There are situations in life when it is necessary to file a divorce, i.e. divorce a foreign citizen. If a family union with a foreigner was concluded and registered on the territory of Russia or on the territory of another state, the divorce between a citizen of the Russian Federation and a foreign citizen will be carried out in accordance with the norms of the Family Code of the Russian Federation and on the territory of our country.
In this article we will tell you in detail how to do this , but in any case, we recommend contacting our strong team of family lawyers.
At the same time, it is important to know that in order to divorce a foreigner, it is not at all necessary to go abroad and formalize the divorce in various international authorities and departments.
To understand what the procedure for divorce from a foreigner is in Russia, it is necessary to clarify the following important nuances.
In accordance with the current legislation, there are two ways to divorce a foreigner: through the registry office and through the court .
Is it possible to divorce a foreign citizen without his presence?
Can. The procedure for ending a marriage becomes noticeably more complicated in the absence of a foreign citizen, since he is deprived of the opportunity to appear in person at the registry office. However, the law regulates the possibility of obtaining a divorce even in such a situation.
Divorce with a foreign citizen is possible in the following ways:
- with his presence - according to the general rules of domestic law;
- without his presence in the registry office;
- without his consent and participation in court proceedings.
The conditions for divorce without the participation of a foreign citizen will differ depending on various circumstances, including the peculiarities of international legal regulation of family relations with the country where the foreigner lives. In this case, it is better to first enlist the support of an experienced lawyer by consulting right now online with the experts of our portal.
Without his presence
The presence of a foreign spouse outside of Russia will not be an obstacle to filing an application with the court.
The general procedure for considering a case does not differ from the standard rules of legal proceedings in divorce proceedings.
However, the following features must be taken into account:
- Documents must be presented to the court at the last known place of residence of a foreign citizen in Russia, or use the right to file a claim at the place of residence of the spouse raising a minor child who lives with him.
- To carry out the process, it is necessary to serve the defendant with a copy of the claim and notice of the court hearing, otherwise the time frame for consideration of the case may drag on for a long time.
If the foreign spouse turns out to be a conscientious person, he will easily confirm receipt of the documents and send a petition to the court for the opportunity to resolve the case in his absence.
In the remaining part, the general rules of judicial divorce apply to the procedure for dissolving a marriage with a foreigner through the court.
Without his presence
The presence of a foreign spouse outside the country significantly limits the rights to submit documents to the registry office. However, even without the participation of the second party, such a procedure can take place.
In Art. 19 of the RF IC regulates three ways to terminate a marriage through the registry office without the need to submit an application from the second spouse:
- establishing the fact of incapacity;
- establishing the fact of unknown absence;
- imprisonment of the second spouse for a term of more than three years.
In the listed situations, divorce is allowed only by unilateral application without taking into account the position of the second spouse and in his absence.
However, for marriages with foreign citizens, there are two more options for terminating the marriage relationship in his absence:
- notarization of the application and signature of the applicant with its subsequent submission to the registry office;
- certification of the specified document through the diplomatic services of the Russian Federation abroad.
In this case, the application of the absent spouse will be equated to his personal application and will become the basis for divorce in the registry office in the absence of the foreign spouse.
Division of real estate abroad: how to divide real estate purchased abroad?
Often the divorce process is complicated by such issues as the division of real estate abroad. Today we will talk about how the division of property purchased abroad differs from the usual one, and which articles of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation should be used.
Features of owning real estate abroad?
The rights of spouses to own real estate purchased abroad are the same and almost completely identical to the rights to housing purchased in Russia.
Main difference:
The division of real estate abroad must be made in the country where it was acquired.
In other words, according to the provisions of Article 30 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, a claim for the division of rights to real estate must be filed in the country where it was acquired.
For example, after the divorce, the Ivanov couple decided to divide their property. In addition to real estate in Russia, they were the owners of a small house in Spain. According to the law, they can only divide ownership of this housing in Spain.
Second feature:
If housing was given to one of the spouses under a gift agreement (“deed of gift”), then it is not subject to division.
The main problem of the division of property is reflected in the first feature. Is it possible to divide foreign real estate while in Russia? Unfortunately, there are no such cases in judicial practice. And the division of real estate abroad requires an appeal to a foreign court.
Division of real estate abroad in the Russian court
Despite the categorical rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, it is possible to divide property located outside of Russia in our country.
A similar right arises in cases where former spouses divide all jointly acquired property located on the territory of the Russian Federation. In this case, the claim can also include housing or a plot of land jointly owned by the spouses abroad.
As a rule, such issues cannot be resolved without the support of a family lawyer.
Initial consultation with a lawyer on the division of property abroad can be obtained on our website.
According to whose legislation is the division of property carried out?
Depending on the country where the division of property will be carried out, two answer options can be distinguished:
The division of property will be carried out according to foreign legislation;
- Russian judicial authorities
The judge is obliged to focus primarily on international agreements and treaties on this issue with the state on whose territory the property is located. Secondly, the judge pays attention to Russian legislation.
A correctly and timely drafted marriage contract, which will detail the division of foreign real estate in the event of a divorce, will greatly facilitate the division of property.
Required documents
Regardless of which country’s court will conduct the division of property, the main list of documents will be approximately the same.
We will analyze the case when the division of real estate abroad takes place in Russia:
- Passport of each party (if necessary - a foreign passport or a passport of a second citizenship);
- Certificate of registration of ownership, incl. original document;
- Certificate of marriage/divorce;
- Agreement on the allocation of shares in the house, incl. for children;
- Contract of sale;
- Marriage contract of spouses;
- Receipt for payment of state duty;
- Other documents in accordance with the legislation of the country where the property is located.
All title documents must be submitted in triplicate: the original and a copy for each of the parties to the case.
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Remember that the package of documents may be different for each specific country. In addition, according to the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 64, 65), the judge has the right to request from the parties documents or other evidence from organizations of a foreign state that perform the function of registering and recording ownership rights to real estate.
We advise you to seek advice from a lawyer in international law. Initial support can be obtained free of charge on our website.
Frequently asked questions about real estate division
We often receive interesting questions about the division of property by email. Let's list the main ones.
- Is it possible to transfer real estate abroad to children as alimony?
Ownership can be transferred. However, it will be counted towards child support only if the agreed upon housing becomes the child’s only place of residence.
- How to divide property without going to court?
Family and Civil legislation allows the conclusion of a peaceful agreement on the division of property between spouses. In other cases, if the spouses do not mind parting with property, then they can:
- Sell your share of ownership to your second spouse;
- Sell the home to third parties and divide the funds received equally.
- Is it possible to divide housing located in different countries in Russia?
No. The division of foreign real estate can only be carried out in the country of its location and nationality.
- When will a court decision taken in a foreign country come into force in Russia?
Three years are allocated for the legalization of a court decision on the territory of Russia from the moment the document enters into legal force on the territory of a foreign state (clause 3, article 409 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).
How to divorce a foreigner through the registry office
Divorce with a foreigner through the registry office is carried out on the basis of a mutual application of the husband and wife.
In this situation, both spouses will be subject to the general rules of the domestic divorce process, regardless of their citizenship. To obtain a divorce through the registry office, it will be necessary to comply with the general conditions and procedure for filing an application, which are provided for in Art. 19 RF IC.
Conditions
To submit an application to the registry office to terminate a marriage with a citizen of another country, it is necessary to determine the conditions under which this procedure will be possible.
As for citizens of the Russian Federation, termination of family relations with the participation of a foreigner is possible in civil registry offices in the following cases:
- There are no common children under 18 years of age.
- The husband and wife not only reached a mutual agreement on divorce, but both also personally appeared at the registry office and completed all the necessary documents.
The presence of these conditions will be recorded by the husband and wife in an application submitted to the registry office. If at least one of these conditions is absent, divorce proceedings will occur.
The existence of conditions for divorce through the registry office is not associated with disputes regarding the order of distribution of family property assets. Even if a claim is filed for the division of joint property, the termination of family relations can be carried out through the registry office. More information about the mechanism of divorce through the registry office can be found in the publication “Procedure for divorce through the registry office,” the information contained in which, in most cases, is applicable to divorce from a foreigner.
Order
The procedure for registering a divorce from a citizen of another country through the registry office includes the following mandatory steps:
- The husband and wife make a decision about the impossibility of continuing the marital relationship, as well as determining the conditions that make it possible to do without a judicial procedure.
- Mutual submission of an application to a civil registry office employee, as well as the necessary documents (with the exception of the option of divorce without the participation of a foreigner).
- Waiting for the expiration of the 30-day period established by the RF IC for filing a divorce and giving the parties the right to withdraw the submitted application before the divorce is registered.
- Personal presence at the registration of the fact of termination of the marriage relationship of at least one of the spouses.
- Receiving documents with a divorce mark.
A mutual application of the husband and wife is submitted to the local registry office at the place of residence of one of the spouses or at the place of registration of the marriage. The procedure is carried out after the expiration of 30 days from the date of submission of the necessary documents in the presence of at least one of the spouses.
An entry about the termination of the marriage is made in the registration book, a divorce stamp is placed on the original marriage certificate, and the parties are issued a certificate of dissolution of the marriage relationship.
Documents for divorce through the registry office from a foreigner:
- application in the prescribed form;
- passports of spouses;
- Marriage certificate;
- receipt of payment of state duty.
Simultaneously with the application, you must submit the original receipt of payment of the state fee in the amount of 650 rubles for each of the spouses.
Legal regulation
Dissolution of family relations with a spouse who has foreign citizenship is regulated by international agreements and legal acts of the Russian Federation applied in the family sphere:
- the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- Minsk agreements;
- Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- IC of Russia;
- Federal Law-143 “On civil registration authorities”.
Considering that the divorce procedure can be carried out in consulates and diplomatic missions, the following may be used during the process:
- Legal precedents;
- Practice of state courts;
- Legislative norms defining the legal status of the structures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
How to divorce a foreigner without his presence or consent in court
The procedure for divorce through the court does not present any particular difficulties if the foreign spouse lives in Russia.
In this case, you must perform the following steps:
- File a claim with the court at the place of residence of the defendant or, if there are children living with the applicant spouse, at his place of residence.
- Ensure your presence at the court hearing or write a petition to consider the case in the absence of the plaintiff.
- Wait for the expiration of the period for reconciliation of the parties, if it is granted by the court.
- Obtain a court decision to terminate the marriage and present it to the registry office to issue a divorce certificate.
In such a situation, the trial will take place within the established time frame if the defendant has received a copy of the claim and is properly notified of the date of the hearing.
Failure to appear in court under such circumstances is not an obstacle to the trial of the case, even if the defendant has not stated his position - in such circumstances the court will simply make a decision in absentia.
Expert opinion
Stanislav Evseev
Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.
If the foreign spouse does not agree and avoids appearing in court in Russia, does not receive court documents and in every possible way avoids contact with the court, long delays in the consideration of the case are possible. The court will be forced to send a writ petition through the Ministry of Justice to the competent court of the country at the place of residence of the dishonest spouse, suspending the divorce proceedings. Such measures can delay the case indefinitely, from several months to a year. That is why it is important to try to reach an agreement on divorce before going to court.
International divorce law
Special rules on divorce contain legal assistance agreements that are concluded between Russia and the following countries:
- Hungary;
- Bulgaria;
- Vietnam;
- Czech Republic;
- Poland;
- Slovakia.
These agreements establish a number of general rules:
- divorce is carried out by the authorities of the country of which the spouses are citizens;
- if the couple lives in another country, then the claim can be filed in a local court;
- in case of divorce, the laws of those countries of which the spouses are citizens are applied;
- If the spouses do not have a common nationality, a claim for divorce can be filed in the court of any of the treaty countries, and its national law will apply.
In addition, many international treaties contain rules on the recognition of court decisions on divorce from a foreigner without his presence.
Completion of the divorce: from what moment will the marriage with a foreigner be dissolved?
Regardless of the conditions of the procedure for terminating family relations, its official moment is associated with the commission of certain legally significant actions.
Such moments will be:
- in the event of the termination of a marriage registered on the territory of Russia - making a record of the divorce by the civil registry office;
- for marriages concluded abroad but dissolved in Russia - from the moment the decision is recognized in the state that registered the family relationship.
Recognition of the fact of termination of marriage is carried out by the authorized bodies of a foreign state after the presentation of legalized documents translated into Russian.
