Divorce.
Edited Time: October 21, 2021Edited by: adminCategory: Our Services
A divorce in China between a foreigner and a Chinese citizen, or between two foreigners, or between two Chinese citizens who have got married outside China or who have settled down abroad is considered a foreign-related divorce. To avoid doubt, for the purpose of this brief introduction, China does not include the special administrative regions of Hong Kong or Macau, or the region of Taiwan.
Foreign-related divorce cases are more complicated than non-foreign-related ones since such factors as listed below may affect the registration of a foreign-related divorce or the acceptance of a divorce case by a court in China:
- the place where a marriage is registered;
- either party’s habitual residence or nationality country;
- the place where major assets concerned are located;
- the place where a court accepts the case.
As it is almost impossible to address all the issues under all the possible scenarios in such a brief introduction, we will instead touch upon three key issues with which most of our clients are concerned.
Q: In which case, will I have to initiate a court proceeding to get a divorce in China?
A: In a non-foreign-related divorce, only if a husband and a wife cannot reach a divorce agreement, either of them will need to initiate a court proceeding to get divorce in China. However, in a foreign-related divorce, even if a husband and a wife can reach an agreement, if they did not register their marriage in China, they cannot directly register their divorce in China and will have to initiate a court proceeding.
Q: Can two foreigners who registered their marriage abroad get divorce in China?
A: Generally speaking, yes by means of court proceedings on the conditions that before the divorce, either party have lived in China for more than one year and both parties have agreed to submit the divorce to the court of the place where the party has lived in China or the defendant does not object to the jurisdiction by the said court.
Q: Do I have to attend the court hearing by myself?
A: The short answer is no. At the court hearing of a non-foreign-related divorce case, in general a party shall attend the court even if he or she has entrusted an agent, but in a foreign-related divorce case, if the foreign party has specially authorized an agent, he or she may not participate in the hearing.
Our proficiency in English and considerable experience in foreign-related divorce cases allow us to tailor efficient, practical, and cost-effective legal strategies for clients.