If you have been divorced abroad and you are not sure of its legal status, Nelsons can help you. The article below goes into a little detail of whether a foreign divorce will be recognised in England but for more information, please contact 0800 024 1976 or email us directly.
Will my foreign divorce be recognised in England?
Recognising if your divorce is valid
Recognition of a foreign divorce is important as it can affect your ability to remarry, and cause issues in relation to Wills and inheritance, welfare benefits, marital status, and the financial remedies available to the parties involved.
A divorce obtained by any other civil court within the United Kingdom will be recognised in England. Any other form of divorce, such as a religious divorce through a Sharia Council or a Beth Din, will not be recognised.
A divorce granted within the EU in accordance with the laws of another member state of the EU, will almost always be automatically recognised in England. A certificate of divorce, properly translated and certified, is valid across the whole of the EU.
If you have an international divorce (outside of the EU), the question of whether it will be recognised in England is more complicated. Recognition will depend on whether the divorce was obtained by way of “proceedings” or “other than by means of proceedings”.
As well as including divorces obtained through the courts, “proceedings” also includes non-Court proceedings but this requires a degree of state or other official involvement. Some religious divorces abroad are considered to fall within this category.
Foreign divorce criteria
Provided a foreign divorce obtained by means of “proceedings” satisfies the following criteria, it will almost always be recognised in England:
- The divorce must be valid in the country in which it was obtained
- At the time the divorce was obtained either spouse must have been resident or domiciled or a national of the country where it was obtained (see below)
- Both spouses must have had notice of the proceedings
In order for the divorce to be recognised neither spouse can be habitually resident in the United Kingdom for a year before the divorce and each party must be domiciled in the country where the divorce occurred, or in a country which recognises the form of divorce. This category includes religious divorces, such as Islamic Talaqs and Jewish Gets.
What is fundamental in terms of recognition is that the divorce starts and concludes in the same country. England will not recognise a foreign divorce in which any part of the divorce took place in England. For example, a Jewish Get that is written in London and sent to Jerusalem, or a Talaq pronounced in England and sent to a wife in Pakistan.
How Nelsons Can Help
If you need advice on any foreign divorce-related matter or have any other family law-related queries, please contact a member of our team on0800 024 1976 or contact us via the online form. A member of the team will be happy to discuss your circumstances in more detail and give you more information about the services that Nelsons’ family law solicitors can provide along with details of our hourly rates and fixed fee services.