Education and Child Matters

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International Child Maintenance

 

The write up on this webpage is specifically about how child maintenance can be enforced internationally.

There is a write up on child maintenance elsewhere on this website which will go into detail about the subject. It is titled ‘the process of child maintenance’. For your reference the topics discussed on that webpage are:

  1. What is child maintenance?
  2. Who has to pay child maintenance?
  3.  Who does not have to pay child maintenance?
  4. How can child maintenance be sorted out?
  5. How can you calculate how much child maintenance will be paid?
  6. Child maintenance through the child maintenance service (CMS).
  7. How will you know what the CMS have calculated?
  8. How will you receive your child maintenance payments through the CMS?
  9. What is applying for a variation with the CMS?
  10. What if you would like to inform the CMS of any changes?
  11. If you feel the CMS has made a mistake in calculating your child maintenance payments can you ask them to reconsider?
  12. What is a liability order?
  13. Who can apply for child maintenance through the CMS or try and reach an agreement directly, through mediation or through the courts?
  14. Who pays for school fees?
  15. What about self employed parents who can dodge child maintenance?
  16. How does child maintenance affect benefits?
  17. Is child maintenance classed as an income?
  18. Up to what age does child maintenance have to be paid?
  19. Does a clean break order in a divorce affect child maintenance payments?
  20. How long are child maintenance payments detailed on a court order legally binding?

Please click on the link below to access it.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR THE PROCESS OF CHILD MAINTENANCE

ARE CHILD MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS DETAILED IN A COURT ORDER ENFORCEABLE ABROAD?

The UK has an international agreement with 100 countries where they will help enforce child maintenance court orders that have been issued in the UK. These countries are called REMO countries. 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR CHILD MAINTENANCE IF A PARENT LIVES ABROAD.

WHAT IS REMO?

REMO is short for reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders. This is where a child maintenance court order issued in the UK can be enforced in another country that is also a REMO country. As stated above there are 100 countries that make up REMO countries. 

LINK TO GOVERNMENT LIST OF REMO COUNTRIES WITH WHICH UK HAVE AN AGREEMENT

If you have a child maintenance court order, the paying parent lives abroad in a REMO country and is not paying then you can do the following if you want them to pay.

  • Contact your local Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre. There are 3 in the UK (Greater London, Wales and England excluding Greater London)

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBPAGE FOR CONTACT DETAILS OF YOUR LOCAL MAINTENANCE ENFORCEMENT BUSINESS CENTRE

  • Once you have contacted them they will send you an application form and guidance notes on how to complete the form. Depending upon your circumstances there may be a fee to pay and you may have to attend a court hearing.
  • You must attach any supporting documents you may have to support your application to your application.
  • The maintenance enforcement business centre will send your full application to the local court in the country where the paying parent lives. 
  • This court will assess your case and if required enforce the original child maintenance court order.

If you have a child maintenance court order, you live abroad in a REMO country and the paying parent lives in the UK then you can contact your local court where you live to ask for details on how to enforce the court order.