- Divorce of citizens living abroad and international divorce
- Divorce of Ukrainian citizens living abroad. Double citizenship.
- When registration through the registry office is allowed, where to submit documents
- Features of divorces from foreigners
- Choosing the best course of action
- Preparing for divorce in Ukrainian court
Divorce of citizens living abroad and international divorce
Every year, thousands of citizens travel outside of Ukraine – for temporary residence and for permanent residence. Some intend to leave Ukraine, others are only thinking about it. Legal realities in this case develop in the most bizarre way; sometimes you have to live only according to local laws, and often according to the laws of two or more states at once. The differences between legal systems are usually very significant. But if we are talking about family law laws, then they have their own very important features. And they boil down to the fact that as long as there is Ukrainian citizenship, marriage and divorce, alimony, property relations between spouses, these issues can be resolved on the basis of either Ukrainian or local law. That is, how convenient it is for the spouses themselves or one of them, with minor exceptions, which we will discuss below.
Divorce of Ukrainian citizens living abroad. Double citizenship.
Even if both spouses permanently reside abroad (emigrated), have dual citizenship, and even if they got married abroad, they are subject to Ukrainian family law, and a divorce can be filed on the basis of its rules and regulations.
This means that divorce can be formalized either administratively or through the court. Divorce, if there are minor children, always occurs in court. Even when both agree, because in the process the judge finds out whether the interests of the child are violated.
When registration through the registry office is allowed, where to submit documents
It should be borne in mind that the functions of civil registry offices abroad are performed by diplomatic and consular institutions, that is, you can get a divorce without leaving for Ukraine. But a judicial divorce can only be carried out within Ukraine.
Divorce proceedings with an international element are usually complicated by issues of jurisdiction and service of summons on the spouses and usually take longer than ordinary cases.
If your case allows for an international divorce in an administrative manner – through the registry office, both within Ukraine and at a consulate abroad, and both spouses agree to submit an application, the following rule applies: one of the spouses must come to submit the application. A notarized application may be submitted on behalf of the other person.
Features of divorces from foreigners
If one man is Ukrainian (Ukrainka), and the other is a citizen of another state, then this causes difficulties. Where to get a divorce, here or abroad? Both Ukrainians and foreigners have the right to choose: they can get a divorce either in Ukrainian government agencies or in foreign ones, the effect will be the same.
Who may be the initiator is not important. A foreign citizen can be an applicant, plaintiff, or defendant in court. He may or may not be a resident of Ukraine. For Ukrainians, it is imperative to take into account such provisions of the law.
In court, divorce is easier if a citizen has been subjected to another state before or is currently living in Ukraine, and also if he owns real estate in Ukraine.
Choosing the best course of action
In all of these cases, our family lawyers are ready to help you and conduct the case without your presence and unnecessary travel expenses – the lawyers will take over the divorce case. You only need to provide the required package of documents, which is very easy to send to us by mail. We professionally engage in judicial resolution of family disputes involving foreigners/nonresident citizens. Our own practice allows us to bypass issues that are inconvenient for the courts and obtain the required result in a short time and with minimal effort for our clients.
The choice of method of action is usually purely pragmatic and depends on specific events – deadlines, the size of the state fee, the complexity of the process in a particular state.
In Ukraine, a divorce, if there are no complications in the form of opposition from one of the spouses, a dispute over a child or property, on average takes from one to three months. And, for example, the legislation of some US states establishes the terms of the divorce process, calculated in years.
In some states, the judge, if he deems it necessary, may require the man and woman to undergo mandatory psychological rehabilitation courses in order to restore their mutual commitment.
A German judge can refuse a divorce if he deems it necessary. On the contrary, in Ukraine, the maximum that a judge can do is set a period for reconciliation, after which he is obliged to divorce the parties.
In Western Europe, the cost of energy, fees and attorney fees is such a significant amount that sometimes Ukrainian citizens simply cannot afford to get a divorce. In Ukraine, legal costs are much lower.
But in some cases, a Ukrainian divorce may not be recognized by local government agencies, which may lead to the abandonment of this option. It is possible that two separate divorce decisions are made.
It is usually possible to combine different forms of different legal actions. For example, for our client, we organized a judicial divorce and registration of the division of property in Ukraine according to Ukrainian laws, and the conclusion of an agreement on the procedure for raising children and paying money for their maintenance according to Belgian law.
Judicial divorce occurs in Ukraine according to the same rules as any other judicial process. That is, one of the parties will be the plaintiff, the other will be the defendant, a claim is made, the claim can be supported, accepted or, on the contrary, abandoned, and the initiator of the case can be either the wife or the husband. It doesn’t matter which of them is a citizen.
Court decisions and divorce certificates, after their apostille, are accepted by the authorities of foreign states precisely as documents on acts of civil status. That is, a divorce from a foreign citizen will be recognized by the state of the foreign citizen and by another state. This rule is almost universal.
Preparing for divorce in Ukrainian court
It is not necessary to come to Ukraine either to file a claim, or to appear in court, or to sign a property agreement. These cases can be conducted on your behalf by your lawyer on the basis of a power of attorney, again certified abroad. The legislation of Ukraine allows a party to the case to completely exclude his presence during the hearing.
To successfully advance the case, the following documents are required:
- power of attorney from the spouses (in some cases it is enough from one of them), certified by a notary;
- marriage certificate (if the original is missing or is kept by one of the spouses, then we can issue a duplicate certificate on your behalf);
- a copy of the child’s birth certificate, if the spouses have a common minor child, certified by a notary;
- consent of the other party to the divorce and consideration of the case in his absence (optional);
- copies of passports and TIN of the parties.
If the documents were drawn up abroad, then they must be apostilled by the appropriate government agency. Together with the divorce, we can help you divide the property of the spouses, resolve issues regarding the child and alimony.
