I have a hypothetical question for any one who knows about Swiss family law.....say an Irish mother and a German father have a child together in Switzerland and the child has an Irish passport......supposing the child is born in Ireland/Switzerland .....say if this relationship doesnt work out ...can the irish mother return to Ireland with her child or would she be forced to remain in Switzerland cos the child might be forced to stay there.....This probably needs a specialised legal professional opinion but just in case someone out there has some knowledge of such a situation,The parents of this child are not married....Who should i contact to get an answer or what website wd be useful to read.....Many thanks for any advice....

While I can not answer your question, what about the father?
Just because things do not work out in a relationship, the mother does not automatically own the right to just take the child.

Is the father not interested in the child?

sure a correct answer can be given only by a family law lawyer as there are many dark sports but in general it depends on nationality(citizenship) of a child and what right his father has as he(father) can influence his minor child travelling.

I can't (hypothetically) imagine a child being born in 2 countries..

Well could be born on the border line? Mum's one leg in one country and the other leg....never mind.....

Maybe they mean the child was born while onboard an airplane in flight..?

I'm sure, hypothetically of course, that the mother would still claim her maintenance and support whilst making contact difficult for the father.

I only know how it is dealt with between swiss parents, or people residing in Switzerland.

In switzerland, as an unmarried mother, you have automatically the sole custody of your child,however the childs father can contest that and apply for joined custody.

If the father has accepted the child ( kind annerkennung) officially at the guardianship office ( vormundschaftsbehörde) a so called maintenance contract ( unterhaltsvertrag) wil be drawn up where not only the maintenance he pays towards the childs upbringing cost is put down in legally binding writing,but also the access to the child is written down in this document.

This document is is legallly binding,and if for example you go to Ireland and take the child with you,thus preventing the father from seeing his child,he can sue you for violation of his rights.

I have been and unmarried mum ,and the most important thing i learnt was to swallow my pride, the child hasn't asked to be born nor to be a instrument of who has THE POWER over the other party,ever.


The child is ALWAYS the innocent party in these disputes.