Child support across borders: enforcing in Taiwan and bringing in foreign orders

In Taiwan, a court mediation, a court settlement or a court decision on the merits in a family case is itself an enforcement title (Family Act Article 186). A parent holding a child support order of that kind can apply straight to the enforcement division of a district court. Unless another law provides otherwise, the Compulsory Enforcement Act applies mutatis mutandis, but the Family Act changes several of its rules for maintenance claims.

What the Family Act changes for support claims

The creditor does not have to pay enforcement fees up front. The fees are deferred and later deducted from whatever enforcement recovers (Family Act Article 189).

Support is usually payable monthly or in instalments. If one instalment goes unpaid in full, the creditor may apply to enforce the instalments not yet due as well. For those future instalments, the court may only attach salary or other continuing payment claims that fall due after each instalment's due date (Family Act Article 190).

On the creditor's application, the court may also order the debtor to pay on time and set a compliance penalty for each missed instalment. This is not available if the court that decided the case already set an additional amount under Family Act Article 100(4). The penalty cannot exceed half of the instalment being enforced. In setting it, the court looks at the creditor's loss, the debtor's finances and how the debtor has paid so far. If the debtor proves inability to pay, or that paying would leave the debtor in serious hardship, the court must revoke the order (Family Act Article 191).

Compulsory Enforcement Act Article 122 normally shields claims the debtor needs to live on from attachment. That shield does not apply to support owed to a minor child. The court must still leave what the debtor and the debtor's other minor children need to live on (Family Act Article 193). The rule is limited to minors; support for an adult child or a spouse is enforced under the ordinary exemptions.

A foreign judgment needs Taiwan court permission

A support judgment from another country cannot be enforced in Taiwan as it stands. Under Compulsory Enforcement Act Article 4-1, a foreign final judgment may be enforced only if none of the grounds in Code of Civil Procedure Article 402 applies and a Taiwan court has declared, by judgment, that enforcement is permitted. The action for permission is filed at the court where the debtor is domiciled in Taiwan, or, if the debtor has no domicile in Taiwan, where the property to be enforced is located or the enforcement act is to be carried out.

Code of Civil Procedure Article 402(1) lists four grounds for refusing recognition:

• the foreign court had no jurisdiction under Taiwan law;
• the losing defendant did not appear, and the notice or order commencing the action was neither lawfully served in that country within a reasonable time nor served through judicial assistance under Taiwan law;
• the content of the judgment or the proceedings is contrary to Taiwan's public order or good morals;
• there is no mutual recognition between the two jurisdictions.

A child support claim gets no exemption from this review. The general procedure, including the evidence to prepare, is covered in Enforcing a foreign judgment in Taiwan.

A foreign child support order is often a ruling or a non-contentious decision rather than a judgment. Article 402(2) applies the same four grounds to a foreign court's final ruling. Separately, Family Act Article 97 applies the Non-Contentious Matters Act to family non-contentious matters, and Non-Contentious Matters Act Article 49 has its own grounds for refusing a foreign final non-contentious ruling: no jurisdiction under Taiwan law; an interested party who is a Taiwan national claims the document or notice starting the proceedings was not served in time, so the party could not exercise their rights; conflict with public order or good morals; and no mutual recognition, unless the ruling is not unfavourable to Taiwan nationals. Which test a Taiwan court applies can depend on the form of the foreign order and the nature of the case, so it is worth assessing with the full order and proof of finality in hand.

Collecting a Taiwan order from a parent abroad

A Taiwan enforcement title reaches only property in Taiwan. If the paying parent has deposits, real estate or salary in Taiwan, you can apply to a Taiwan district court directly, without any foreign recognition step. Bank accounts or wages abroad require recognition and enforcement under that country's law, or a new claim there.

Keep the official service records from the Taiwan case. The foreign court may examine how the defendant was served, and marriage, divorce and custody documents may be needed again at that stage.

Instructing a Taiwan lawyer while living overseas is covered in Hiring a Taiwan lawyer from abroad. To have a case reviewed, send the judgment or mediation record, proof that it is final, any leads on the other parent's assets, and the service records. Contact Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴), Hovering International Law Firm: wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. Address: 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan (103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2).

Official sources

• Family Act Art. 97.
• Family Act Art. 100.
• Family Act Art. 186.
• Family Act Art. 189.
• Family Act Art. 190.
• Family Act Art. 191.
• Family Act Art. 193.
• Compulsory Enforcement Act Art. 4-1.
• Compulsory Enforcement Act Art. 122.
• Code of Civil Procedure Art. 402.
• Non-Contentious Matters Act Art. 49.

Verified: 2 October 2026