Contacting us from abroad
When parents live abroad
- The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division in Northern Ireland and the Child Support Agency in GB can only deal with an application for child maintenance when both parents and the child live in the UK.
- The only exceptions to this are when the non-resident parent:
- is working abroad in the service of the crown, for example, is a civil servant or works within Her Majesty's diplomatic service or within Her Majesty's overseas civil service
- is a member of the Armed Forces
- works abroad for a UK based company, for example, it employs people to work outside the UK but makes payments via a UK payroll; and the company is registered under the Companies Act 1985 (England, Wales and Scotland) or the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
- works abroad on secondment for a prescribed body, for example, from an NHS trust, regional health authority, primary care trust or local Council.
You can get more advice about whether these rules apply to you from our Helpline on +44 845 608 0022
If the rules do not apply REMO
If one of the parents lives abroad and does not fall into one of the categories above then the parent with care can apply to the courts for child maintenance. If the parent with care needs help in collecting the money awarded under the court order for maintenance they can contact the Northern Ireland Court Services who handle Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders. Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) is the process by which maintenance orders made by UK courts on behalf of UK residents can be registered and enforced by the courts or other authorities in other countries.
REMO also allows UK courts to enforce maintenance orders against UK residents that were set up by individuals living in other countries.
For more information about REMO
When the non-resident parent lives in Australia
If the non-resident parent lives in Australia and the parent with care lives in the UK then the Australian Child Support Agency may be able to accept an application to assess maintenance.
Calling from Abroad
If your maintenance has been calculated by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division you can contact the centre dealing with your case using the following number:
+44 28 9047 6344
Related Information
Other websites
|
