---
title: "What should I do if my child was taken to another country?"
description: "International child abduction is its own legal world. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction governs civil recovery of children wrongfully removed to or retained..."
url: https://bankandmunns.com/faq-items/what-should-i-do-if-my-child-was-taken-to-another-country/
date: 2026-04-22
modified: 2026-04-22
author: "Bank and Munns"
type: avada_faq
lang: en
---

# What should I do if my child was taken to another country?

International child abduction is its own legal world. The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction governs civil recovery of children wrongfully removed to or retained in another signatory country, and federal law - 18 U.S.C. § 1204, International Parental Kidnapping - can apply criminally. Rhode Island state charges may run in parallel. The first move is to document the child's habitual residence, preserve every communication with the taking parent, and file a Hague application through the U.S. State Department's Office of Children's Issues. A Rhode Island kidnapping lawyer who understands the intersection of state criminal law, federal criminal law, and Hague civil recovery can coordinate all three tracks. Speed matters - Hague cases move faster and more favorably the closer they are to the date of removal.