17 replies to this topic

[flower36]

I am married to a Turkish man (for 12 years) and separated nearly 2 years but not divorced. We married in UK and lived here after our marriage. He did not register our marriage in Turkey He is now living in Turkey and recently got married to a Turkish girl even though we are not divorced. I am not too bothered but wondered if anyone has come across this situation before?

Also I want our uk property sorting out and signing over to me - do I have to get divorced/ legal separation here in uk to do that and what if my husband refuses to sign any papers.

Also is his marriage legal either in Turkey and/or in uk whilst I am still married to him

thanks for any advice

[Abi]

Hi Flower 36 and welcome to our forum. When you say your husband remarried recently it may be that he had a religious ceremony which has no legal standing in Turkish law. Or do you know that he definitely had a civil marriage in Turkey,

I unfortunately can't answer your question about whether your British marriage is recognised under Turkish law If he didn't register your marriage with the Turkish Consulate. Hopefully one of our Turkish lawyer members will respond to that question and give you an answer. Obviously you are still marriage in the eyes of British law until your marriage is dissolved in a British court of law..

With regard to your property I suggest your best course of action would be to consult with a British lawyer who will be able to advise you,

Good luck and hope you manage to get it sorted out

[samanthaozkara]

Hi Flower 36. Welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear of your situation. I really do hope one of the lawyers on the forum will come along soon to help you out. xxx

[flower36]

Hi and thanks for the welcome. Yes they had a civil ceremony. My understanding is that any Turkish national must register their marriage in a foreign country to the nearest consulate so that the records in Turkey are noted. If the marriage is not registered then all his Turkish records would still show him as single and therefore he is able to lie on his marriage application by saying he is single. The second marriage is bigamous but unless I make a complaint to the courts they are none the wiser. Obviously he could not bring her to UK as his wife as they have records of our marriage.
I intend seeing an English solicitor as soon as possible.
Just let this be a warning to anyone married to a Turkish man - make sure the marriage is registered with the consulate.

[dakar]

Dear Flower

Sorry to hear of this.
Do I understand correctly that this would not have been the case had you married your former partner in Turkey?

[aine]

We married in Turkey and registered our marriage with the consul and also as required with the police. My understanding is that this marriage will be treated the same as a marriage made in the UK.

[sunny]

Flower, you are in a strong position to get him to sign UK divorce papers as he can't afford to have you informing the authorities here about his marriage to you.

[flower36]

Hello everyone and thanks for your comments. Dakar you are right - this wouldn't have happened had we been married in Turkey as the Turkish authorities would then have a record of our marriage.
Aine - As far as I am aware (I've done a lot of reading about this) - any marriage in Turkey is accepted as legal by UK

[Abi]

Flower I am wondering if you should actually get in touch with the Turkish Consulate in London and ask them, at least they could make a note of it.

Another thing is did he take British Citizenship in those 12 years, if so it may be a case that he has committed bigamy even though the marriage wasn't registered with the Turkish Consulate. But it is only a guess on my part as the law could be very complex as he would be a dual national so you really need to seek advice from a British lawyer.

[bubu]

Hello all. I have a similar problem but we are not married yet. He got married in Waterford 12years ago and after 1 year they separated. he came back to turkey and since then they has not been in touch. He called the court in Wateford (sothern Ireland) to get the copy of his divorce paper but they said there is no record of it. Now we are planning to get married in May but without that paper i dont think we can. He is trying to somehow obtain the paper, but as he has no contact on his ex wife is now makes it difficult. He went to embassy to try to get help, but they couldnt help him. When we went to the council to get paper about him being divorced they said he is registered as single...any idea how we can get this divorce paper? and if they got married in waterford i believe he should take that paper to the turkish embassy to register?! thanks.

[Abi]

I'm wondering if the divorce actually happened, has he received any paperwork at all from an Irish court since he left his wife?. I think the only thing you can in any case is to contact a lawyer in Southern Ireland and ask them what the best course of action would be.

I suppose it's possible that his wife could have divorced him in different town somewhere in Ireland. It also may be possible that she divorced in the UK and to find that out you should read this link on how to do it http://www.google.co...YsvOTKyK8ly2uLg

Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

[bubu]

thank you Abi. we were thinking the same, but no paper from irish court. is just makes us exhausted as he is trying to get this paper over 7years now and no luck...and if we will apply for his visa after our marriage they will ask for this i assume.

[Abi]

Yes, they definitely will ask for for a copy of the divorce paper. I did look, as you would have done to see if there was a central records place where documents would be held, but the only place I found covered everything but divorce. Sooo it seems like there is a huge task ahead of you if you want to get your hands on that paperwork if she did in fact divorce him in Ireland.

[bubu]

great! just what we needed! thanks Abi.

[Abi]

Sorry not good news I know but fingers crossed you will get it sorted out in the end. I hope that when you do that you post again and let us know how it all turned out as I would think there are probably other people in the same situation as yourself.

Fingers crossed

[bubu]

I will. we will try our best and hope somehow we can obtain the paper. fingers x.

[aine]

Divorce is not easy in Ireland but İ believe there is some provision for it on some grounds one of which İ believe is desertion after so many years apart. Try an İrish web site to research this. Also try the İrish embassy in Ankara İ rang them on another issue and found them very helpful.

[bubu]

HI aine,

thank you for your advise. we have emailed them already 3x but no luck. my partner ranged them but they said to him he has to contact his ex.... we have emailed to High Court and I will call them today. will see what they will say.