General principle

Under the Convention, the rights of access to a child under the law of one Contracting State are to be effectively respected in the other Contracting States. An application for assistance in organizing or securing the effective exercise of rights of access may be sent to an appropriate Central Authority.

The Central Authorities must co-operate to promote the peaceful enjoyment of access rights and the fulfilment of any related conditions, and have the duties to take steps to remove, as far as possible, all obstacles to the exercise of such rights. Please click here to view the schedule of Contracting States and territories having a Convention relationship with Hong Kong.

In relation to a request for international assistance in respect of a child residing in Hong Kong, the Central Authority of Hong Kong can help to find solicitors who are willing to act for the applicant.


Submitting an application

"Request for Assistance in the Exercise of Rights of Access" form

To submit an application for assistance to the Central Authority of Hong Kong, you should complete and submit a "Request for Assistance in the Exercise of Rights of Access" form (FORM DJ-C31(E)) (click here to download the form in pdf format, and click here for contact details of the Central Authority of Hong Kong). We also encourage other Central Authorities to use this form when dealing with a request in respect of a child residing in Hong Kong, as that will facilitate our work.

To enable us to process your application for assistance in the exercise of rights of access to a child, please submit a copy of each of the following supporting documents (if applicable and available) -

Language

A "Request for Assistance in the Exercise of Rights of Access" form should be completed in English (Form DJ-C31(E)) or Chinese (Form DJ-C31(C)). These two languages are the official languages of Hong Kong. Any communication or document sent to the Central Authority of Hong Kong that is not in English or Chinese should be accompanied by an English or Chinese translation or only where that is not feasible, a French translation. However, if communications or documents in French are sent, it may take longer for us to process your application due to the need to have them translated.