Are you looking for help with Beijing family law and child custody? Our attorneys can help you with custody cases, living arrangements, and divorce proceedings.

They can assist in Beijing, Shanghai, or other Chinese cities. They can even help if you are in Hong Kong or Canada. We have international lawyers that do family law.

If you want to speak to a lawyer in China, contact us or reach out to a legal consultant on Wechat: alistairvigier

Family law is complex when both parties live in the same city. It’s even more complicated when one person lives in Australia, and the other in China.

This article is going to focus on when one parent takes the child and runs off to China. This is a common reason why people reach out to us looking for a law firm in Beijing.

If you need a family lawyer in Beijing, fill out the form on the side of this page.

China’s divorce rates have been going up significantly year over year. For this reason, there have been talks about rewriting the family laws in China.

Also, more Chinese people are getting married overseas. This leads to complications with international divorce law.

The legal system in New Zealand is completely different from that in China.

Does The Hague Convention Work In Beijing Courts?

If you spoke to a lawyer in your home country, let’s say Australia or the United States, they might have said you should file an application under the Hague Convention.

This isn’t going to work in China. China did not sign the convention. The point of the Hague Convention was to stop international abduction.

In China, you are going to need to hire a lawyer located in China. They will need to get a court order. Then the court order can be given to the municipal police.

Most of the police in China will not get involved in “disputes between parents.” They see someone taking their child back to China as a family law issue, and not a criminal law issue.

The police will say they are not going to help with divorce proceedings.

Since China didn’t sign the Hague Convention, don’t waste your time and money hiring an attorney in the United States.

What Are The Child Custody Laws In Beijing?

Divorce law in Beijing doesn’t have a section for child custody. It does talk about child support. For child custody, the law uses the term child maintenance. This is very confusing.

Keep in mind that China uses the civil code system, not the common law system that most Western countries use.

Generally, both parents are responsible for taking care of the child.

What you need to do when your child is taken away (back to China) is get a court order. Your lawyer will need to show a Chinese judge that you will take care of the child better than the other parent.

Beijing Family Law

The lawyer might show that the child’s life is better back in the United States (than in Beijing.) The judge doesn’t want to create a big “shock” for the child.

Below are a few of our attorneys in Beijing. We have other lawyers that focus on family law.

In the past (and still somewhat), Chinese judges prefer to give custody to whichever child the parent is currently with.

Of course, this means that there is an incentive for a parent to kidnap their child. Further, to deny any visitation rights to the other parent.

Getting Visitation Rights To See Your Child

Getting Visitation Rights To See Your Child

If you cannot get child custody, you likely will be able to get visitation. Of course, this is not ideal. Travelling from Canada or the USA to China to see your child is a long trip.

Many people’s lives are destroyed when they can no longer see their children. We have heard many horror stories.

For example, let’s use a fake name and situation, based on real clients. Let’s say someone called Stacy Wu calls us from Vancouver, Canada.

Maybe Stacy was talking with her husband about starting divorce proceedings. Stacy is from Hong Kong, and her husband, Steve Wu, is from Beijing.

Suddenly, the child doesn’t come home from school in Vancouver. Steve often doesn’t come home, but the child always does.

Beijing Family Law

Stacy calls Steve’s cell phone, and it goes straight to voicemail.

Stacy decides to call the police after a few days. Right after she does so, Steve sends a WeChat message saying he is back in Beijing with the child.

Stacy is in big trouble as she is not a Chinese citizen and she cannot even speak Mandarin. What should she do?

She should fill out the form on the side of his page and talk to one of our lawyers in Beijing right away.

Things To Think About With Beijing Child Custody

When is the right time to talk about divorce proceedings?
should you speak to a law firm before speaking to your spouse?
how does family law work in China?
what will a Chinese judge consider when making a custody decision?
in which country should the child live?
how much do custody battles cost?
what is the Chinese court process?
will you be able to offer stable living for the child?
would you consider living in China for visitation?
is joint custody possible?

You need a good lawyer to recommend to a Chinese judge that what you are asking for is in the best interests of the child.

You do not want the Beijing police to dismiss your concern. They will normally take the position that this is just a family problem, not a legal problem.

You need a law firm to put together a package (with evidence) of why living with you is the best thing for your child.

Child Protection Orders In Beijing

Are you looking into child protection orders in Beijing? Child abuse and child protection are very important topics.

Child abuse can mean psychological abuses, physical and mental, and they violate the law on the protection of minors.

Chinese law focuses on anti-domestic violence laws and fighting violence against children.

If you need a lawyer or attorney in Beijing to help you with child protection orders, contact us.

Violence against children is a hybrid between criminal law and Beijing family law.

There are organizations like the Women’s Federation that help protect children from being kidnapped.

Of course, women can also kidnap children. The People’s Court of China is often willing to issue protection orders.

Speak to our lawyers in Beijing.

Beijing Family Law – Law On The Protection Of Minors

A common reason why someone reaches out to us is that their child has been taken from a Western country to China.

For example, let’s say there is a couple that is getting divorced in Los Angeles. One or both of the parents are from Beijing.

Suddenly, the Beijing parent takes the child or children on a flight and leaves the United States.

If the parent in Los Angeles is Chinese, they might contact the Beijing police. But what if they are not Chinese?

They should speak to our lawyers. Our lawyers can file something in the Beijing court to have the children returned to the United States.

The great thing about ClearWay Law is that we have lawyers in multiple countries. These lawyers and attorneys can work together.

Anti-Domestic Violence Law

This article is about children, so we are not going to get into spousal domestic violence. However, some people abuse their children.

This can include physical and mental suffering. It can also include starving a child, or not providing for them.

If you are aware of child victims, you should get one of our attorneys to apply for a child protection order in China.

Abuse can be because of gambling, drugs, alcohol, or poverty. Sometimes people are just violent.

Some parents don’t have the ability or resources to be parents.

Sometimes, a family friend or family member will apply for guardianship of the child.

Even if the child is not yours, you can hire a law firm to help you protect the child.

Beijing family law can be complex.

Protection Order Is Not A Custody Order

If your goal is to get custody of your child, do not try and use the protection order. A protection order does not give you custody.

You will need to go through the formal process of applying for custody of your children in China.

Protection orders are often temporary. Putting a restraining order on the parent that has custody will not be enough.

The judges in China will be very careful about doing this. The person might be trying to get around the custody order.

Instead, you would have to file an emergency order for custody.

Also, if you have never called the police or child protective services, it’s suspicious.

The police are the only ones that are available 24/7. Lawyers take time to get court orders.

Below Are Some Common Terms Regarding Child Abuse

Chinese law regarding child abuse
child protection orders
anti-domestic violence law
women’s federation
violence against children laws
protecting a child against a family member
law on the protection of minors
protection orders
civil affairs
child victims
peoples Court of Beijing
criminal law and Beijing family law
psychological abuses
physical abuse and harm

Beijing Divorce Lawyer

Are you looking for a Beijing divorce lawyer? ClearWay Law is unique because we connect people in Canada and China with lawyers for free consultations.

Let’s say “Mr. Wong” lives in Vancouver BC. He has two condos in Beijing and a house in Vancouver.

Suddenly he and his wife no longer want to be married. They need to decide how to separate their properties and investments. Also, they need to talk about spousal support.

Before they can get divorced, they need to satisfy the requirements of both the Vancouver and Beijing court. Keep in mind that Canada and China have extremely different laws.

Family Law In Beijing

If you need to speak to a Beijing divorce lawyer, book a time below and one of our staff will contact you. We offer services in both English and Chinese.

The office in Beijing is located on the 7th Floor, 9 Dongdaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China

Dentons is one of the largest law firms in China. They hire the best lawyers. If you are going through a complicated divorce in China, it’s good to have the best lawyers to take care of you.

If you contact us, we can arrange for a free consultation for you with a Beijing, Vancouver, or Toronto lawyer.

You can hire one lawyer in Canada and one in China. Keep in mind that Canadian lawyers do not know the laws of China. That’s why it’s important to have two lawyers in different countries that can work together.

How To Get Divorced In China

Of course, you can simply hire one lawyer if you only have assets in one place. If all your property is in China, you might not need to hire a Canadian lawyer. If you got married in Canada, you won’t need to hire a Chinese lawyer to do the divorce.

Things can get complicated with family law in Beijing. That is why booking a free consultation with a lawyer is so important.

As Chinese people move around the world, there is more international marriage. There are other areas of law that are becoming more common for Chinese people as well. For example, how to contest a will when you live outside of China.

Beijing Divorce Lawyer

When you are going through a separation, the first step is often doing a separation agreement. This agreement will explain what will happen to the children, property and if any spouse needs to make payments to the other spouse.

If you need a lawyer for a divorce, contact us today. They can help with Beijing family law.

Author: Alistair Vigier is the CEO of ClearWay Law

Find a Local Lawyer

Contact us

Understanding Family Law in Beijing: Key Regulations