Everything about calling Child Maintenance Service from abroad
What the Child Maintenance Service does
The Child Maintenance Service can work out an amount of child maintenance to pay, arrange payments and take action if a parent does not pay, sort out disagreements about parentage and try to find the other parent. Parents who agree can make a private arrangement instead. GOV.UK says the quickest way to report a change is your online account, and gives 0800 171 2345 for anyone who cannot do it online. The Welsh-language line is 0800 232 1979. Northern Ireland has a different number.
When a parent lives abroad: what GOV.UK says
To apply, GOV.UK says you need to live in the UK as your main home and have the right to live here. You cannot apply if the child and the parent with main day-to-day care live outside the UK. You usually cannot apply if the other parent lives and works outside the UK, but you might be able to if they work abroad for certain British organisations, for example the Civil Service, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service, the armed forces, the NHS, a UK local authority, or a company or organisation based and registered in the UK. If the service cannot take your case, GOV.UK points you to a private arrangement.
Changes to report on an existing case
There are changes you must report by law, as soon as they happen, and either parent can report them. They include moving house, when you must give your new address within 7 days, the child no longer living in the UK, a change of bank details, phone number or email address, and a change in who the child's main carer is. Either parent can also report a change of 25% or more in the paying parent's income. A decision you disagree with can be challenged through mandatory reconsideration within 30 days of the date on the letter.
Calling a UK 0800 number from abroad
0800 171 2345 and 0800 232 1979 are UK freephone numbers. GOV.UK lists 0800 calls as free from UK landlines and mobiles, and tells you to check the actual cost with your provider, particularly when calling from abroad. It publishes no international number for the Child Maintenance Service.
What Losali does with these lines
Losali is an independent dialler that works in a web browser. Your call travels over the internet and Losali's telecom carrier connects it to 0800 171 2345 or 0800 232 1979 in the UK, so all you need is a data connection. There is no app to install and no UK SIM card to buy. Minutes are prepaid and there is no subscription.
- Your case details and your National Insurance number.
- Your new address and the date you moved, if you are reporting a move.
- The date the child left the UK, if that is the change.
- The opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Courts abroad, and other ways in
Enforcing maintenance across borders goes through the courts. The UK has a Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO) agreement with a number of countries. If the other parent lives in a REMO country, GOV.UK says to contact the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre by email at mebc.bse@justice.gov.uk or by post. If you live in a REMO country and the other parent lives in the UK, ask the court where you live to enforce the decision. Post for the Child Maintenance Service goes to Child Maintenance Service 21, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 2BU. Relay UK users dial 18001 then 0800 171 2345, and a British Sign Language video relay service is offered.
What kind of number is this?
Freephone 0800 / 0808. Free to call from inside the UK. Losali shows the price before the call starts.