To have rights and better protect your child, it is necessary for you to be recognized as the holder of overall parental authority in the eyes of the law in the country in which you and the child is normally reside. This is obtained by establishing parentage or by the decision of a judge to give legal custody

Parental authority as defined in the following nations listed below:

In the UK:

The law provides for certain presumptions regarding paternity. A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:

he and the child’s mother were married at any time between the conception of the child and its birth, or;

• both he and the child’s mother acknowledge him as the father;
• he is entered as the father in the child’s birth certificate 

In the event of a dispute over who the father of a child is/ paternal parentage, the court may be asked to issue a court order establishing paternity/this. The court may issue a declaration of parentage or lack of parentage. Their decision is legally binding.

In the USA:

You are the child’s legal parent if:

• You are the child’s biological parent (not a surrogate)

• You and the other parent were married or registered as domestic partners at the time child was born or conceived

• You and the other parent have filed a declaration that confirms that you both are the legal parents

• A judge has determined that you are the legal parent in a court case (for example, alimony [BRIT ENG: child maintenance], juvenile addiction, domestic violence, or adoption)

Canada:

It is necessary that parentage be established:

– by a birth certificate

– by permanent residence status

– by the presumption of paternity or maternity

– by voluntary recognition.

The court may decide to partially or totally withdraw the right to exercise parental authority if:

–  a parent does not meet the material needs of the child

– a parent does not provide for the moral needs of the child (by evidence of physical violence, psychological humiliation).

If the parent loses parental authority, it is no longer necessary to obtain that parent’s consent to go and live in a foreign country.