One of the first things we tell parents who come to us before a divorce is this: Belarus doesn’t have “custody” in the sense most people mean. There’s no sole custody, no joint custody, no custody agreement to sign. What Belarusian law deals with is simpler — and in some ways fairer — than the custody frameworks many parents are used to from other countries.
What it comes down to is two questions: which parent will the child live with, and how will the other parent stay involved in their life? Both can be sorted by agreement. When they can’t, a court decides. Either way, both parents keep their parental rights. That’s not a formality — it matters practically, day to day.
This guide covers how the process works, what courts actually look at, what parents can do if they want to avoid court entirely, and what happens when one parent is living outside Belarus.
What “custody” means in Belarus — and what it doesn’t
Under the Belarusian Code on Marriage and Family (KoBS), divorce doesn’t strip either parent of their parental rights. Both parents remain legally responsible for their child’s upbringing and welfare after the marriage ends. The court’s job isn’t to award rights to one parent and take them from the other — it’s to determine where the child will be registered and sleep, and how the non-resident parent will maintain their relationship with the child.
In practice, this means the parent who doesn’t live with the child still has the right to attend school events, receive medical information, be involved in major decisions about the child’s education and upbringing, and spend time with them according to an agreed or court-set schedule. They can’t just be cut out.
That said, the parent the child lives with does have more day-to-day influence simply through proximity. Which is why the residence question matters — and why courts take it seriously.
Two ways to resolve it: agreement or court
The Children’s Agreement
This is the option most parents don’t know exists, and in our experience it’s the one that produces the best outcomes. Under Art. 74 KoBS, parents can resolve everything — where the child lives, when the other parent has contact, maintenance, holidays, international travel — in a single notarised document called a Children’s Agreement.
The agreement has to be certified by a notary, and both parents must appear in person — a power of attorney won’t substitute for that. Once signed, it can be submitted directly to the divorce court, which will accept it in place of contested proceedings as long as it doesn’t conflict with the child’s interests. The court rarely interferes with agreements that are clearly thought-through.
If circumstances change later, the agreement can be varied by a new notarised agreement. It doesn’t lock either parent in permanently. More detail on how these agreements work is on the Children’s Agreement page.
Court determination
When parents can’t reach an agreement, either of them can file a claim with the court. It goes to the court at the respondent’s place of residence. The state fee is three base units in 2026.
One thing that surprises many parents: the court cannot schedule a hearing until it has received the conclusions of the guardianship and trusteeship authority. If those conclusions aren’t submitted with the claim, the court orders the authority to conduct an inspection before proceedings continue. That adds time — sometimes several weeks. Building that into your expectations from the start saves frustration.
What the court actually looks at
The court’s sole criterion is the child’s best interests. In practice, that means weighing several factors against each other — no single one is decisive on its own:
- Attachment — which parent has been more present in the child’s daily life: school runs, medical appointments, homework, bedtime. Courts look at actual involvement, not stated intentions.
- Personal qualities and stability — lifestyle, temperament, any history of alcohol or substance issues, domestic conflict, or neglect. Criminal records and prior proceedings are relevant.
- Material circumstances — income and housing. A higher income doesn’t automatically favour a parent; it’s weighed against working hours and availability. A parent who earns more but travels constantly isn’t automatically preferred.
- Living conditions — the guardianship authority physically inspects both homes. They look at whether the child has a sleeping area, a place to study, general cleanliness and domestic organisation.
- The child’s own expressed preference — mandatory to consider from age 10. Established by the guardianship authority in a separate meeting, not by the court directly.
One thing we’re asked constantly: does Belarus always give children to the mother? No. There is no legal presumption in favour of either parent. The determination of a child’s place of residence is a fact-based assessment. Very young children often end up with the mother — but that reflects the evidence in individual cases, not a rule. Fathers who have been the primary caregiver, or where the mother’s circumstances are significantly worse, do get residence. We’ve seen it, and we’ve argued for it successfully.
The guardianship and trusteeship authority — who they are and why they matter
Foreign nationals and parents living abroad are often confused when the guardianship authority enters the picture. It’s a local state body, usually operating within the district executive committee where the child is registered. It has a mandatory role in all child residence proceedings — the court cannot proceed without its conclusions.
What the authority actually does: it visits both parents’ homes and writes up what it finds — the child’s sleeping arrangements, study space, how clean and organised the home is, the general domestic environment. It also meets with the child separately if they’re 10 or over, to establish their expressed preference without either parent present.
Its written conclusions are submitted to the court and carry real weight. Courts that decide cases without properly accounting for those conclusions can be overturned on appeal. So this isn’t a bureaucratic formality — the authority’s inspection and its findings shape the outcome.
Practical implication: when a court case is coming, how your home presents during that inspection matters. So does how you interact with the authority’s staff.
Contact arrangements — what the non-resident parent is entitled to
The parent who doesn’t live with the child keeps their relationship with them. When the court sets a residence arrangement, it typically sets a contact schedule at the same time: which days, which weekends, how holidays are split, how long summer visits are.
The resident parent cannot refuse that contact simply because they’re unhappy with the other parent’s choices, lifestyle, or new partner. A court order is a court order. If the resident parent is blocking scheduled visits, enforcement proceedings can be initiated.
Here’s the part that gets people’s attention: persistent, systematic obstruction of contact isn’t just an enforcement problem. Courts in Belarus treat it as evidence that the resident parent is not acting in the child’s interests — and it can be grounds for changing which parent the child lives with. We’ve seen residence transferred for exactly this reason. It’s not a threat that courts make lightly, but it’s a real one.
When one parent is living outside Belarus
This comes up in a significant proportion of the cases we handle. One parent has moved to Poland, Germany, Lithuania, the UK, or further afield. The child is in Belarus. What then?
Belarusian courts have jurisdiction over residence when the child is habitually resident in Belarus. The fact that one parent is abroad doesn’t change that. A foreign parent can participate in proceedings through an advocate acting under a notarised, apostilled power of attorney — the same arrangement we use in remote divorce cases. A note that matters here: Belarusian consular posts abroad can no longer certify powers of attorney for most Belarusian citizens. You’ll need a local notary with an apostille. We walk all our overseas clients through this. More detail on how remote proceedings work is in our guide to divorcing in Belarus from abroad.
The Children’s Agreement is particularly valuable in cross-border situations. If both parents can agree, they can appear before a Belarusian notary during a visit and have everything formalised in one go — residence, contact, maintenance, travel consent. It avoids drawn-out court proceedings and produces a document that’s immediately enforceable.
Where contact arrangements involve a parent in another country and enforcement is needed, international mechanisms come into play. Belarus is a party to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction (1980), which provides return procedures if a child is wrongfully taken or retained across borders. For contact enforcement specifically, bilateral treaties and the 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention are relevant depending on the countries involved.
Changing the arrangement later
A court order or Children’s Agreement on residence isn’t necessarily permanent. Life changes — a parent remarries, relocates, their financial situation shifts, their working hours change. A child who was four when the arrangement was made is fourteen now, has a strong view of their own, and that view matters.
Either parent can apply to court to vary the arrangement if there’s a material change in circumstances. The bar isn’t trivial — you can’t reopen the question just because you’re unhappy with the outcome — but genuine changes in the child’s situation or either parent’s circumstances are sufficient. If both parents agree on a variation, a new Children’s Agreement is usually the faster route.
The children’s rights framework in Belarus is more detailed than many parents realise. The Presidential children’s legal portal mir.pravo.by publishes information about children’s rights in an accessible format — worth bookmarking if you’re working through these questions with your child.
Questions we get asked
Does Belarus always give children to the mother?
No. There is no legal presumption in favour of either parent. Courts assess each case on its facts. Younger children more often end up with the mother in practice — but that’s because of the evidence in specific cases, not because it’s the default. Fathers who have been the primary carer, or where there are concerns about the mother’s situation, do get residence.
My ex has taken our child to another city without telling me. What can I do?
Act quickly. An undisclosed relocation obstructs your contact and may be grounds for a review of the residence arrangement. If the child is still within Belarus, we can advise on the procedural options — including urgent applications. If the child has been taken outside Belarus without your consent, the Hague Convention return procedure may apply.
Can we sort everything out between ourselves without going to court?
Yes — and we’d usually encourage you to try. A Children’s Agreement covering residence, contact, maintenance and travel can be notarised and submitted to the divorce court. It avoids contested proceedings, costs less, takes less time, and tends to produce arrangements that both parents actually follow. Courts will accept it as long as it doesn’t conflict with the child’s interests.
My ex won’t let me see the children. What are my options?
If there’s a contact schedule in a court order and it’s being violated, enforcement proceedings can be initiated. If there’s no court order yet, apply for one. If obstruction is systematic and ongoing, it’s worth knowing that courts treat persistent denial of contact as evidence against the resident parent — serious enough, in some cases, to result in a change of residence.
I live abroad. Can the Belarusian court still decide where my child lives?
Yes, if the child is habitually resident in Belarus. You can participate through an advocate with an apostilled power of attorney — you don’t need to appear in court in person. We handle these cases for clients across Europe and beyond.
From what age does my child’s preference matter?
From age 10, the guardianship authority is required to establish the child’s preference before the court decides. It’s taken seriously — but it isn’t automatically decisive. If the child’s expressed preference appears to conflict with their genuine interests, or if they seem to have been coached, the court weighs it accordingly. Below 10, the child’s attachment and wellbeing are assessed without a formal preference interview.
What’s the difference between a Children’s Agreement and a court order?
A Children’s Agreement is a voluntary, notarised arrangement between parents. It’s faster, cheaper and more flexible than a court order. A court order is imposed when parents can’t agree — it’s binding and enforceable, but it takes longer and gives you less control over the outcome. If there’s any realistic prospect of agreement, the Agreement route is almost always preferable.
What actually matters
Most of what parents fear about post-divorce child arrangements in Belarus — that courts are biased toward mothers, that the non-resident parent loses meaningful access, that the process is opaque and unpredictable — isn’t accurate. The law is structured to protect both parents’ relationships with their child. What varies is how well-prepared each parent is when the process starts.
Courts respond to evidence. The guardianship authority responds to what it actually sees. Judges notice which parent has been present, which parent communicates calmly about the child, and which parent is focused on the child’s interests rather than the dispute with the other parent. None of that is invisible.
If you’re at the start of this process — or in the middle of it — we’re happy to talk through your situation. We work with parents in Belarus and abroad, in English and Russian. You can find out more about our children’s law services on our website, or get in touch directly to discuss your case.
