CSA chase me when I’m working abroad

July 7, 2009

I have a single daughter who is now coming up to her ninth birthday and I have not seen since she was 4 years old. Her mother has prevented this and I have so far spent near on 30K on legal fees and court costs trying to gain access. I have gladley paid the CSA on average 500 pounds a month since leaving the family home. I was never married to her mother. I was recently offered a position in the United Arab Emerates which I accepted. On leaving the UK , I contacted the CSA to inform them and requested their help in maintaining the monthly payments. I was told that as the UAE are a non reciprocal country they can not assist and suggested I make a payment arrangement with the mother. I took this approach and wrote to the mother about 5 or 6 times with no response. I instructed my Solicitor to write a similar letter, again this generated no response. I contacted the CSA again to inform them I had followed their advice and received no response to which their response was “we dont believe you are a non resident and are now going to commence legal proceedings”. I assured them that I now lived in the UAE at which point they asked me for evidence? I sent them a copy of my residence visa, my UAE driving licence and my UAE bank (visa) card both of which can not be obtained without a residence visa. They thanked me for the information and responded by saying they will now decide weather I am a resident of the UAE or not?????

I am confused.

I have asked for their help in making payment to which they said that because I am a resident in a non recoprical country they cannot help but on the other hand they have all the evidence available to confirm my situation and the need to decide weather I actually am a resident of a non recripocal country??

I have no connections with the UK except from the former family home which has a court order to be sold and a number of debts which I continue to pay through my Fathers bank account. The question I need answering is where do I stand legally?? I have offered to pay through the CSA and directly but without having bank details, physically can not. I am saving a reasonable ammount of money each monthe as I expect that one day the CSA will decide I am in arreas and i just want to be able to pay them off but this doesnt benifit my daughter now.

Please offer any advice or guidence you may have?

Regards

Dylan Thomas

Comments

  • mr.pink says:

    If you were originally paying the CSA through your bank account, changing your bank details to a new bank should not be difficult. Transfering money ,this way, from the Gulf is easy enough.
    Why is your ex now refusing to accept money? Are you sure the CSA was passing on those earlier payments. You can’t make her take the money, but why would she make the application in the first place?
    If you intend to return to the UK, the CSA will hit you hard for arrears when you show up on their radar, so putting money aside for that eventuality is a good idea. Keep an offshore account though as the ex can apply for a Variation if you have a stash of more than £65k.
    The phrase is ‘habitual residence’. There is no single definition of ‘habitual residence’ but it means more than simply where a person is living. People who are posted abroad with their work but who intend to return to this country will probably still be treated as habitually resident in this country.

  • InsideMan says:

    If you leave the UK and are getting paid into a UAE bank account, you are not liable to pay anything!! You have already done enough to prove you are not living in the UK. Stop talking to the CSA. They will soon realise you are not in the country and they have evidence that you are not. You will not be liable for any arrears while you are out of the country as you are ‘out of jurisdiction’ and the case must be closed.

    I must reiterate, now you are living overseas the CSA cannot do anything, so if you wish to pay for your daughter, you must do it direct to your ex-partner, if she cannot be contacted, put some money aside until she can. Howeve you pay your ex, it should always be recorded, in case you ever come back to live in the UK, she will probably go through the agency again and they will want proof you have been paying.

  • john says:

    hi i have started paying money to csa but can i still live abroad?

  • Hossam says:

    I currently work in Saudi Arabia,(non reciprocal country) but have a house in uk,Is CSA still entiteled to my earnings from abroad??

  • rach says:

    under csa2 they can NOT assess foreign income as earnings so you will be given a nil assessment whether you have property here or not. THey will only be interested in your uk property or any bank accounts if you owe them arrears.

  • joy says:

    But did you show them evidence of your rent/mortgage, verifying your address?

    Bank accounts, visas mean nothing really, do they?

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