Cases where you and the other person don't live in the same province, territory, or country are called interjurisdictional. That means that more than one legal system or set of laws is involved.
BC has agreements about enforcing and changing support orders and agreements with:
- all other Canadian provinces and territories
- all of the United States
- several other foreign countries
These places are called reciprocating jurisdictions. They agree to collect family support orders and agreements made in other reciprocating jurisdictions.
If you have a support order that was made outside of BC, you might be able to get it changed if it was made in a reciprocating jurisdiction.
See Interjurisdictional Support Orders (ISO) on the Ministry of Attorney General’s website for a full list of countries that have reciprocal agreements with BC.
You also need to know which law your order was made under:
- the federal Divorce Act, or
- a provincial or territorial law (in BC, that would be the Family Law Act).
Usually support orders say which act they're made under. If your support order doesn't say this, you can figure it out. See Interjurisdictional orders: When a case involves more than one province, territory, or country for some tips on this.
Expand the heading that fits your situation to find out how to change your support order.
One of you lives in BC and the other lives in a country that's not a reciprocating jurisdiction.
If one person lives in BC and the other lives in another country that's NOT a reciprocating jurisdiction, get legal help. These cases are complicated. See Tips about getting legal help for where to find a lawyer. The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) might be able to help.
Can you appear by phone or video if the court is far away?
Only the respondent has to appear in court.
If you or the other person live far from the court where the hearing will be, ask:
- if you can appear by phone or video, or
- if the court would transfer your file to a court in BC that's easier for you to get to.
To ask about appearing by phone or video in Supreme Court:
- fill out a Requisition (Form F17), and
- file it at the court registry.
Include a signed letter that explains why you want to attend by phone or video.
The registry will pass it to a judge who'll decide if you can attend by video or phone. Contact the court registry to find out if your request has been approved. If the judge agrees, the registry will tell you what to do next.
To ask about appearing by phone or video in Provincial Court, fill out a Request to Be Heard by Teleconference at the court registry. Include a signed letter that explains why you want to attend by phone or video.
The registry will pass it to a judge who'll decide if you can attend by video or phone. Contact the court registry to find out if your request has been approved. If the judge agrees, the registry will tell you what to do next.