Child abduction between Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
If a child is abducted from Greenland to Denmark, from Greenland to the Faroe Islands or vice versa, it is not a case of international child abduction.
If there is a decision about access, custody or the child's residence, you must contact the district court at the location where the child stays to have the decision enforced and the child returned.
Travelling from Denmark to Greenland
If you have sole custody
If you have sole custody of your child, you may bring your child from Denmark to Greenland without the other parent's consent. This also applies if a case about custody of the child is pending.
If there is joint custody
If you have joint custody, and you disagree about custody, consent from both parents is required for the child to travel to or take up its residence in Greenland. However, the following exceptions apply:
- The Agency of Family Law has made a decision about travel or stay during a custody case under the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility.
- The court has issued a judgment on residence in Greenland under the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility.
If you do not have custody
If you do not have custody, you are not allowed to bring your child from Denmark to Greenland without the other parent's consent. However, this does not apply to the extent otherwise stipulated in a contact decision or agreement.
Travelling from Greenland to Denmark
If you have sole custody
If you have sole custody of your child, you may bring your child from Greenland to Denmark without the other parent's consent. This also applies if a case about custody of the child is pending.
If there is joint custody
If you have joint custody, and you disagree about custody, consent from both parents is required for the child to travel to or reside in Denmark. However, the following exceptions apply:
- The court has made a ruling on travel or stay during a custody case according to the order on the entering into force of the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility in Greenland
- The court has made a judgment on residence in Denmark according to the entering into force of the Danish Act on Parental Responsibility in Greenland.
If you do not have custody
If you do not have custody, you are not allowed to bring your child from Greenland to Denmark without the other parent's consent. However, this does not apply to the extent otherwise stipulated in a contact decision or agreement.
Travelling abroad from Greenland – International child abductions
Acute risk:
If your child is being abducted from Greenland to another country, you must contact the police where you live.
Go to information about the Child Abduction Unit
Go to information about what constitutes an acute risk
What to do in case of an international child abduction?
If your child has been abducted to or retained in a convention state, you can apply to have your child returned under the Hague Abduction Convention, the European Convention, or the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children.
All convention states have a central authority, which receives and transmits applications from parents who want their children returned. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Senior Citizens has been appointed the central authority for Greenland.
Go to information about the states with which Denmark currently cooperates
If your child has been abducted to or retained in a country that has not acceded to either of the conventions, you can contact the Child Abduction Unit, which cooperates with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and can help you initiate the case.
Go to page describing how to act when a child has been taken abroad
Go to information about the Child Abduction Unit
Go to website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs