Am I divorced?
You would think the question ‘’am I divorced’’ would get a simple yes or no answer. However, when it comes to answering the question, top London divorce solicitors may need to investigate whether, if you were divorced outside of England, your divorce will be recognised in England.
It is vital that the question ‘’am I divorced’ ’is answered correctly as if you do not get the best London divorce solicitors advice on whether you are divorced then it may affect:
- Your marital status and your ability to remarry;
- Your immigration status;
- Your Will , and your tax and estate planning;
- Your entitlement to benefits;
- The legal status of your children.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors are specialist immigration and family law solicitors. Our clients come from across the world and need expert immigration advice and proactive family law advice on issues such as whether their foreign divorce will be recognised legally in the UK and the associated family law issues.
It is often not until you take family law legal advice that you realise that you may need help from a London divorce solicitor about your divorce and associated matters such as your children or financial claims. Call the family law team at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 to see how a member of the family law team can help you.
Is my divorce recognised in the UK?
The answer to the question ‘’is my divorce recognised in the UK’’ all depends on how and where the marriage was dissolved.
If the marriage was ended by a court order in the UK then the divorce will be recognised as a legal divorce in the UK. However if you entered a legally recognised marriage in the UK but the divorce took place through a Sharia Council or a Beth Din, the religious divorce will not be recognised by the UK court .
Is my EU divorce recognised in the UK?
Unlike the UK’s divorce from the European Union and Brexit challenges, if you divorce in a European country the process of recognition in the UK is straightforward.
If your divorce was granted by a country within the European Union, then provided the divorce was obtained in accordance with the laws of that EU country then it should be automatically recognised as a valid divorce in England. That means that if you obtained a religious divorce in an EU country that recognises religious divorce as an officially recognised divorce then the divorce should be valid in the UK. That is the case even though a religious divorce, such as a Taliq or Get, pronounced in the UK would not be recognised in the UK.
You will need a certificate of divorce to prove that you are divorced. In the UK this is called a decree absolute of divorce document. If your divorce took place in the EU then you will need the original divorce document as well as an officially translated and certified version of the divorce document for your divorce to be legally recognised in the UK.
Is my non-EU divorce recognised in the UK?
If the divorce took place in a non-EU country then it is harder to answer whether your divorce will be recognised in England or not. That is because the recognition of the divorce will depend on how the divorce was processed in the non -EU country.
Recognition of a non-EU divorce in the UK depends on whether the foreign divorce was obtained through:
- Proceedings; or
- Other than by proceedings.
The next question is what is meant by proceedings. In the UK, we normally think of proceedings as involving a court. However, the best London divorce solicitors will advise you that in this context ‘’proceedings ‘’ can include non-court proceedings provided they are state or officially recognised in the non- EU country.
Normally if you obtain a divorce in a non-EU country, it will be recognised in England if it was obtained by means of “proceedings” and the divorce meets these criteria:
- The divorce is valid in the non-EU country where it was granted; and
- At the time of the divorce proceedings either you or your spouse must have been resident in the non EU country or domiciled in the non-EU country or a national of the non EU country where the divorce proceedings took place; and
- Both of you must have known about the divorce proceedings and, in other words, must have had notice of the proceedings.
Non-EU divorces by other means of proceedings
The question of whether a divorce pronounced by other means of proceedings will be recognised in English divorce courts and official institutions is far trickier for top London divorce solicitors to answer.
If the divorce was obtained in a non-EU country other than by means of proceedings then the divorce may be recognised in England if :
- You and your spouse were not habitually resident in the UK for 12 months before the divorce took place in the non EU country; and
- You and your spouse were domiciled in the non–EU country where the divorce took place or you were domiciled in a country where that form of divorce that is carried out. For example, your divorce may be recognised in England if it was an Islamic religious divorce that is legally recognised by the non-EU country in which you and your spouse were domiciled at the time of the divorce.
Multi country divorce
In an age of international families and travel, the top London divorce solicitors sometimes find that a spouse has tried to start the divorce in London , for example with a Jewish Get or Islamic Taliq, and has then sent it to another country where the spouse is residing.
The English divorce courts will not recognise a divorce that took place abroad if any part of the divorce took place in England.
The best London divorce solicitors recommend that legal advice is taken about the status of your divorce, particularly if the divorce was granted in a non- EU country by means other than by proceedings. This is because if you incorrectly assume that you have a valid divorce that is recognised by the British courts and government bodies but your divorce is not recognised then this can lead to a whole range of legal difficulties and complexities, such as with your immigration status in the UK.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors are specialist immigration and family law solicitors. Our international clients often require expert immigration advice as well as family law advice on issues such as whether their foreign divorce is recognised in the UK and the associated family law issues if the English court and government bodies, such as the Home Office, do or do not recognise the divorce.