Remarrying in Ireland after foreign divorce

E

europhile

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Myself and d'other half, let's called him Michael to make things simpler are thinking of getting married to "regularise" things.

Michael had previously been married in Ireland about 25 years ago. He and his wife then separated. A couple of years later (about ten years ago), she went to live and work in London and they obtained a divorce when she was there with Michael supplying a friend's London address as he was living in Dublin at the time.

Michael's ex-wife came back to live in Ireland after a couple of years and the question I am asking is - is this divorce recognised in Ireland as his wife wasn't "domiciled" in England?

Any help would be appreciated?
 
Anything useful on ? In particular



A foreign divorce

If you have a foreign divorce, you will have to supply a copy of the Divorce Decree Nisi and Absolute. If the divorce decree is in a foreign language, you must provide an English translation certified by a relevant official body or recognised translation agency.
Not all foreign divorces are recognised under Irish law. A foreign divorce will only be recognised in Ireland if at least one spouse was "domiciled" in the state that granted the divorce when the proceedings started. You may have to provide good evidence that this was the case and, therefore, that the divorce is valid under Irish law.
The Registrar will give you two questionnaires, one for the divorced party seeking to remarry and one for his/her divorced ex-spouse. You must provide certain information about your place of birth, your place of residence and employment at the time of the divorce proceedings, property and business connections abroad and some other relevant facts. If you knowingly give false information, you may be found guilty of perjury - an offence punishable by law.
This information is then forwarded to the Registrar General whose consent is required before the marriage ceremony can take place. If he/she is of the opinion that the foreign divorce is valid, then the new marriage can go ahead. If not, you can provide additional information to prove validity or else you can apply for a hearing before the .
The Court's decision on the validity of a foreign divorce in Irish law is final and binding, although you may, of course, appeal to a higher court. If the Court decides that your foreign divorce is not binding, your only option if you wish to remarry in Ireland may be to get a divorce under Irish law.
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Thanks for that. It's much as I suspected. I knew that used to be the case but wasn't sure if it had been relaxed in recent years.

It might be easier to get married abroad than go through that rigmarole.
 
If the Registrar will not accept that the UK Divorce is valid, I'm not sure if Michael is free to marry you - either here or in any jurisdiction.

If your partner and his ex wife are on good terms, why don't they just do a simple Irish Divorce? Its quite common for one party to agree to "run" the proceedings with the other consenting either personally or through lawyers. I have also run an "either/or" case in circumstances very similar to what you describe i.e. either the UK divorce is valid or the Court will grant an Irish Divorce.

mf
 
Does an Irish divorce not mean that, under Irish law and unlike in some other jurisdictions, each spouse will still retain the right to certain claims on the assets of the other even after the divorce - i.e. no "clean break" divorce in Ireland as per a recent thread here on AAM? Might that not complicate matters even more? I suspect that independent, professional legal advice might be in order.
 
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