Going through a divorce is never easy, but international couples often face additional concerns and difficulties when going through the process of ending their marriage. In this article, we provide a short overview of starting the process of divorce for international couples and answer some of the questions you may have. If you need advice concerning international divorce contact our team today on 0330 107 0107.
Does it matter which country I get divorced in?
In short, yes. There are many reasons why the country you choose to get divorced in matters – it can have a huge impact on the outcome of the divorce.
Firstly, you will only have certain jurisdictions available to you, you cannot simply get divorced anywhere. An international divorce solicitor will be able to advise you of your options.
Different jurisdictions have differing attitudes towards what the outcome of a divorce should be, and towards matters including:
Financial provision and support
Child residence and custody
Division of assets
Societal attitudes towards divorce, and even gender politics issues
Can I start divorce proceedings in England and Wales if we were married abroad?
In most cases, yes. Where you have a valid marriage certificate, you should be able to start divorce proceedings in England and Wales. You must meet the following conditions:
If your marriage certificate is not in English, you must have a certified translation and this must be sent with the divorce petition when sent to the court.
Your marriage must have been lawful in the country where you were married. For example, you must have complied with any requirements and customs. If the marriage is not lawful, then you cannot divorce. Common issues we see are where partners did not have the requisite number of witnesses, or failed to have a civil ceremony as well as a religious ceremony.
My spouse has moved abroad, can I start divorce proceedings in England and Wales?
In most circumstances, yes – so long as you are still living in England or Wales. The court has authority to deal with your divorce where one of the following applies:
You and your spouse are habitually resident in England and Wales, or were last habitually resident and one of you still lives here.
You have resided in England and Wales for a year and are habitually resident here.
You have resided in England and Wales for six months, you are habitually resident and you are also domiciled in England and Wales.
Where both you and your spouse are domiciled in England and Wales.
This can be a complicated area of the law, but an experienced international divorce solicitor can advise you fully on your position.
Where should I get divorced if I got married abroad, but we live in England?
Where you should get divorced will depend on your specific circumstances. Factors which will play an important part in choosing where you may wish to get divorced include:
How straightforward the process is and how easy it is to get divorced in each of the jurisdictions available to you.
How the court in each jurisdiction approaches financial settlement and whether this will be beneficial to you
Whether you have entered into a prenuptial agreement and whether this will be recognised by the courts in your chosen jurisdiction
How the court in each jurisdiction approaches child matters and whether this will be beneficial to you
Is it better to get divorced in England and Wales?
In the media, the UK is often painted as ‘the divorce capital of the world’. There have been many high-profile settlements in favour of spouses who have chosen to divorce here, and the process is relatively straightforward compared to many other countries.
Depending on which jurisdictions are available to you, it may be your best option from a financial perspective. The courts in England and Wales base their settlement decisions on equality and fairness. When you speak to an international divorce lawyer, they will be able to provide you with an indication as to how your assets may be divided.
Expert International Divorce Law Solicitors in the UK
Our specialist Family Law team conducts cases that have international elements and particularly cross-border divorce matters involving divorce proceedings in the UK where one party may have an international connection. Perhaps you are a French or German national living in England and you are considering a divorce in the UK or have received court papers from the UK, you should take advice at the earliest opportunity and speak to our top-rated Family Law team today by calling 0330 107 0107 or request a callback.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
F v F - Acted for a German husband in a complex financial remedy matter. He decided to instruct IMD Solicitors after he had lost trust in his previously instructed solicitors and feared that he would not achieve a favourable outcome from the proceedings. The relevant assets were spread across the globe with some located in the UK (including a multi-million pound business), Gibraltar, Spain, Dubai, and Poland. The overall value of assets exceeded £24 million. The husband had been cut off from the matrimonial assets and excluded from control of the business that had been established by his family. The case involved the instruction of numerous experts, for business valuations, Capital Gains Tax reports, and opinions on the enforcement of orders in foreign jurisdictions, and dealing with several applications, including applications for orders to freeze assets, prevent the disposition of assets, for the joinder of parties, and to litigate conduct issues. The final result exceeded the client’s expectations.
L v L - We were instructed by a mother in a complex international children matter. She was required by orders of the UK courts to return the child to the UK from Poland. She had travelled with the child to Poland but, following unsuccessful application to extend her stay there in August 2017, she decided not to return to the UK because the child disclosed sexual abuse by a member of the paternal family and the father. In September 2018, the Polish court dismissed the father’s Hague Convention application for the child's return on the basis of Article 13(b), a decision which the father appealed. In March 2019, the father applied to the UK High Court for an order for the child’s return pursuant to the procedure set out in Article 11(6) – (8) of the Brussels IIA Regulation. Despite the father's unsuccessful Hague Convention application in Poland, the UK court ordered the return of the child. Article 11 does not allow the court of the returning country much discretion. After all of this, the mother instructed IMD Solicitors to apply to discharge the orders of the UK Court for the return of the child. Even in the face of the fact that most applications to discharge such return orders fail, we succeeded. We are currently awaiting a decision in the UK courts on a further application for the transfer of jurisdiction to the Polish courts where the mother resides with the child.
G v P - We represent a Spanish mother in respect of an urgent application for a Child Arrangements Order and Specific Issue Order in the UK seeking the relocation of the child to Spain. This was after the return of the child to the UK under Hague Convection proceedings which this mother lost in Spain.
She was asking for an order for the relocation of the child back to Spain and an urgent interim Child Arrangements Order to allow her to see the child pending the final outcome of the UK proceedings. IMD successfully argued that, regardless of the return of the child to the UK under the Hague Convention, the mother should be allowed unsupervised overnight contact with the child. We were delighted to be able to secure her contact with the child for Christmas and she said that it was the best Christmas gift she could have wished for. The outcome of the application for the relocation is pending.
S v V - We currently represent the father in Child Arrangements Order proceedings issued by the mother in relation to variation of a UK order made in the face of numerous other international proceedings. He is an Italian National who has been living in France for the last 20 years and the mother is a Lithuanian national. The child is now 11 years old and proceedings concerning the child have been ongoing in various jurisdictions for the majority of the child`s life. Contested divorce proceedings including child arrangements took place in Monaco. The French Court and authorities were also involved, and various proceedings had been ongoing between parties since 2013 in France and Monaco.
The parties’ divorce was pronounced in Monaco. Thereafter, in December 2020, the mother submitted an application to relocate to England with the child, and the relocation took place in June 2021. Upon relocation, the she lodged a child arrangement order application, seeking to register a judgment made in Monaco and to vary the same in respect of the contact arrangements between the father and the child. The father seeks for the child’s return to Monaco.
Due to the parties’ mutual allegations and the associated international elements, various authorities and courts that have been involved in the case, the local authority has become involved with the family and a guardian has been instructed to represent the child in the UK proceedings. At present, these proceedings in England are ongoing and the outcome of the professional reports regarding the family are awaited.
P v P - We have acted for the Respondent Husband in relation to the financial remedy proceedings in the UK. The parties had various assets in the UK and Romania consisting mainly of the portfolio of properties but conduct issues were raised by the Wife due to a business of the Husband over which she had lost control and her allegations of dissipation of assets. The value of assets excluding the business were in a region of £3 million.
K v K - We act in financial remedy proceedings for a wife who is a Polish national. The matter's complexity mainly comes from a dispute between the parties around land in Poland. Its value was initially in dispute but was then assessed by a joint expert to be in the region of half a million pounds. The total assets in this case are estimated to be worth over £1 million. The land in Poland is a subject to contract with a third party and is being leased as a photovoltaic (solar) farm. The division of the land to achieve an equal share of the assets is complicated due to the contract in place and plans for the future use of the land. Currently the parties are awaiting a final hearing but efforts are being made to reach a settlement with the aid of alternative dispute resolution and in order to save the parties money and avoid further delays.
R v O - We acted pro bono and worked together with a law firm in Poland to ensure that the Costa Rican Mother regains access to her child. The Mother's only child was abducted from the UK in 2014. The Mother was successful with the abduction case and the UK family courts ordered the return of the child. The orders were recognised in Poland but unfortunately due to various issues with the Mother's immigration status and court's delays in Poland, the orders were never enforced. The Mother was facing removal from the UK and prospects of never seeing her child again. We have corresponded with various courts in Poland dealing with international abduction matters and we decided that an application for contact should be issued rather than any proceedings for further enforcement of the orders, as the Mother had not seen the child for around 7 years. At the same we secured the Mother's stay in the UK making successful outside of immigration rules application to extend her stay. We now receive regular photos from the Mother with her daughter, as face to face contact is taking place. We helped to secure an order of the Polish courts for the Mother to see the child regularly in person, whilst when she instructed us she was facing a prospect of never seeing her child again and being deported to Costa Rica.
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