Cases where you and the other person (the law calls them the other party) 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 changing and enforcing 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 on family support orders and agreements made in other reciprocating jurisdictions.
You can still enforce a support order if:
- it was made in BC, but
- you or the other person affected by the order (the law calls them the other party) don't live in BC now.
The way to do this depends on:
- which law your support order was made under:
- the federal Divorce Act, or
- BC's provincial Family Law Act, and
- where you and the other person live.
Usually support orders say which act they're made under. If your support order doesn't say this, there are ways you can figure it out. See Interjurisdictional orders: When a case involves more than one province, territory, or country for some tips on this.
If you or the other person live in another country, you need to know if that country's 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.
The BC law about reciprocity is the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act (ISO). Each of the reciprocating jurisdictions has similar ISO laws.
If you use ISO, you can apply for a support order in one of the reciprocating jurisdictions without having to go there. You can also apply to change an existing support order. The person making the application doesn't usually have to go to court but the respondent (the person in the reciprocating jurisdiction) goes to court to respond to the application.
Expand the heading that fits your situation to find out how to enforce your support order.
Can you appear by phone or video if the court is far away?
Only the respondent has to appear.
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. Contact the court registry to find out if your request has been approved.
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.
They'll 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.