24 replies to this topic

[Iwonder]

Hi there,I have been married to my Turkish husband for 14 years, but have been separated for the past 2 yrs. We now have an urgent need to get divorced (he wants to re marry) Is it true that Turkish courts will grant a divorce the same day if the party goes to the court in person? We both want the divorce and as he committed adultery I believe this is considered a main reason to grant a divorce as in the UK.He cannot leave the UK as he has not done his army conscription and is saving to pay his way out so only I could travel to obtain the divorce! Any advice gratefully received!

[sunny]

Welcome to the forum Iwonder. I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question but we have several members who may be able to help you.

[Abi]

Hi and welcome to our forum Iwonder, Were you married in Turkey or the UK?. As you say he can't leave the UK I am presuming that he is going to remarry there. If you married in Turkey and both now live in the UK you can divorce in the UK and he can sort out getting the divorce recognised in Turkey at a later date. Even If you do divorce in Turkey and he wishes to remarry in the UK he will need to get the divorce recognised in the UK first.

It would be possible to get divorced in Turkey but he would need to give a Turkish Lawyer Power of Attorney to act on his behalf if he can't leave the UK, and even if he was in Turkey it could still take several months to get a court hearing.

In short there is no quick way you can get divorced. Having said that I'm hoping one of our lawyers may be able to advise you as these are just my thoughts. It's unfortunate the way the law stands that whilst a married is recognised by both countries when it come to getting divorced it's a different matter.

[Iwonder]

Hi there

Thanks so much for your swift response we married in Turkey yes and both live in the UK but divorce process over here is very slow as a friend just experienced and I have heard that in Turkey possibly in a very short turnaround.

We, despite having a very rough time over the years, are pretty amicable and just want to get on with our lives

I await further posts

Also we never formally registered the marriage here, does that have any baring on it?

[Abi]

It doesn't matter if your marriage wasn't formally registered and shouldn't have any bearing on the situation. One of our members got divorced using an on-line lawyer, Here is a link to their website,, she said they were very good and the divorce just took a couple of months. I have also heard of other people getting divorced like that as it's a cheaper option and quicker. but both parties have to be in agreement. As I said before it won't matter which country you divorce in you will still need to get it recognise in the other country

[Iwonder]

Thank you Abi, I looked in to this kind of route a couple of months ago - wish I'd kicked it off then now! Money was a bit tight then and the weeks have flown by. I will contact these people tomorrow, but if anyone else has experienced/know of the "same day" divorce in Turkey I am all ears appreciate I may be grasping at straws but this has supposedly been investigated for me by someone in Turkey ?

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, but about leaning to dance in the rain..." Unknown author

[Abi]

It's not possible to walk into a court house and get divorced on the same day as far as I'm aware, as you first have to submit a petition to the court who will then give a date for the hearing. If I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me.

[mrslawyer]

Dear Lwonder,

What Abi wrote "If you married in Turkey and both now live in the UK you can divorce in the UK and he can sort out getting the divorce recognised in Turkey at a later date. Even If you do divorce in Turkey and he wishes to remarry in the UK he will need to get the divorce recognised in the UK first." is definitely RIGHT.

I would like to add some information. You cannot divorce by a protocol, (which is the shortest way), as the judge wants to see the spouses present in the case. He cannot come to Turkey. This is what you may do as quickest way: Both sides may be represented by a lawyer in the hearing and one of the parties may open a divorce case against the other. In hearing the other side may accept the divorce. The sides bring their witnesses to the hearing and witnesses can be listened in the same hearing. I cannot say you may divorce on the same date, but I can say that this will be the quickest way for divorce.

Regards,

Merve Balin

[Iwonder]

HI Merve,

Thanks for this information - so as we were married in Izmir and his family still resides there could you assist me to progress on this basis should I decide to ? I will try and call you tomorrow to discuss further.

Regards

[Aston]

Hi Iwonder, as you are British and both you and your husband are living in the UK you need to divorce in the UK. it is irrelevant where you married... British divorce takes only 3-4 months if both parties agree .

If your husband is intending to marry in the UK he cannot remarry without a British divorce. If he married a Turkish woman and tried to bring her to the UK he would need a British decree absolute for the visa application.

[Abi]

Ashton if Iwonder got divorced in Turkey they don't need to actually get a British divorce, they would just have to get the Turkish divorce recognised in the British court. The same would apply if they divorced in the UK, the British divorce would need to be recognised in a Turkish court,

I don't know why a divorce isn't automatically accepted in the same way as the marriage is, but that is the way it works.

[Cukurbagli]

I don't know why a divorce isn't automatically accepted in the same way as the marriage is, but that is the way it works.

As is often the case in other walks of life, it's a lot easier to get into trouble than it is to get out of it.

[Iwonder]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your feedback

I know that a divorce can be granted on either side, I just had heard that in some instances the Turkish route could be faster. I am investigating both options at the moment still.Cukurbagli - true words!

[Aston]

Abi I must disagree with you. Iwonder and her husband are domiciled in the UK and need a British divorce, You do not divorce in Turkey and then get a British court to recognise it, there is no such procedure that I am aware of and it would be more costlyand time consuming.
Iwonder is seeking a quick fix and thats not how divorce works. She would be better served starting the British divorce that she requires.

Recognition of divorce is due to where the parties are domiciled.

[Abi]

Aston I don't have a problem with you disagreeing I mentioned earlier that if I was wrong that I hoped I would be corrected. It has been mentioned by lawyers on this forum that that is the the process.

Obviously it would be better if Iwonder got divorced in the UK but under Turkish law her husband would still be married to her and as he wants to remarry he does need to get either divorced in Turkey or get his UK divorce recognised in Turkey.

If they divorce in Turkey I not sure that under UK law they would accept a Turkish divorce as it stands. If you have further information I would be very pleased to read it as it would be helpful to a lot of people.

[sunny]

2.2.1 Part II of the Family Law Act 1986, which came into force on 4 April 1988, provides criteria for the recognition in the United Kingdom of foreign divorces. Under s.46(1) the validity of an overseas divorce obtained by means of proceedings shall be recognised if:

a. the divorce is effective under the law of the country in which it was obtained; and

b. at the date of the commencement of the proceedings either party to the marriage was:

i. habitually resident in the country in which the divorce was obtained; or

ii. domiciled in that country; or

iii. a national of that country.

http://www.internati...ce.com/d-uk.htm

[Aston]

Exactly, its all down to where you live
.

b. at the date of the commencement of the proceedings either party to the marriage was:

i. habitually resident in the country in which the divorce was obtained; or

ii. domiciled in that country; or

iii. a national of that country.

As Mr and Mrs Iwonder live in the UK permanently so they are habitually resident and they are domiciled in the UK (particularly Mr Iwonder) domiciled means to treat a specified country as a permanent home and Mrs Iwonder is British.

If however the Iwonders were habitually resident or domiciled in Turkey they would obtain a Turkish divorce and this would be acceptable in the UK.

Thanks for that Sunny

[sunny]

But if Mr Iwonder is a Turkish national then they could have a Turkish divorce recognised in the UK even if both parties are resident in the UK as only one of those criteria need to be valid.

[Aston]

Like most things in life Its not that straight forward. Family Law 1986 s 51(3b) Refusal of Recognition
Where either party… was domiciled in another country at the relevant date, (relevant date is the date of commencement of proceedings.)

This is why most people divorce in the UK and then sort out the Turkish divorce as it is the most straight forward way.to proceed as confirmed by Mrs Lawyer in an earlier post.

Iwonder is still looking for a "quick fix " to ending her marriage and quick fixes don't exist unless you are in Reno Nevada or Mexico .
In Tijuana Mexico, you can married in one street and an hour later get divorced in the next Street !! with a big certificate to prove it !!

[Avacelya]

Hello,
Yes it is true that you can get an immediate divorce if both parties are in agreement and present,
However the court system has changed recently and we need to apply for a hearing in advance,
This can be done by two lawyers by power of attorney,
If your partner is unable to travel he can be represented by one of our colleagues for nominal costs,
Divorcing in uk often is more expensive than online alternatives such as Turkish divorce . Com and uk divorces still need to be recognised by a competent court in Turkey, which incurs additional costs as you would need to be served back n the uk.
From our daily experience in these issues it's quicker cheaper and more effective to initiate a Turkish case.
You would expect to pay an online service in Turkey approx £400 plus court fees of £165 and a power of attorney expenses in uk.
Time frame can be 4 weeks prior to the summer recess in Turkey.