How the REMO process works
REMO is the process where a maintenance order made in a UK court for a UK resident can be registered and enforced by a foreign court or authority against a paying parent who lives there.
The parent who doesn’t have the day-to-day care (the ‘paying parent’) pays child maintenance to the parent or person who does (the ‘receiving parent’).
The UK has no authority to make foreign courts enforce maintenance orders.
There are times when a REMO isn't needed as the paying parent may work for a certain British organisation.
The REMO arrangements
REMOs are agreements with participating countries and they work both ways. This means that:
- if a receiving parent and child live abroad, they can apply for a foreign maintenance order which will be enforceable against the paying parent who is living in the UK
- if the receiving parent and child live in the UK, they can seek an order to register and enforce the recovery of maintenance orders from the paying parent who is living abroad
The details of the REMO arrangement can depend on:
- which country the paying parent or receiving parent lives in
- the agreement the country has signed
Applying for a REMO
If you are a receiving parent who lives in the UK and the paying parent lives abroad, you should contact the Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) Team within Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service via nidirect.
You don't need a solicitor as REMO staff will help you and send the application to the relevant authority in the country where the paying parent is living.
If you have an existing maintenance order, you can apply to have that order enforced in the country where the paying parent is living.
If there is currently no order, you can ask the authorities to make a maintenance order for you.
You don't need a solicitor as court staff will help you and send the application to the relevant authority in the country where the paying parent is living.
They will check the application and send it to the court for registration and enforcement.
REMOs in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service handle all REMO applications between Northern Ireland and countries outside the UK.
For more information about REMOs, contact:
Enforcement
If you make a REMO application, it will be enforced according to the laws in the country where the paying parent lives - not UK laws.
The UK has no authority:
- to make foreign courts enforce maintenance orders
- to set a timescale for enforcement, as the system is based on mutual agreement
Countries with a REMO agreement
The following table lists countries that have a REMO agreement with the UK.
| Country | Country | Country | Country | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | Czech Republic | Ireland | New Zealand | Spain |
| Anguilla | Denmark | Isle of Man | Nigeria | Sri Lanka |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Dominica | Israel | Norfolk Island | Surinam |
| Austria | Falkland Islands | Italy | Norway | Swaziland |
| Australia | Fiji | Jamaica | Pakistan | Sweden |
| Barbados | Finland | Jersey | Papua New Guinea | Switzerland |
| Belize | France | Kenya | Philippines | Tanzania |
| Belgium | Gambia | Kiribati | Poland | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Bermuda | Germany | Lesotho | Portugal | Tunisia |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Ghana | Luxembourg | Romania | Turkey |
| Botswana | Gibraltar | Macedonia | St Helena | Turks and Caicos Island |
| Brazil | Greece | Malawi | St Kitts and Nevis | Tuvalu |
| Brunei | Grenada | Malaysia | St Lucia | United States (excluding Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and District of Columbia) |
| Burkina Faso | Guatemala | Malta | St Vincent | Uruguay |
| Canada (not Quebec) | Guernsey | Mauritius | Seychelles | Virgin Islands |
| Cape Verde | Guyana | Mexico | Sierra Leone | Zambia |
| Cayman Islands | Haiti | Monaco | Singapore | Zimbabwe |
| Central African Republic | Hong Kong | Monsterrat | Slovakia | |
| Chile | Hungary | Morocco | Slovenia | |
| Croatia | Iceland | Nauru | Solomon Islands | |
| Cyprus | India | Netherlands | South Africa |