Married abroad

Hi, we are going through a seperation after 8 years of marriage which took place in India. Both myself and wife are originally from India now permanently residing in the UK as British citizens. My question is whether we can file for a divorce in India or does it have to be done in UK as we are currently resident here.

If we do apply in India, as long as we mutually agree finances between us, the courts will not have to intervene i presume?

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2021 12:33PM by PinkSky.

You would need to speak to a lawyer in India about whether you can petition for divorce there.

Assuming financial issues were settled in India that would not prevent your wife asking for financial remedies from the English courts in the event that she would do significantly better in that jurisdiction. Of course, if you were actually agreed on terms of settlement that is unlikely but the fact that financial issues relating to a marriage are settled elsewhere does not prevent the English courts having jurisdiction if one or both spouses are resident or domiciled here.

There is a reason for this. If, say, a husband can obtain a divorce in another country even though he and/or his wife are resident and/or domiciled in the UK there are plenty of countries where the rights of wives are negligible. The courts here will not allow a person in that position to suffer without remedy and so they, in that example, would allow the wife to make a claim for financial relief in England which would have a very different outcome from the outcome in the other country.

Also, of course, if the assets are in the UK it is doubtful what, if any, jurisdiction would have over those assets. A foreign court could not, for instance, order a pension sharing order for a pension located in England. For that the spouse would have to make an application here.

Thanks for your reply. The lawyer in India has advised the divorce petition can be filed locally as the marriage has been legally registered in India. As with finances, so far it all seems to be in mutual agreement but i am looking for options how to legally bind the agreement as best have it written down clearly.

It is not a matter of simply writing it down clearly. It needs to be done by way of a court order - even if that is by agreement. Where that is done depends upon where you issue a divorce petition I suppose although I struggle to understand why two people permanently residing in the UK and who are British citizens should seek a divorce in India.