Maintenance cases involving EU from 1 January 2021
Published 30 September 2020
New rules for January 2021
The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.
This page tells you what you’ll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.
Check what else you need to do during the transition period.
This guidance explains the changes to maintenance cases involving EU countries from 1 January 2021.
If you are currently or soon to be involved in a case that you think may be affected by this you should speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice as soon as possible. You should also speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice if your case involves an EU country and Scotland or Northern Ireland.
This guidance is intended for people involved in family law disputes. If you are a legal professional, please refer to the guidance for legal professionals.
Family law disputes: what will change
EU laws about family proceedings will no longer apply to the UK from the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020).
This will affect rules on:
- the country that family law disputes are heard in
- how decisions made in one country will be recognised and enforced in another
This applies to cases in England and Wales for:
- divorce
- matters relating to children (including on child abduction)
- maintenance
This guidance only relates to cases involving the courts of England and Wales. If you have a cross-border case relating to the courts in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you should seek advice on mygov.scot or nidirect.gov.uk
You may also wish to read guidance on:
- Divorce involving EU from 1 January 2021
- Parental responsibility cases involving EU from 1 January 2021
Ongoing cases
If you have an ongoing case about maintenance payments for a child or spouse/registered partner in England, Wales or an EU country as at the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020) your case will continue unchanged.
Visit the Child maintenance if one parent lives abroad page to learn more about what you need to do.
New Cases
If you make new or further applications after the end of the transition period, your application will need to be made under a different process.
However, you should still contact your nearest Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (MEBC) for assistance with the enforcement of maintenance decisions. Enforcing decisions
If you have a child maintenance decision, which you want to have recognised and enforced in an EU country from the end of the transition period, contact your nearest Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre (MEBC) as soon as possible.
If your maintenance case was resolved and has been recognised by the relevant court in an EU country before the end of the transition period, you should not be affected.
Speak to a local lawyer for specific advice if possible.
Cases where all parties are in the UK
The Child Maintenance Service applies to cases where the paying parent, the receiving parent and the child are all in the UK– this will not change.
Divorces involving EU from 1 January 2021
Published 30 September 2020
New rules for January 2021
The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.
This page tells you what you’ll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.
Check what else you need to do during the transition period.
This guidance explains the changes to divorce involving EU countries from 1 January 2021.
If you are currently or soon to be involved in a case that you think may be affected by this you should speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice as soon as possible. You should also speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice if your case involves an EU country and Scotland or Northern Ireland.
This guidance is intended for people involved in family law disputes. If you are a legal professional, please refer to the guidance for legal professionals.
Family law disputes: what will change
EU laws about family proceedings will no longer apply to the UK from the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020)
This will affect rules on:
- the country that family law disputes are heard in
- how decisions made in one country will be recognised and enforced in another
This applies to cases in England and Wales about:
- divorce
- matters relating to children (including on child abduction)
- child maintenance
This guidance only relates to cases involving the courts of England and Wales. If you have a cross-border case relating to the courts in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you should seek advice on mygov.scot or nidirect.gov.uk.
You may also wish to read guidance on:
- Maintenance cases involving EU from 1 January 2021
- Parental responsibility cases involving EU from 1 January 2021
New and ongoing divorce cases
If you apply for divorce in England and Wales or an EU country before the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), your divorce will continue under the current EU rules (even if the process is not finalised until after the end of the transition period). When your divorce becomes final, it will be recognised in England and Wales or an EU country under the current EU rules.
If you apply for divorce in England and Wales or an EU country after the end of the transition period new rules will be in place. If you are applying in England & Wales you should apply in the same way.
Divorce recognition
If your divorce is granted in England and Wales or an EU country before the end of the transition period, it will be recognised in England and Wales or an EU country under the current EU rules.
Getting your England & Wales divorce recognised in an EU country if you applied for it after the end of the transition period may also be affected. Getting your EU divorce recognised in England and Wales if you applied for it after the end of the transition period will also be subject to new rules.
Speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice to get specific advice about your case and any action you need to take.
Parental responsibility involving EU from 1 January 2021
Published 30 September 2020
New rules for January 2021
The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year.
This page tells you what you’ll need to do from 1 January 2021. It will be updated if anything changes.
Check what else you need to do during the transition period.
This guidance explains the changes to parental responsibility cases involving EU countries from 1 January 2021.
If you are currently or soon to be involved in a case that you think may be affected by this you should speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice as soon as possible. You should also speak to a lawyer or Citizens Advice if your case involves an EU country and Scotland or Northern Ireland.
This guidance is intended for people involved in family law disputes. If you are a legal professional, please refer to the guidance for legal professionals.
Family law disputes: what will change
EU laws about family proceedings will no longer apply to the UK from the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020).
This will affect rules on:
- the country that family law disputes are heard in
- how decisions made in one country will be recognised and enforced in another
This applies to cases in England and Wales about:
- divorce
- matters relating to children (including on child abduction)
- child maintenance
This guidance only relates to cases involving the courts of England and Wales. If you have a cross-border case relating to the courts in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you should seek advice on mygov.scot or nidirect.gov.uk
You may also wish to read guidance on:
Order recognition
If you have an order in place about arrangements for your children that has been made in England or Wales or an EU country before the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), it should not be affected. However, if you make further applications (even about the same child or children) after the end of the transition period, different rules will apply for having the order made or accepted in the other country.
Speak to a local lawyer as soon as possible to get specific advice about your case and the actions you need to take.
New cases
If you apply for new arrangements for your children in England or Wales or an EU country from the end of the transition period, including about children you already have agreed arrangements for, the new rules will be in place but you should apply in the same way.
Speak to a local lawyer as soon as possible to get specific advice about your case and the actions you need to take.
Ongoing cases
If you have an ongoing case about arrangements for your children in England or Wales or an EU country as at the end of the transition period (11pm on 31 December 2020), your case will continue under the current rules.
International parental child abduction
From the end of the transition period, the rules about abducted or wrongfully retained children in EU countries will mostly not change.
If your child has been abducted to, or is being wrongfully kept in, another country by another parent or a relative, you should get legal advice from a specialist lawyer.
You should also, if possible, get local legal advice in the country the child has been taken to, and you should contact the Central Authority for England and Wales (ICACU) and the charity Reunite.