Role of the REMO Unit
I When parents live abroad I Contact centres I Non UK residence
The REMO unit at the office of Official Solicitor and Public Trustee is the authority in England & Wales for transmitting and receiving applications for maintenance enforcement if one of the parties lives outside the UK.
The REMO unit also has a role in determining REMO policy for the UK as a whole, in consultation with colleagues at the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Court Service.
The Scottish Executive handles REMO applications between Scotland and foreign jurisdictions. You will find information here about how the Scottish Executive can help with collecting maintenance if you live in Scotland (PDF: 103KB).
The Northern Ireland Court Service handles REMO applications between Northern Ireland and foreign jurisdictions.
Once the application has been sent abroad, it will be enforced according to the laws that prevail in the foreign country. The UK authorities have no power to compel foreign courts or authorities to enforce maintenance orders, or to set a timescale for enforcement, as the system is based on mutual co-operation. Every effort is made, however, to encourage foreign agencies to abide by their countries' international commitments.
Generally, detailed legal advice to applicants or others is not provided: this is the responsibility of the courts. However, general procedural guidance can be given.
The England & Wales REMO unit can be contacted on 0845 345 5303
You can also e-mail the REMO team.
When parents live abroad
The Child Support Agency 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 or the parent with care:
- is working abroad in the service of the crown, i.e. 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, i.e. 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 a NHS trust; or regional health authority; or primary care trust; or local authority.
You can get more advice about whether these rules apply to you from our National Helpline on 0044151 2431901.
If your maintenance has been calculated by the Child Support Agency you can contact the centre dealing with your case using the following numbers. Please note that it is generally not possible to dial the 08457 numbers advertised in our leaflets and elsewhere on this website when calling from abroad.
Contact centres
To ring our centres from abroad please use the following numbers:
Falkirk - 00441324 625758
Hastings - 00441424 465095
Dudley - 00441384 480188
Plymouth - 00441752 695111
Birkenhead - 0044151 6490861
Belfast - 004428 9043 8596
Non UK residence
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 Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders section at the office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee. Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders - or 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.
This is a reciprocal arrangement which means that foreign maintenance orders in favour of individuals abroad can be registered and enforced by UK courts against UK residents.
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.