Child maintenance if a parent lives abroad
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1. Overview
You cannot make a new application to the Child Maintenance Service if the child and the parent with the main day-to-day care live abroad.
There are circumstances where the service can help if the paying parent lives abroad.
You can make a private child maintenance arrangement yourself - if one or both parents live abroad.
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
Enforcing a child maintenance decision
You can ask a court for help if the other parent does not pay any child maintenance they owe you. This is known as taking ‘enforcement action’.
You cannot enforce a private child maintenance arrangement you’ve made yourself - you need to make it legally binding first.
You can also ask the court to change an existing child maintenance decision or make a new one.
How you enforce, change or make a decision depends on:
- where the other parent lives
- where your original decision was made
The UK has a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) agreement with a number of other countries. Courts in ‘REMO countries’ can enforce child maintenance decisions made by UK courts.
Child maintenance decisions made in Scotland or Northern Ireland
The process is different if you want to enforce a child maintenance decision that was originally made in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
If the decision was made in Scotland
Contact the Scottish government for advice.
maintenanceenforcement@gov.scot
Telephone: 0131 244 3570 or 0131 244 4829
Fax: 0131 244 4848
Find out about call charges
The Scottish Government Justice Directorate
Central Authority and International Law Team
St Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
If the decision was made in Northern Ireland
Contact the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service for advice.
reciprocalenforcement@courtsni.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 200 7812
Find out about call charges
Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
Laganside House
23 - 27 Oxford Street
Belfast
BT1 3LA
2. If the other parent lives abroad
How you get a child maintenance decision depends on whether the other parent lives in a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) country. Check the list of REMO countries.
If the other parent does not live in a REMO country, get legal advice from a solicitor to find out if you can enforce the decision.
If the other parent lives in a REMO country
How to apply
If the other parent lives in a REMO country, contact the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (MEBC) by email or post.
The MEBC will ask you some questions to check if you’re eligible. If you are, they’ll send you an application form and supporting guidance on how to apply.
Depending on your situation, you may need to attend a court hearing in the UK or pay a court fee. Your supporting guidance will explain this in more detail.
Tell the MEBC if you do not want the other parent to see certain information about you, such as your address.
Complete the form and send it back to the MEBC with any supporting documents.
The process is different if you want to enforce a child maintenance decision that was originally made in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Contact the MEBC if you have any questions.
After you apply
Your completed application will be sent to the court in the country the other parent lives in.
The foreign court will then decide whether child maintenance should be paid (‘awarded’). They can also decide whether to enforce payment.
You can contact the MEBC to find out how your application is progressing. Do not contact the foreign court.
Contact the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (MEBC)
When you contact the MEBC tell them your:
- full name
- email address
- telephone number
- case reference number, if you have one
If you’re applying for the first time, you’ll also need to tell them:
- the country you live in
- the country the other parent lives in
Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre
Triton House
St Andrews Street North
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1TR
There is now only one MEBC for the whole of England and Wales. MEBC Wales and MEBC London are closed.
3. If you live abroad
You can still enforce a child maintenance decision if the other parent lives in the UK but you live in another country.
Check if you live in a country which can enforce a child maintenance decision made in the UK. This is called a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) country.
If you live in a REMO country, ask the court where you live to enforce the decision.
If you do not live in a REMO country, you might still be able to enforce a decision. Get legal advice from a solicitor in the country where you live or in the UK.
4. If the other parent works abroad for a British organisation
You might be able to make a new child maintenance claim instead of enforcing an existing one if the other parent is working abroad for certain British organisations, for example:
- as a civil servant
- for His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service
- as a member of the armed forces
- for a company based and registered in the UK
- for the NHS
- for a local authority
How to claim
You cannot apply directly to the Child Maintenance Service. You must use the Get help arranging child maintenance service to get a reference number first.
You can also use the Get help arranging child maintenance service to find out your options for paying or getting support for your child, including making a private arrangement.
If you need help using the Get help arranging child maintenance service, contact the Child Maintenance Service.
Child Maintenance Service
Telephone: 0800 171 2345
Welsh language: 0800 232 1979
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 171 2345
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges
Video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users - check you can use the service
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
There’s a different phone number if you live in Northern Ireland.
If you’ve already made a claim, contact the Child Maintenance Service for advice.