If you live abroad and need to recover child support from a person who either lives in the Czech Republic or has income from the Czech Republic, then you can:

• file a petition for enforcement of a court order individually, or
• follow the conventions on maintenance enforcement and contact the competent authority in your place of residence abroad, which will refer the request to the Office for the International Protection of Children

If the Office for the International Protection of Children receives a request for recovery of maintenance from the Czech Republic from another central authority, úthe Office represents the beneficiary directly and acts on his/her behalf on the basis of a power of attorney. The foreign central authorities shall ensure that the request for recovery from the Czech Republic is complete and, where appropriate, communicate with the beneficiary to complete the request in accordance with the instructions of the Office.

Office on the territory of the Czech Republic on behalf of the beneficiary:

• contact the obligor and invite him to voluntarily fulfil the maintenance obligation
• helps the parents to find an agreement on the payment of maintenance
• updates the tables recording the maintenance debt
• verifies the residence of the obligor and his/her income
• applying for recognition of a foreign judgment
• applying for judicial enforcement of a foreign judgment
• where appropriate, apply for the authorisation of a bailiff and the opening of enforcement proceedings

If you need information on which authority in the foreign country is competent to execute an application for the recovery of maintenance from the Czech Republic, please contact the Office and we will help you to find a contact.

I live in the Czech Republic and have to pay maintenance abroad

We are often contacted by an obligated parent who lives in the Czech Republic who would like to send child support through the Office for International Child Support. If this is the case, contact the relevant member of staff at the Office to discuss the options for sending payments abroad through the Office.

If you are obligated and have received a notice from the Office of International Child Support Enforcement to pay child support, it is always advisable to contact the appropriate case worker and provide assistance.

The Office will tell you how to pay maintenance, what the consequences may be if you do not pay maintenance, or even how you can get the amount of the maintenance obligation changed. Very often, it is only after communication with the obligor that the exact amount of the maintenance debt becomes clear.