FamLaw: Divorce and Marriage Overseas

Written by James Frank | 10/06/16 1:11 AM

If you have been married overseas, you can still apply for a divorce in Australia. However, there are a few other extra hurdles which you need to overcome to achieve this.

Extra requirements for divorce if you have been married overseas…

Firstly, you and/or your partner need to:

regard Australia as your home and intend to live here indefinitely, or;
be an Australian citizen, or;
usually live in Australia and have done so for 12 months before filing for divorce.

You must also supply the Court with a copy of your marriage certificate. If your marriage certificate is not in English there must be an English translation of it and an attached affidavit from the translator certifying that it is a true translation.

Potential hiccups….

The requirements to seek a divorce if you have been married overseas are relatively easy to overcome, although translating your marriage certificate may cost a little bit more money. However, there are a couple of hiccups which may arise depending on your circumstances.

If your partner is still overseas, it is possible to apply for divorce in Australia. However, you must serve divorce documents on your partner regardless of the geographical distance. This means that your partner must receive the documents and confirm that they have been received. This may be a problem in a situation where you do not know your partner’s address or where the laws in their country of residence make it difficult to serve documents. In such situations, a service provider (a person who professionally serves documents) may be useful. You can also apply to the court for substituted service or dispensation of service, which will allow you to serve documents through an alternative means (eg. Online) or dispense of the requirement of service altogether.

Generally applying for divorce is straightforward and simple. However, divorce where one partner stills lives overseas or your marriage was conducted overseas may be a little more complex.

If you have a family law matter, concerns on your divorce or questions about family law and divorce in NSW and want to find out more please do not hesitate to contact us on 9688 6023 or email us at info@franklegal.com.au.

This article is provided to the reader for general information. It is not legal advice. It was written by Andrea Spencer & Emily Graham and edited by James Frank.