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Matrimonial lawyer - divorces also abroad
This is possible because in some European Union countries you can get divorced without separating first. To obtain a divorce abroad, two requirements are needed: the spouses' consent; provisional residence of one of the spouses in the foreign country where the divorce is requested. Sometimes, some couples decide to apply for divorce abroad to reduce waiting times. In fact, in various European Union countries, it is possible to get divorced within 3-4 months, without obtaining a separation. Is a divorce obtained abroad also valid in Italy? Let's clarify the issue.
The validity of a divorce obtained abroad in Italy is an issue that many ex-spouses often have to deal with. Given the rather long waiting times for this type of procedure, some try to speed up things by turning to foreign courts, where divorce is granted within a few months. However, this is not automatically valid in our country and requires specific recognition. It will be necessary to understand how to obtain all the necessary documentation (for example, which offices to request it from), as well as to know how to obtain a copy of the divorce decree if it becomes essential.
How divorce works in Italy
In Italy, the first resource needed to proceed with divorce is a divorce lawyer who can represent each party involved. From here, the process continues with separation, which is a measure designed to allow for a possible reconciliation between the spouses before the divorce becomes final.
With the quick divorce, the timeframes for submitting the official request are:
6 months in the case of consensual separation
12 months in the case of judicial separation
However, when you want to significantly reduce the timeframes, a solution chosen by many is to apply for divorce in the courts of European countries such as Romania and Spain, where separation is not a fundamental requirement.
Obviously, both spouses must agree to proceed and the conditio sine qua non is that one of the two has a residence, even temporary, in the country in question.
The problem, however, is that the divorce decree issued abroad is not automatically communicated to the Italian State, but must be registered with the Civil Status Office of the Municipality where the marriage is registered after a specific request.
How do you request the validation of a divorce obtained abroad?
Before requesting the validation of a divorce decree obtained abroad, you must ensure that the decree is final and that it has been registered by the competent court.
Subsequently, you must submit the required documentation, which varies depending on the country where the divorce was obtained.
For divorce decrees issued by EU foreign countries, the following are required:
- The application form/substitute declaration
- The final divorce decree legalized by the competent authorities of the issuing country ("Apostille" of The Hague or equivalent legalization)
- The full translation of the decree into Italian carried out by an official translator
- A photocopy of a valid identification document. In addition, for countries outside the EU area, all documentation required by the territorially competent Representation is necessary, for which it will be necessary to contact the consulate or embassy.
All this documentation must be submitted by the applicant to the Municipality of transcription of the relevant marriage certificate.
Hague Apostille or Apostille
This is a fairly simple and quick way to shorten bureaucracy times between states introduced in 1961.
The Hague Convention*, in fact, serves to give greater fluidity to the recognition of public acts at the international level and includes the participation of 115 states.
In essence, the agreement allows citizens to request the validation of their documents issued abroad without having to go to the relevant embassy or consulate, but it can be requested from specific internal bodies established by the State.
This is how you obtain the Hague Apostille, that is, a specific declaration in which an appointed official affirms the compliance of the document with the requirements set by the legal system and affixes their stamp as a guarantee.
*The apostille provided for by the Hague Convention replaces the traditional diplomatic or consular legalization. This Convention, by abolishing the obligation of legalization of foreign (or Italian for abroad) public acts, thus facilitates their use in the respective member countries.
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