When I start researching for this article about divorce for the case when one of the parents isn’t an EU citizen, I thought it will relatively easy to collect the info and prepare it.
The reason I get started on this subject is that in less than a week, two different people contact Foreigner.bg and ask for help in the matter.
As we all know getting divorce is something common these days, statistics show that between 40% to 50% of the marriages end in divorce, There are around 122 million marriages in the EU, of which around 16 million (13 %) are considered “international” (couples of different nationalities, couples living apart in different countries or living together in a country other than their home country). There were more than 1 million divorces in the 27 EU Member States in 2007, of which 140 000 (13 %) had an “international” element.
When I arrive in Bulgaria I thought that getting married was complicated, but seems like being much complicated to get a divorce and continue a normal life if you are from a non-EU country and get a divorce in Bulgaria.
In the last decades, we have seen an increase in the movement of people around countries, international travel and working have never been easier. And now, thanks to the internet, we’re all connected in new ways and with fewer barriers than ever before. These days, people meet and fall in love across international boundaries every day, and so it’s no surprise that marriages involving different citizenship are much more common than ever before.
I’m not a lawyer, that’s why I called my friend the lawyer Mitko Mitev, I trust him and I ask to explain to me how these divorces are solving, he explains that divorce is easy when there is no child (ren) involve, since you can divide properties or money but can’t divide a child.
Mitko Mitev said that is very important if you are considering to divorce being well-prepared, well-informed and well-advised about the divorce process is critical for any divorcing couple, but especially so for those with an international component to their marriage.
If you have children, you may need help with international custody issues that may arise. These issues are notoriously complicated, the laws are hard to enforce, and the stakes could not be higher.
A divorce between spouses with different nationalities shall be governed by the law of the State in which the said spouses have a common habitual residence at the time of submission of the application for divorce.
If at the time of submission of the application for divorce one of the spouses was a Bulgarian national or was habitually resident in Bulgaria, Bulgarian law shall apply. Matrimonial matters shall be cognizable in the Bulgarian courts if one of the spouses is a Bulgarian national or is habitually resident in Bulgaria.
Rules for divorce for international couples
When a married couple decides to separate permanently, one or both spouses will generally start divorce proceedings. In most countries, divorce is decided by a court, and that court’s judgment dissolves the marriage.
When the two spouses wishing to divorce have different nationalities, have lived in different EU countries during their marriage or no longer live in the same EU country, they need to know which court will hear their case and which country’s law applies to them.
EU law provides for common rules to work out with which court international spouses should file an application for divorce, and some Member States have adopted common rules to work out which law the court should apply, while others still use their national law to determine this.
EU regulation on international divorce
EU rules are in place to work out with which court spouses should file an application for divorce. Under the regulation concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, a divorce pronounced in one EU country is easily recognized in other EU countries.
Why does the EU need to act to help international couples?
To bring legal certainty to international couples wishing to divorce. Currently, the rules of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation apply in 16 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. The regulation will also apply in Estonia as of February 2018.
If the spouses they cannot agree on the applicable law, it is determined on the basis of the following connecting factors:
* Divorce and legal separation are primarily subject to the law of the country where the spouses have their common habitual residence;
* Failing that, where they had their last recent common habitual residence if one of them still resides there;
* Failing that, to the law of the spouses’ common nationality; and,
* Failing that, to the law of the court before which the matter is brought.
EU countries that do not participate in this regulation continue to apply their own rules to determine which national law should apply for a divorce.
The idea of this article is only informative about the new regulations in the divorce process in the EU, as I said before I’m not a lawyer and my opinion shouldn’t be taken as a legal advice, and for more detailed information check this FAQ article from Europa forum or get competent legal advice.
