How to make a British-citizen father take responsibility for child in Africa

Question

I am 28 years old, and gave birth to a beautiful girl named Angel. The father is a British citizen. He has recently abandoned me and our little baby here in Cameroon. I wish to know what measures I can take to make him provide for his daughter.

Answer 1

In the absence of expanded details asked by @ouflak whether you were married to this individual and whether his name is on the child's birth certificate, you may have the option of requesting a child support order in Cameroon.

Understand that the UK courts may not be able to enforce such an order since Cameroon does not participate in what are known as Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO). Should you get a child maintenance order in Cameroon, your ex-partner could go through the UK courts to challenge the decision. However you decide to proceed, you may want guidance of a solicitor in the UK.

Answer 2

If you and the child's other parent cannot agree on maintenance, or if the other parent is recalcitrant, you can submit an application to the UK Child Maintenance Service. This is a publicly funded service available to UK residents. There is also the Child Support Agency which is available for especially difficult cases. They have a cadre of enforcers with foreign contacts who can be ruthless.

The 'best practices' advice is to examine the rules and see if you qualify to submit an application. The starting page for you is Use the Child Maintenance Service or Child Support Agency (CSA).

Take note that these agencies have been hit hard by budget cuts and most of their services will be ended in 2017, so you need to hurry. The answer provided by Dorothy (to whom a tip of the hat), explains that a solicitor can be helpful. This is great advice and should be heeded with alacrity.