Short answer
Yes, in the Hanafi school. It is best given to the poor where you live, but sending it to needy relatives or to poorer people abroad is allowed. Pay the amount set where you live, and make sure it reaches the poor before the Eid prayer. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools want it given where you are on the night of Eid.
Sadaqat al-fitr may be sent to another land. Moving it is mildly disliked (makruh tanzihi) without a reason, and not disliked at all when it goes to poor relatives or to people in greater need. The place of the person paying is what counts, in the more correct view.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- It is given to the poor of the place where you are at sunset on the last day of Ramadan, and moving it elsewhere is not allowed in the relied-upon view.
- Hanbali
- It is given where you are on the night of Eid, and should not be moved a long distance without need.
Explanation
Many Muslims in the US, UK and the Gulf want to send their fitrana (zakat al-fitr) home to family, or to a country facing famine or war. The Hanafi school allows this. Giving locally is the default, but sending it to poor relatives or to people in greater need is better than giving it to someone less needy nearby.
Which amount? Pay the amount set for the place where you live, which your local scholars or mosque announce each year, not the lower amount of the country you send it to. In the Hanafi school your own place is what counts, since your young children's fitrana follows yours. You can work it out with the zakat al-fitr calculator.
Timing matters more than place. The sunnah is for it to reach the poor before the Eid prayer, so they can enjoy Eid too. If you send it through a charity abroad, pay early in Ramadan so they can distribute it in time. Remember that Eid may fall on a different day there. See when to pay zakat al-fitr.
The recipients are the same as for zakat: poor Muslims, not your parents, children or spouse, and not a Sayyid. See who can receive zakat al-fitr, and for your main zakat, sending zakat abroad.
The evidence
Quran, Surah At-Tawba 9:60
۞ إِنَّمَا ٱلصَّدَقَٰتُ لِلْفُقَرَآءِ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱلْعَٰمِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَٱلْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَٱلْغَٰرِمِينَ وَفِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۖ فَرِيضَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌۭ ﴿٦٠﴾
Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
Obligatory charity goes to the poor and needy, wherever they are.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1395
Sahih... صدقة في أموالهم تؤخذ من أغنيائهم وترد على فقرائهم ...
"A charity on their wealth, taken from their rich and given back to their poor."
The base rule is to give where you are; Hanafi scholars allow moving it for a good reason such as relatives or greater need.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1511
Sahih... وكانوا يعطون قبل الفطر بيوم أو يومين ...
"They used to give it a day or two before Eid al-Fitr."
The Companions made sure it reached the poor before Eid.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on the recipients, on moving zakat to another land. Moving it is disliked except to relatives or those in greater need.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Zakat, chapter on sadaqat al-fitr. The place of the payer is considered, in the more correct view.
- Minhaj al-Talibin, Kitab Qasm al-Sadaqat. The Shafi'i rule against moving zakat.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.