I am entitled to maintenance
According to law, you and your (ex) partner are jointly responsible for caring for and raising your children. You are obliged to fulfil this duty, according to Dutch law, until your children reach the age of 21. You are also obliged to care for your partner. In the same way he or she is obliged to care for you. An expensive matter. It is therefore necessary that you and your partner make financial arrangements in the event of a separation. A monthly amount is determined in court for the child and/or ex-partner. We refer to the amount for the child as child maintenance. In the case of the ex-partner, we call it partner maintenance. Together with your partner, you should come to an arrangement concerning these payments.
In practice, however, it appears that these arrangements do not work in some cases. In this section of the website, you can read about international maintenance and the way in which the LBIO can assist you if your maintenance allowance is not being paid.
How can the LBIO help you?
If you live in the Netherlands you can ask the LBIO to act as an intermediary in the recovery of maintenance abroad. And vice versa, the LBIO recovers maintenance in the Netherlands on behalf of affiliated partners under the Convention and instigates civil proceedings if necessary.
Are you entitled to maintenance? Are you living abroad, but your ex-partner is living in the Netherlands? Then you should contact the maintenance and support agency that operates under the Convention in your country. This is often the Ministry of Justice. The country where you live must be affiliated with one of the Conventions. Are you not able to find the name of the agency in your country? Contact the LBIO and we will assist you.
How long will it take before I receive my maintenance?
It is, of course, possible that your ex-partner will decide to pay your child maintenance or partner maintenance. In that case, you will get your money quite quickly. The collection of maintenance abroad can take a long time. If your liable ex-partner does not cooperate, the country in which he or she is living will have to start legal proceedings. Only afterwards can the collection of maintenance payments proceed.
How do you apply for our services?
You can apply by downloading, printing and completing the application form below. Please complete all sections of the form!
Send your application together with the necessary documents to our office:
- the court decision concerning the maintenance obligation (original document)
- a list of arrears in maintenance payments
- name, date of birth and address of all parties involved (the address of the liable party is particularly important)
- the profession and/or financial circumstances of the liable party
- (if possible) photographs of all parties involved
The original court decision (executed copy) is recognisable by the original stamp at the top of the document. This states ‘in naam der Koningin' (in the name of the Queen). Please make sure you send the original document. The LBIO cannot start recovery proceedings using a copy.
Do you not have the original court decision? Then you can ask your lawyer for it. Or you can ask the Raad voor de Kinderbescherming (Child Protection Agency) if maintenance collection was arranged there previously. They are obliged to provide you with the court decision. You can also request a new document from the court that determined the child maintenance.
How much am I entitled to?
The amount of monthly maintenance is determined by a court ruling. Maintenance amounts increase each year on the grounds of article 402-a Book I of the Dutch Civil Code. The Minister of Justice determines the indexation percentage each year. You can calculate the indexation for maintenance payments on the left-hand side of this page.
What do our services cost?
Activities carried out by the LBIO and foreign agencies within the scope of the Convention of New York and the Convention with the United States of America are free of charge. However, it is possible that costs will be charged that are related to legal proceedings or the recovery of maintenance, bailiff's costs for example. If costs are involved, you will of course be notified of these. If necessary, we can advance the costs and when we receive the maintenance payment, this amount will be deducted from it. We can only do this if the costs are not too high. What happens if the maintenance cannot be recovered? Then we will pay the costs.
What is the procedure if you use our services?
Step 1: We process your application and request you to sign a power of attorney
The power of attorney authorises the foreign agency to act on your behalf. We will contact you if we require additional documents.
Step 2: We translate all documents and information and send these together with your application to the foreign agency
We then request the agency to contact the liable ex-partner in order to set up a payment arrangement. What happens if this doesn't work? Then legal proceedings can be started in the country concerned.
Step 3: We receive your maintenance allowance from abroad and transfer the amount to your bank account
Were legal proceedings necessary and did we advance the costs? Or were there other costs paid on your behalf? These costs will be deducted from your maintenance allowance.
What international agreements exist?
The collection of maintenance payments is more difficult if the liable party, your ex-partner, is living abroad. A ruling from a Dutch court is not always enforceable in other countries. If necessary, legal proceedings will have to be started first. Only then will it be possible to take measures to enforce payment. International agreements have been made to deal with the problems of collecting maintenance payments abroad.
The Convention of New York
International agreements concerning the collection of child maintenance and partner maintenance have been laid down in conventions including the Convention of New York in 1956. In countries affiliated with the Convention of New York, one or more agencies have been charged with implementing the agreements in the Convention. In the Netherlands, this agency is the LBIO.
Who can claim under the Convention of New York?
Any person living in the Netherlands who is experiencing problems recovering maintenance abroad can claim under the terms of the Convention. This is on the condition that the liable party lives in a country affiliated with the Convention of New York. The Convention covers both child maintenance and partner maintenance.
The Convention with the United States of America
On 1 May 2002 an Agreement came into force between the Netherlands and the United States of America with regard to the enforcement of the obligation to provide support and maintenance (Bulletin of Treaties 2001, 117 and 134). This applies to the Netherlands, but not to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. It also applies to the fifty states in America, American Samoa, the District Columbia, Guam, Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Convention primarily concerns child maintenance. Policy with regard to the recovery of partner maintenance, whether in combination with child maintenance or not, can vary per state. The LBIO can investigate how the particular state involved can help you.
Which countries are affiliated?
In alphabetical order:
Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, The Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland Taiwan-China, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vatican City