Ex Pat Divorce
The thought of going to see a local solicitor in a country which may have an unfamiliar culture and legal system can understandably cause panic, particularly if language is also an issue.
You may assume that because you're living abroad you cannot use the English Courts for a divorce, but this is not necessarily the case. If you are originally from England or Wales but are living elsewhere it may still be possible for you to use the English Court to obtain a divorce. This should not cause you inconvenience as in the majority of divorces there is no need to attend Court and so it is not matter that you are not in England.
In addition, if you are from a different country, but have settled in England or Wales then you may also use the English Courts to divorce. If you were married in Scotland and living abroad it is likely that you will need to discuss your case with an expert in Scottish law.
You will need to advise your solicitor fully of the details of your circumstances, as the rules regarding whether you will be eligible to divorce in England can be complicated. We do offer fixed fee divorces to English or Welsh expatriates to give you the security of knowing what the full cost will be in advance.
Eligibility
You can divorce in England and Wales if the Courts have jurisdiction to deal with your divorce, or in other words if the legal system of England and Wales is the correct one to be used to determine your case.
You can divorce in England and Wales if you have been habitually resident here for one year ending with the date that your proceedings started. Your solicitor will discuss with you whether this applies to you or whether there are any issues regarding this. You do not have to be British to be habitually resident in England.
Alternatively, you may be domiciled in England and Wales. Where you are domiciled determines which country’s courts can deal with your divorce. It is not possible to be domiciled in more than one country at the same time.
Domicile is a tricky legal concept and is quite different from the concepts of nationality or residence. Domicile is basically about your connection with a county. Your country of domicile is your permanent home, so even if you are living abroad and have been for many years you will still be domiciled in England if you intend to return there eventually. If you intend to live out your days abroad, then you will have relinquished England as your domicile and you will have adopted a new domicile. You can relinquish your domicile by either formally adopting citizenship or nationality of a different country or by simply cutting all your ties with England.
In most cases if you are British then it is usually quite straightforward to obtain a divorce in England even if you are currently living abroad, but your solicitor will discuss this with you fully and address any complications that there may be, for example the Judge could query whether you are indeed domiciled in England and may ask you to supply further evidence regarding this before the decree nisi is granted. In such cases you must supply an affidavit (sworn statement) which sets out your connection to England. This will state that you were born here, perhaps that you still own property here, that you have relatives in England and overall that you still regard England as your home.
There can be many advantages of obtaining a divorce in England. It may be quicker and cheaper than your local alternative, depending on where you are in the world. If there are no complications a divorce can take as little as 16 weeks from start to finish. Additionally you will have the familiarity and security of dealing with an English solicitor and the English Courts.
One disadvantage is that the English Courts unfortunately cannot make orders in respect of overseas assets, unless you and your spouse have come to an agreement regarding how these assets should be dealt with.
Don't forget that any financial matters will be dealt with separately to your divorce under ancillary relief proceedings and more details regarding this can be found here. If both you and your spouse are living abroad it is worth considering that if you cannot come to an agreement regarding your finances and proceedings have to be issued. This may result in you needing to attend court two or more time and proceedings can take up to a year or more in complicated cases. Although it may be impossible to reach an agreement, it is best to try to do so if at all possible because proceedings that are already expensive will be even more expensive as you will have to incur the cost of returning to the UK to attend Court.
