Canada Publishes 3 Conditions Couples Must Satisfy before Filing for Divorce
- The Canadian government has released the conditions couples must satisfy before they can apply for a divorce in the country
- Applicants must prove their marriage has legally broken down and that they or their spouse lived in a Canadian province or territory for at least a year
- The government clarified that all three conditions must be met simultaneously before a divorce application can proceed in Canada
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The Canadian government has outlined three conditions that couples must satisfy before they can file for divorce in the country, clarifying that all criteria must be met at the same time for an application to be valid.
The guidance, published by the Department of Justice Canada, applies to anyone seeking to dissolve a marriage through the Canadian court system.
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Criteria to apply for divorce in Canada
According to the government, a couple must meet all of the following before approaching a court:
1. The applicant and their spouse must be legally married under Canadian law, or under the laws of another country where that marriage is formally recognised in Canada.
2. The marriage must have broken down.
3. Either the applicant or their spouse must have lived in the Canadian province or territory where the divorce is being filed for a full year immediately before submitting the application.
The residency condition is particularly significant for newcomers and immigrants who may not have spent sufficient time in a single province or territory before attempting to dissolve their marriage.
Divorce in Canada: Court application required
The government made clear that a divorce cannot be processed administratively. Couples must apply directly to a court, regardless of whether both parties agree to the separation. This applies even in uncontested cases where both spouses consent to the divorce.
The requirement that all three conditions are satisfied simultaneously means that a couple cannot, for example, rely on a foreign marriage alone without also meeting the residency threshold in the province where they file.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian man in Canada had lamented after his wife demanded custody of their children following their separation.
UK divorce process: Decision couples must make
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported about an important decision couples must make before filing for divorce in the UK.
According to official government guidance, the choice between a joint and sole application depends on the level of agreement and cooperation between both parties.
Either way, the process takes at least seven months to complete.
Source: Legit.ng
