Child Support and Overseas Parents
I recently heard a case about a father, living overseas, who was billed £12,000 for child maintenance by the Child Support Agency (CSA) when he returned to England. My first thought was there had been an administrative error. The rules on child maintenance state that the CSA is unable to become involved in a case when the non-resident parent is habitually resident abroad.
When I explored the facts before me, however, I was soon engulfed in the CSA’s labyrinthine complexities.
According to the CSA’s Quarterly Statistics, more than 6,200 non-resident parents are living abroad but only a quarter of these are paying child maintenance through the CSA. The CSA is unable to enforce maintenance abroad, but this does not mean that the assessed maintenance is written off. Instead, a debt accrues at the CSA in each case. No wonder the CSA has a resource problem – combined, these debts could be in the millions!
Legislation introduced in 1991 meant that on the face of it, a move abroad and habitual residence there was the ideal way for a non-resident parent to evade financial responsibility for a child. This changed in 2000, when the rules were amended to allow for certain circumstances when the CSA would still have jurisdiction to enforce maintenance. These circumstances include:
- When the non-resident parent works for a UK based company abroad.
- When the non-resident parent is a civil servant or works within Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service or Her Majesty’s Overseas Civil Service.
- When the non-resident parent is a member of the armed forces.
- When the non-resident parent works abroad on a secondment for a prescribed body such as a NHS trust or a local authority.
Additionally, the vagueness of the term “habitual residence” can give rise to grey areas. The CSA does not define habitual residence; nor is there any case law that deals with this definition in the context of the CSA.
In general terms, “habitual residence” would suggest that you are resident in the country in which you are living. However if the non-resident parent’s sole motivation for a move abroad is work commitments, and they intend to come back to the UK, then the CSA could view their habitual residence as being in the UK. This is especially true if there is already a home and family in the UK, or if the parent spends more than 92 days a year in the UK and is registered as resident for tax purposes.
So when doubt hangs over a parent’s “habitual residence”, that parent may face a bill for ongoing maintenance and arrears accrued during time spent abroad. If this bill is left unpaid, it can be enforced by the CSA through the courts, using a Deduction of Earnings Order. This would mean that the CSA could take a sum out of the parent’s earnings each month, at source. Alternatively the non-resident parent could contact the CSA and try to come to some agreement over how much they can pay and when.
There are other processes whereby maintenance can be enforced upon a parent living abroad. The Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) allows orders made for maintenance in a UK court on behalf of a UK resident to be enforced by either the courts or authorities of the foreign country in which the non-resident parent is living. A list of countries that are party to this process can be found on the CSA website.
In order to begin this process, the parent with care of the children should either apply to the magistrates’ court to register an already existing order abroad, or apply to the magistrates’ court to make an order for maintenance to be registered abroad. The order then effectively becomes an order of that foreign country and is, therefore, governed by the law of that country.
If arrears of maintenance accrue through the courts and are backdated by more than 12 months you must obtain leave of the court before you are able to reclaim these. By contrast the CSA has no cut off date for arrears and are entitled to enforce arrears which are more than 12 months old. A CSA assessment will not accrue arrears if it is suspended by the parties, but will otherwise continue to accumulate.
Ultimately, it should be remembered that child maintenance is money that is owed to the child, not the other parent. Child maintenance is the responsibility of the non-resident parent and therefore it should be paid.
If the non-resident parent believes that their assessment is wrong or they cannot afford to pay then there may be some virtue in asking for a review or an appeal of their assessment. However this must be done within one month of receipt of the letter detailing the assessed amount that they are liable to pay.
So it seems that non-resident parents who think moving abroad will help them elude the CSA may have to think again. Parents who move abroad for legitimate reasons also need to consider whether they remain subject to the CSA’s assessments – and prepare accordingly.
Rachel Baul joined Stowe Family Law in 2004, and is a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Panel. She specialises in all areas of family law and ancillary relief, and has been commended by a number of the firm’s high profile clients.
Note: This blog receives lots of queries related to the Child Support Agency (CSA). Unfortunately, because of the complex and labyrinthine nature of CSA processes and rules, such questions often call for lengthy and long-winded answers. For this reason, it is difficult to answer such queries on an individual basis.
If you are seeking advice about a situation that involves the CSA, perhaps these earlier posts will help. If your CSA-related query is of a pressing nature, I recommend that you contact the National Association for Child Support Action: a hardworking organisation that can provide ongoing assistance, advice and support.
Child and sea image credit: Pingu1963.
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10 Comments
stephanie Botterill on August 24, 2010 at 4:42 pm
When my son was nine months old his father left and to cut a long story short, didn’t contribute towards his upbringing, emotionally or financially. My son would get a visit once every six months if he was lucky.
In early 2003 (when my son turned 4-years old) the Child Support Agency finally started to pay us from my sons father’s wages. This lasted until August 2004 when his father went abroad, our payments abruptly stopped and I was told that there was nothing that could be done. However I was told that his account would remain open until he notified them personally that he was out of the country. I was quite happy knowing that as long as he was out of the country he would still accrue arrears.
I spoke to the Child Support Agency later in 2006 who then decided that, because he was still out of the country, his account would freeze and no longer build up arrears from that point on.
I would like to draw to your attention the fact that I was a lone parent at the time (for five years), in and out of work trying to make ends meet and there was my son’s father having a very long holiday and not taking care of his responsibilities.
On his return to England in February 2009 my case was re-opened in July 2009. He then returned to work in late 2009 and the CSA then had to track him down again and reassess his income.
A year later we have received a letter from the CSA stating that my son will be entitled to £14.00 per week.
His father claims to be self employed (but works for his brother) and claims that his income varies drastically. Yet he works full time and has only declared weekly earnings of £137.00, hence my son getting a minimal amount of financial support. I’m having to seriously question what is going on here.
My biggest issue now is that I have been informed that the arrears he started to accrue when he first left the country will now be wiped clean. The law states that if a Non- Resident Parent leaves the country and stops paying Child Support (through choice) and is not working for a British company, no arrears will accrue from the moment they leave the country. Does a parent’s responsibilities cease just because they’re out of the country? Does the Government find it acceptable to let someone run away from their responsibilities so easily? I understand it is hard to keep track of someone’s employment when abroad, but I would have thought that a default amount would be set per month for the father (or mother) whilst out of the country, then re-paid to the child when they return to work in England.
This legislation needs to be reassessed, because from my view point it looks like the CSA are only there to benefit the parents shirking their responsibilities and not to benefit the children.
Mothers and fathers who have been left by themselves are being miserably failed by an outdated system , this law NEEDS to change within the CSA.
I have complained more than once to the CSA about these issues and they have told that me they can’t do anything as the law and legislation is very black and white.
I have spoken to the CSA again today and they have confirmed to me yet again that when the Non- Resident Parent leaves the country and doesn’t work for a British company, they stop acrruing arreas. How is this fair? Why can he get away with this? So what if didn’t work for a British company, surely my son should be owed something!
I’m going to kick up a big fuss about this as my son and I have been treated so badly and the CSA have only done favours for my son’s father, not my son.
S A Botterill.
Name Witheld on August 16, 2011 at 5:18 am
I am a non resident parent living abroad.
I fought the Child Support Agency for 6 years. For one child I was meant to pay 15% of my earnings. The calculations by the Child Support Agency reached as high as 90% of my earnings.
The CSA refused to accept copies of my bank statements or Income Tax returns and stated all information had to come from the resident parent.
I tried to fight the Child Support Agency through the Court but I was told by the Magistrate to “sit down and be quiet, if the Secretary of State says you owe money, then you owe money”. The Child Support Agency does not have to explain there calculations therefore if you are the father of the child you are guilty and a Court Liability Order is issued. At the end of 2009 the Child Support Agency was given new powers and could directly issue Liability Orders bypassing the court.
I tried to enlist help at four big law firms in Doncaster and was shown the doors, one solicitor that would talk to me advised me that as long as I had property I would not be left alone. I attended the Citizens Advice Bureau in Thorne and was told that there was nothing they could do for me. They said the Child Support Agency was a law unto themselves and that legal firms had stopped taking the cases because they could not win.
With the help of my father we wrote to everybody we could think of from the Ombudsman to the Priminister to no avail as all letters directed us back to the Child Support Agency.
In 2010 the Child Support Agency took out a court order on my property in Doncaster. The next step would be to force the sale of the property and take the proceeds. This action would also close my self employed business as I would have no where to store my stock..
The Child Support Agency is responsible for suicides as fathers are left with no finances and no hope. The only other option currently left to fathers is to leave the country and disappear. The Child Support Agency has and is trying to have passports automatically removed to stop this happening.
Realising that our property was about to be pulled from under us along with it my business, I sold everything I could and chose to disappear. I now live abroad and will not return to the UK. At best the future for me in the UK would have been a bed-sit on the DHSS and no money to take my daughter out, at worst a prison sentence for non payment of money I could not afford and did not owe..
I love my daughter very much and do not believe I took an easy way out. I keep in touch with my daughter by email, and still support her financially.
M
I currently hold a three inch file verifying all the above and my story in great detail.
Tulsa Divorce Attorneys on September 10, 2011 at 6:57 pm
So according to the 2000 amendments, the CSA does have jurisdiction over non-residents living abroad and if the non-resident does not pay CS, then an arrearage accrues that the CSA keeps track of and the CSA has the legal authority to collect on the arrearage??? very interesting.
I would have thought that the Hague Convention would come into play into play in this scenario.
susan on January 24, 2012 at 7:59 pm
the csa, did nothing to help me all those years ago, my x husband at the time, worked in car showroom, ran two buisnessess from home was told not allowed to touch that income, all my child was awarded was £ 2.50 a week when he lived the life of luxury , holidays abroad, we dont no what it is to have a holiday. they let us down , and to this day im sure they are letting alot of others down.
he also has a daughter, bit younger than our son, and a 3rd now in thai land. so im not sure how much he owes the csa thats probaly why he left the country after making a profit on 28 charter house road. i hope they get their payment but he will always lie and cheat his way out of his resposibility for at least 2 of his children, i no of their maybe many more.
Lancelot on January 29, 2012 at 5:29 pm
@Susan
We, we, we… Me, me, me. Good on your ex moving away. All you want is money for yourself and holidays. Why should he pay for your luxuries?
It gets me so mad. You women get EVERYTHING from the state. Help towards bills, housing, benefits and most of you work part time or not at all and sit on your asses.
I think it’s a joke. A guy does well for himself, and the women only want for themselves. Selfish the lot of you.
If you’re in hardship you should have thought about that before you had children, you should have made better life choices and made a career for yourself like your ex has.
Note Editor has removed the rest of this post as abusive.
Pauline on February 21, 2012 at 7:51 am
I have a letter saying my child’s support is to cease because I live abroad. That is, the non-resident father continues to live in the UK but will no longer need to pay for his child because the child now lives in another European country. The letter says that the decision is because I am not habitually resident. Yet I continue to pay my national insurance and to pay tax in the UK.
Melanie on February 22, 2012 at 6:41 am
My daughter found out yesterday her dad is moving to Germany in March, he told her he won’t be paying any maintenance, but yet his wife and child he wil maintain while they still live in London. I am not one of these parents that uses the money for myself it goes to my daughters schooling, clothes, travel, lessons, food etc. I will have to move and take my daughter out of school which she was very happy in. I think it is selfish for any parent not to support their child. I financially support my child the best I can and so should the absent father.
Tony D. on March 8, 2012 at 1:56 pm
After being kicked out the family home and on the street penniless and suicidal with no where to turn. The wife moves her new lover in to our home whilst I seek what little comfort I could at the local doctors to prescribe me something, anything to relive me of the 24/7 agonising pain.
I found myself a cheap bedsit and carried on working hardly eating properly for days trying to piece things together. Then the CSA got in touch they demanded almost half of what I was earning which isn’t a great deal and there was no way I could possibly live on what was left. I was in regular contact with my son but the mother was so cold hearted and made my life such a living hell when it came to our son by mentally torturing me I was seconds away from committing suicide by hanging myself in my bedsit but something then sparked inside me, a light shone, a message from somewhere….move abroad don’t give up on life yet!. I cashed whatever I could lay my hands on and headed for the airport with a new 10 year passport reeling in pain about my son and not knowing what the future held for me. That was 6 years ago…I’m now remarried, living in the sun, speak another language fluently and have the most amazing life one could ever dream of.
When my son is 17 he will receive a large cash payout from me that will set him up for life, his mother is well off and grandparents are very well off, he will not go without apart from a dad to be there for him but if I had stayed I would of topped myself anyway…so as far as my X wife and the CSA are concerned they can stick their paper work and demands where the sun don’t shine because its certainly shining where I am right now
missy on March 13, 2012 at 8:27 pm
i am a woman. and let me tell you its a shame cash goes to these mothers. i know most mothers who spend all that cash the guy can barely afford to pay on themselves. its a joke. should be another way of doing this. pay to the court maybe to transfer cash onto a food card. and also buy what the kids need themself and send receipts to courts. its ridiculous how woman get money from state aid and help etc and still want and use all that money on ThemSELVES.
kaytee on May 20, 2012 at 3:01 pm
How dare the small minded minority assume that the mothers are all money grabbing women who unfortunately most times are not the guilty party in the separation or divorce. You have obviously little knowledge of those single mothers trying to hold down jobs etc. to look after their children without the help of the father. Two people bring the children into the world… two should look after their welfare and not walk off and leave it all to the other. You obviously don’t realise what these children have to go through. My ex husband decided to have an affairs behind my back with young girls with an eye for money. We both worked for our business I even cleaned and worked in a bar abroad to help. That man left us with nothing, got our house repossessed and left me and my son with no home, sold our villa and furniture while he carried on with his business and also opened a shop.. while he was bankrupt. He was the richest bankrupt I ever known and made sure we knew it. Because of him the state also had to help us. If it wasn’t for those men who neglected their responsibilities to their children these woman would not have to ‘live off the state’. He has since got in financially difficulty and text me from Spain to say its all too much for him and has moved.. and cant afford to pay for his son nor be around to look after him whilst I work. He has abandoned his son and responsibility with his new baby and romanian girlfriend who is a bit younger than the other daughters he also doesn’t see. I have my own business I just started and am taking my degree this year… For four years I have studied worked, I dont smoke, drink very rarely and hardly go out. My money goes on my son. Whilst his father opens another shop in Spain and scarpers! And he can get away with it. I tried to get a divorce so he laughed and said is going bankrupt again and will put it all in his girlfriends name… who incidently owes money over here… so… On behalf of all the decent mums and dads out there we are entitled to a life too just because we are labled ‘single parents’ doesnt mean we should be sneered at for not being in a position to fully contribute to society… we do our best. As for me, me, me its a case of… the child, the child, the child so until you are the the situation to judge…don’t!