His sick son had no insurance in the Netherlands: this mother secures an urgent ruling

The parents, who have been divorced since January 2022, have three children born in 2009, 2012 and 2016. In their parenting plan, signed a few months before their separation, they had agreed that the children would live mainly with their father in Morocco. Any move outside the Kingdom required the consent of both parents.

The situation changed abruptly in June 2025. After a form of cancer was discovered in Morocco in the eldest son, two of his uncles took him on 14 June to the emergency department of the Prinses Máxima Center in Utrecht, a Dutch hospital specializing in childhood cancers.

Since August 2025, the teenager has been living with his mother whenever he is not hospitalized. She takes care of his treatment and daily affairs. At the hearing held in June 2026, his health had deteriorated again and he had to be readmitted to hospital.

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The mother then asked for her son’s primary residence to be officially established with her. She also requested authorization to register him at her address in the Dutch population register, a formality essential to regularize his administrative status.

The father, who remained in Morocco, was not present at the hearing. The court nevertheless discovered that he had not been properly summoned. Although his Moroccan address appeared in the case file — and even on a label of the child’s medication — he had only been summoned by publication in the Dutch Official Gazette.

The judge therefore had to postpone the final examination of the case in order to respect the father’s right to be heard. But the teenager’s state of health did not allow them to wait.

Without insurance, funding for the treatment could no longer be maintained

The boy had no health insurance in the Netherlands. Until then, his mother and the hospital had found temporary solutions to finance his treatment, but these arrangements, described as “creative,” had become untenable.

In its decision of 16 July 2026, the Rotterdam court therefore considers that an urgent measure is necessary in the child’s interests. His primary residence is provisionally established with his mother, who also obtains the right to register him at her address without waiting for the father’s authorization.

In provisionally accepting jurisdiction, the Dutch courts note that the teenager has been living in the Netherlands for several months. He already knew the country, had lived there before his parents’ divorce, spoke the language and wished to continue his education there and then build his life there.

In another recent case, a child’s habitual residence in the Netherlands had already led the courts to set aside a decision made in Morocco. This criterion becomes decisive here in allowing the Dutch judge to intervene despite the previous parental agreement establishing the children’s residence in Morocco.

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The published decision does not, however, definitively settle the dispute. The court had adjourned the case to a hearing scheduled for 14 August so that the father could be properly summoned and present his position. In the meantime, registering the teenager at his mother’s address should make it possible to unblock the steps necessary for his insurance and the funding of his treatment.