Settlement visa post divorce

[1up2down]

Hi,
It will be of great help if experts here can answer my query.

Got married in 2008 in India as per Hindu marriage act & marriage was registered in India (we both were Indian nationals then)

We were granted divorce on mutual consent from a family court in India in September 2015, at the time of divorce both of us were naturalised British citizens. We both were in the UK from 2008 to 2015.

Question : Do we need to get a divorce decree in the UK to apply for a settlement visa for future spouse or the one issued by Indian court would be enough?

From what I have read only Indian courts can issue a divorce decree for marriages held under Hindu Marriage Act 1955 & UK courts cannot grant a divorce for marriage not registered in the UK.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[CR001]

If the marriage is recognised in the UK, a divorce can be processed through the courts.

Assuming you live in the UK, this is where you are domiciled and this is where you should complete the divorce process. You are not an full Indian citizen if you are British now.

[1up2down]

Thanks for the quick response.

1.Does it mean that all the time & effort spent to get divorce decree from Indian court is of no use?
2.Alternatively can I use this divorce decree to speed up the process to get divorce in the UK or should I start from scratch?

Thanks.

[Casa]

Thanks for the quick response.

1.Does it mean that all the time & effort spent to get divorce decree from Indian court is of no use?
2.Alternatively can I use this divorce decree to speed up the process to get divorce in the UK or should I start from scratch?

Thanks.

You will have to start from scratch.

[1up2down]

Thanks again…

After having read through few UKBA docs, I feel there is a way out.

Though the divorce was granted while I was British citizen, I started the judicial proceedings while I was still Indian citizen (evidence: copy of divorce petition which was filed & accepted by the court)...will this be ok?

Do we need to submit original divorce copies or just photocopy?

[secret.simon]

When it comes to matters such as marriage, divorce and wills, from an English legal point of view (Scots law may differ), it is not your citizenship that matters, it is your domicile.

Domicile is generally interpreted as the place where you intend to settle down. Generally everybody is assigned the domicile of their father at birth, but that changes if intent to move the place that you consider home is demonstrated. So, for instance, to demonstrate that they are not domiciled in the UK, some people purchase grave locations in other countries, to demonstrate that they intend to move abroad.

To make it more complicated, your domicile for tax purposes could vary from your domicile for purposes of what in India would be called personal law (marriage, divorce and wills).

Given that your former spouse and you were in the UK on work settlement visas, I would say that you have demonstrated an intent to settle in the UK and so your domicile was in the UK, irrespective of your citizenship. Therefore the correct place for the divorce proceedings would have been the UK.

Be that as it may, I believe (I could be wrong; I am not a lawyer)that the UK courts would recognise the proceedings of the Indian courts and proceedings in the UK courts would likely be pro-forma.

Some more light reading on domicile on the Gov.UK website.

[1up2down]

When it comes to matters such as marriage, divorce and wills, from an English legal point of view (Scots law may differ), it is not your citizenship that matters, it is your domicile.

Domicile is generally interpreted as the place where you intend to settle down. Generally everybody is assigned the domicile of their father at birth, but that changes if intent to move the place that you consider home is demonstrated. So, for instance, to demonstrate that they are not domiciled in the UK, some people purchase grave locations in other countries, to demonstrate that they intend to move abroad.

To make it more complicated, your domicile for tax purposes could vary from your domicile for purposes of what in India would be called personal law (marriage, divorce and wills).

Given that your former spouse and you were in the UK on work settlement visas, I would say that you have demonstrated an intent to settle in the UK and so your domicile was in the UK, irrespective of your citizenship. Therefore the correct place for the divorce proceedings would have been the UK.

Be that as it may, I believe (I could be wrong; I am not a lawyer)that the UK courts would recognise the proceedings of the Indian courts and proceedings in the UK courts would likely be pro-forma.

Some more light reading on domicile on the Gov.UK website.

@Simon – Thanks for your suggestion.

I agree with what you have said, but under the given circumstance I believe I can satisfy the criteria below. Comments welcome.

SET13.4 Recognition of overseas divorces which took place on or after 4 April 1988
Under the Family Law Act 1986 an overseas divorce obtained by means of judicial or other proceedings is recognised in the UK only if:
• it is effective under the law of the country in which it was obtained; and
• at the relevant date (that is, the date on which proceedings were begun), either party was either habitually resident or domiciled in that country or was a national of that country.

Thanks.

[secret.simon]

SET13.4 Recognition of overseas divorces which took place on or after 4 April 1988
Under the Family Law Act 1986 an overseas divorce obtained by means of judicial or other proceedings is recognised in the UK only if:
• it is effective under the law of the country in which it was obtained; and
• at the relevant date (that is, the date on which proceedings were begun), either party was either habitually resident or domiciled in that country or was a national of that country.

You should be fine and ready to go then. I would await more comments.