ex moving to Saudi - how do I enforce child maintenance

[Rosana16]

my ex is moving to Saudi for work with aramco and refuses to sign any agreement on child maintenance. is there any way I can enforce it? apparently UK laws are not applicable there

Were you married and if so is there a final court order settling the finances?Is there any evidence of him avoiding to pay/not complying with a CSA/CMS
assessment and does he have any property, savings or investments in the UK?

IIRC, Saudi Arabia isn't signed up to enforce maintenance orders which are made in the UK, and any CSA award will become invalid once he's no longer living here, but in certain situations (like where the head office of that company is in the UK or whether the absent parent has strong ties to the UK like a house) then they will carry on collecting. You're right in saying that UK laws don't apply in Saudi, they use their own. I think your best bet is to find a lawyer in Saudi who can help you with this. Do watch out for custody issues though, Saudi isn't a country which automatically gives the resident parent (especially the mother) the right to live or see their children. You do run the risk of him not returning them if they visit him.

Saudi hasn't signed up for the REMO (Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders - maintenance orders made in the UK or other countries signed up) www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/protecting-the-vulnerable/official-solicitor/reciprocal-enforcement-of-maintenance-orders/remo-location-list.pdf Your best bet is to find a lawyer in Saudi (unless your ex has strong ties to the UK).

my ex will keep house in UK, but will be working for Arabic company.
thanks for advices, Saudi is not part of remo

Your best bet is a lawyer where he is. They will know their laws and will be able to navigate them for you.

Good luck

I'm not a lawyer but my thinking was similar to babybarrister.

Aramco is a Saudi company so the UK courts have no jurisdiction to make deductions from earnings/arrestment. HOwever if your ex won't be living in the UK the courts here can make an order for child maintenance. If payments then fall into arrears a charging order may be put on any assets in the Uk. When there is a history of non compliance with a court order for maintenance assets can be held in the uK as security so they can't be removed.

There is no substitute for independent legal advise about your particular circumstances. It isn't straightforward and you need to see a solicitor sooner rather than late. If you haven't already got a court order settling the finances you could kill two birds with the one stone.

thank you everyone for advices!