Child custody in Russia
In Russia both parents have equal rights and duties, married or not once paternity is established, and the child's residence after separation is set by agreement or the court.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
If the parents are married
Parents have equal rights and duties towards their children.
If the parents are not married
A father whose paternity has been acknowledged, jointly with the mother or by a court, has the same rights as a married father.
The unmarried father, in one line: Both parents have it, married or not, once the father's paternity is established.
After a divorce or separation
The parents' rights remain equal after separation, and they can agree where the child lives. If they cannot, the court decides in the child's interests. The parent who lives apart keeps the right to contact and to take part in the child's upbringing.
What the child can say
The court must take the child's opinion into account, and from the age of ten the child's consent is needed for some decisions, such as a change of name.
Moving house or moving abroad with the child
A child usually needs the written consent of both parents to leave Russia with one of them. A parent can ask the court for permission if the other refuses.
If the parents live in different countries
Russia is a party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, which lets a parent ask for a child wrongly taken to another country to be returned. It works only with countries that have accepted its accession, so check the other country on the treaty status table.
Understand the legal system first
Russia belongs to the Civil law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Russia legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Russia? →
Divorce rate and trend in Russia →
Official sources
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TheLawToKnow Tools’s child custody guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
