Recognizing Foreign Child Support Orders in British Columbia
If you have a child support order made in a different province or country and you want to know how you can have it recognized, enforced or varied in British Columbia, keep reading! There are two important pieces of legislation involved in the current system for recognition and variation of foreign support orders in British Columbia: the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act and the 2007 Hague Convention.
First, the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act (“ISO”) is used to recognize, vary and set aside orders made in reciprocating jurisdictions. It was assented to on May 9, 2002 and there are currently 25 reciprocating jurisdictions, including all of the Canadian provinces and territories.[1] The designated authority in British Columbia that receives and sends applications under this legislation is the Interjurisdictional Support Services (“IJSS”).[2] What this means is that if a child support order was made in Nova Scotia and the recipient of the child support payments moved to British Columbia, the recipient would be able to have the existing order recognized in British Columbia, as well as apply to have the order varied, without having to go to court in Nova Scotia. You can find more information about IJSS and their process on their website (isoforms.bc.ca), including information about which forms you may need to prepare an application.
Even if the child support order was made in a non-reciprocating jurisdiction, recent changes to the legislation in British Columbia mean that it could still be recognized, enforced and even varied or set aside, without having to resort to the courts recognizing the order through common law. This is due to the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (“2007 Hague Convention”), which came into force in British Columbia on March 1, 2024.[3] The 2007 Hague Convention allows people to establish, change and enforce support orders when they live in countries that have also adopted the 2007 Hague Convention. The process for establishing a child support order made in a foreign non-reciprocating jurisdiction under the 2007 Hague Convention is similar to the process under the ISO and requires the person seeking child support to submit an application package to the designated authority that will then be sent on to the appropriate authority in the contracting location where the paying party lives.[4]
Since the 2007 Hague Convention is now in force in British Columbia, child support recipients who wish to recognize or enforce an existing order made in a non-reciprocating jurisdiction that is a contracting party to the convention, such as France, Ireland, Philippines, etc.[5], can make an application through their local courthouse. This means parties moving to British Columbia can have their foreign orders registered and enforced, without having to re-litigate the action in Canada and convince another judge to make an order for child support. The child support recipients can also ask that an order made in British Columbia be enforced in the jurisdiction of the child support payor, should the payor live in one of the forty-seven countries party to the 2007 Hague Convention.
In addition to having child support orders recognized and varied in BC courts, child support orders from other the provinces and territories in Canada, as well as child support orders made in the United States and a number of other countries can be registered through the British Columbia Family Maintenance Agency (the “BCFMA”) with an equivalent program in the payor’s jurisdiction.[6] This process may take up to several months, but it can help make the collection and enforcement of the ongoing support payments a lot easier.
If you’re not sure whether your foreign child support order can be recognized or enforced under this current system, you should consult a family law lawyer for advice. It can be complicated trying to register and enforce an order made in a different jurisdiction, so make sure you know the right process is. Contact us at 604-746-3374 or send us an email at info@mpeaklaw.ca to find out more.
[1] See Interjurisdictional Support Orders Regulation, BC Reg 15/2003, Schedule A.
[2] “Interjurisdictional Support Orders – British Columbia” (1 November 2023) online (website): <www.isoforms.bc.ca> [https://www.isoforms.bc.ca/].
[3] Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, 23 November 2007, HCCH (entered into force March 1, 2024).
[4] Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, 23 November 2007, HCCH (entered into force March 1, 2024).
[5] See full list of contracting parties at “Status Table - Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance” (14 May 2024), online (website) <www,hcch.net> [https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=131].
[6] For a full list of reciprocating jurisdictions with maintenance programs like BCFMA, check the BCFMA website: https://www.bcfma.ca/paying-or-receiving-support/out-of-province/other-jurisdictions/
