Hi all,

hope someone can help - the mother of my husband's daughter requested a raise in child support and the department in charge (MEP) had his passport red flagged until the matter is solved in court - does anyone know what exactly that means, as his lawyer can't or does not want to explain that to us?

can he travel? and, most important, as his passport will expire in October along with his B permit and he needs a VALID passport to get a new permit, can he obtain a new passport if the old one is red flagged?
If not we might be facing quite a lot of trouble, no valid passport, no B permit, and I guess this would mean he'd have to leave me and the kids and go back to Canada..

we're hoping it won't take that long to have this flag removed but I don't trust the court system at all and would like to know our options..

I don't really want to approach the embassy with that issue as they might not know about that red flag and don't want to give them a hint...

I'm not sure how we can help:

I just did a search. They seem to be as "difficult" as the CSA.

The ex-wife's next step would probably be to apply to the Canadian Court for an increase in support and an Order to be enforced here. The Swiss Social department will then order a seizure of his salary: and then his employer will also believe he owes heavily.

All the time the legal fees will be increasing. It is no wonder your lawyer will not tell you, he wants to gain from your misery.

You may love him, but his daughter probably needs the money too. As the Alberta Court has decided, he should pay some money into the Alberta Court straight away to cover any anticipated increases.

Obviously he won't be going anywhere next October until he has paid, so take out a loan if necessary, pay up and relax. The bank interest and the exchange rate might never be better!

I'm sorry, you'd be unwise to rely on the EF for legal advice. ... except it's obvious you need to sack the lawyer .

oh yes thanks for your absolutely UNHELPFUL comment - we are facing a family being torn apart and I DON'T NEED THAT!
Unfortunately my husband does not have the money for a different lawyer, they are not for free.

And asking for opinions does not equal relying on EF.

But thanks for nothing.

she's not an ex-wife, just an "acquaintance" that unfortunately got pregnant.

I am sorry, but why is everybody automatically assuming the guy is the badass??
The Alberta Court has NOT decided a RAISE in salary but a DECREASE as he cannot pay that much with the money he's making here - his daugther gets all the money he can afford and is requested to pay but the mother seems to believe that he makes a fortune just because he lives in Switzerland.

So you are telling me I have to take up a loan for support HE DOES NOT OWE (it's just that she wants more, not that he owes more!!!) and ruin our lives?! We have kids, too, and they don't need to suffer from a woman who just wants to take revenge on a man who never made any false promises and whose only fault it was to trust her when she said she's on birth control!

We cannot take up a loan, that would simply ruin us!

But yeah, must be nice to give useless advise when you're safe and sound in your little house with your little family and no problems at all!!

Sorry that you're involved in such a messy situation. I really hope it gets better for you, I can only imagine how difficult this is for you. But I will say that if you want the help or support of the EF community, to the extent that people here can help, then firing off all your frustrations at us with both barrels won't work. It's probably best not to make assumptions about the status of other people's lives and relationships, too, when you've never met them.

It looks to me, too, like your lawyer isn't helping much and you'd be better off with a new one. Sometimes you have to spend a little more to achieve much better results.

Really, I hope this works out well for you. Good luck, and don't worry, your husband will be back soon.

Woah woah woah. None of us are the MEP, or the daughters mother, or at fault here. You asked for advice and opinion, not all of that is going to fall under the heading of "what you want to hear".

I can appreciate you must be at your wits end, but no need to go throwing your toys out of the pram on the thread, it won't help anyone, least of all you.

It seems that post #2 and #3 have a lot of decent info about

1. Who the MEP are
2. Who is able to remove the "red flag" from hubby's passport
3. What the daughters' mother's likely next steps are
4. What hubby's suggested next steps might be

I don't think that foot stamping and complaining are going to cut any ice here, and implying that we should be "happy" with your last line is frankly not grasping reality.

Posts like the one above are likely to guarantee that anyone who does have any info that could help, will think twice about offering it.

__________________
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www.snopes.com - an essential resource for the everday gullible internet reader.

calm down dear

Oh, excellent approach - ask for help, and then yell at the people that give it... Nobody here caused the issue you're facing.
Like has been suggested, get a new lawyer and call the consulat. I know they don't have half a clue most of the time, but if he's flagged, I hate to break it to you but they'll already know that.

You can not avoid calling the consulate. You have to call them.

Your other option could be to try to get his B permit renewed early.