Our advice is general because different countries have different laws.

Follow our checklist to help you through this crisis. Start by gathering the information described in Prevention, then do the following things as quickly as possible:

• Call the Police and report your child as missing.
   
• Contact your Central Authority. The Central Authority will liaise with many agencies on your behalf.
   
• If your child has been abducted to a country that is a signatory of the Hague Convention there will be procedures under the Convention that you must follow.
  List of Hague Convention signatory countries
  About the Hague Convention
   
• Seek urgent legal advice. Try to find a lawyer who has some experience in handling these cases. Your Central Authority will usually be able to recommend lawyers.
  International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (IAML) information
  More resources
   
• Call your national organisation or helpline. They can give you support and additional contact information.
   
• Contact your Embassy in the country to which your child has been taken and ask them to alert the police.

If you do not know where your child is:

• Call the Police and report your child as missing. With your permission, the child’s photograph and description may be circulated to the media in the country to which you believe the child may have been taken.
   
• Ask your police representative whether your child’s photograph and description can be entered onto the Missingkids Website.
   
• Ask the police to instigate a search through INTERPOL.
   
• Keep in regular contact with your Central Authority. Under the Hague Convention, Article 7(a), they are obliged to take all appropriate measures to establish the whereabouts of your child. Be aware that these government departments may lack a sense of urgency, especially in countries where parental kidnapping is not considered a crime. So do not be afraid to press them.