calls into la Romana office and the local fiscal will be waiting for you there. You must start working on this now! The more time passes more difficult it will be for you, and the counterparty will be able to build up a defense.

bob saunders said:

WOW, how would gather any of that from the OPs statement? Legal process through a lawyer/police seems to be the only recourse.

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The OP asks about the child?s rights and not the custodial parent?s rights . That?s what triggered me to think it might be one of those situations? The child went for a visit (or so the child thought). Nothing in the OP indicates the trip was against the custodial parent?s wishes. If this were so, I don?t know how the kid ended up in DR to begin with?so I don?t know this was something the custodial parent did not agree to. The father doesn?t want to let the child go. I do not know if the custodial parent does not agree with the father. The OP only mentions the other parent to say that parent has full custody of the child. I do not know that the OP is even related to the child. Nothing is said of what actions have been taken so far to get the kid. .. Again, I thought it was important that the OP asks about the child?s rights in this situation and not the custodial parent?s. I found that to be rather curious and have known of situations where a minor child is sent to DR (such as for behavior issues) and does not want to stay.

I may have missed a great deal in subsequent posts so I apologize if I did. I went by what was posted and took a stab in the dark .

Ann99501 said:

Father was kicked out of America and can not return. Any Advise is greatly appreciated.

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I'm sorry to heard that your Macho is in DR warm and going out with bunch of girls...
Y tu te quedaste aqui solita y con tanto frioooo!!!!!!

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JJ