Divorced, applying for citizenship, don't know what to write

[Mhunt]

I was married when I entered the UK and then got divorced a couple of yours ago. My ex-wife and I are both foreign citizens. I am preparing an application for naturalisation which is not based on marriage. My ex has left the country and does not intend to apply for British citizenship with me.

We got divorced at the London consulate of our home country rather than going to the English court. The procedure was very simple and by mutual agreement.

Following my divorce, I found information on the internet that divorces registered at foreign consulates/embassies in the UK are not recognised by the UK government based on a precedent court case in the 70s or 80s. I don't know if this is true in all circumstances or only if challenged by one of the spouses, for example. I haven't talked to a lawyer or anybody else about that.

I am not what I should write on my application form for naturalisation regarding my marital status. Should I state that I'm still married? Divorced in London? If I state that I'm divorced I have to provide a reason. What reason would that be? In the UK,I guess the most common reason is unreasonable behaviour, but I didn’t have to state this reason to get a divorce at the embassy. However, I think our behaviour was unreasonable so stating that as a reason wouldn’t be a lie. If I write about unreasonable behaviour, though, I’m not sure how it would reflect on my application in terms of me being a person of good character, etc.

Because my application is not based on marriage, according to the application guidelines I don’t even have to provide any evidence of being married or divorced, although I do have to provide these details in the application form. I’m still not sure if my circumstances may somehow delay my application and trigger additional requests. What should I write in the application form in my circumstances?

[Mhunt]

Can somebody please help with recommendations because this is becoming quite urgent.

[John]

You post at 1.30.am, and post a reminder at 8.27.am! Do you realise that people are allowed to sleep and they are not obliged to look at this board as soon as they wake up!

In the eyes of UK law you are not divorced. You are still married, and whilst that tells you what to put on the form AN, it also tells you that you need to get a divorce recognised by the UK Government .... before getting remarried.

[Mhunt]

You post at 1.30.am, and post a reminder at 8.27.am! Do you realise that people are allowed to sleep and they are not obliged to look at this board as soon as they wake up!

In the eyes of UK law you are not divorced. You are still married, and whilst that tells you what to put on the form AN, it also tells you that you need to get a divorce recognised by the UK Government .... before getting remarried.

Yes, I know i need to get it sorted. I am not getting remarried in the UK before this is sorted. I am not sure, though, how can I prove that I am still married if I state so in the application form, because I don't have a marriage certificate. The certificate was taken away by the consulate when we got divorced.

[John]

You don't need to provide any evidence of being married, or the marriage certificate.

After all you are not applying on the basis of marriage to a British Citizen, are you.

In short you are worrying about something that is nothing to worry about.

[Mhunt]

You don't need to provide any evidence of being married, or the marriage certificate.

After all you are not applying on the basis of marriage to a British Citizen, are you.

In short you are worrying about something that is nothing to worry about.

I am worried that I am not 100% sure whether or not the British government considers me married or divorced. I don't want to lie in my application. I understand that most likely nobody will ask for evidence because my application is not based on marriage. Still, I want to make sure the information I give is as accurate as possible.

[John]

I am worried that I am not 100% sure whether or not the British government considers me married or divorced.

So you did not like my answers?

This is actually very simple. You got married? Yes? Your have not got divorced (in the eyes of UK law)! So unless your spouse has died, you are still married!

[Mhunt]

I am worried that I am not 100% sure whether or not the British government considers me married or divorced.

So you did not like my answers?

This is actually very simple. You got married? Yes? Your have not got divorced (in the eyes of UK law)! So unless your spouse has died, you are still married!

There is a question in the application form about my wife's address, but I don't know the address. What should I put there? Unkown?

[John]

If you don't know do indeed write ... Unknown.

[1963British]

I doubt that you are the only person who has applied for citizenship with this problem.

As John says, if you are married in the eyes of the UK by law, then you state Married.

Equally, if you do not know where the spouse is now living then you type unknown. I have no doubt that there are also married individuals who applied for citizenship who have been abandoned.

Lastly, the form on the next to last page is entirely blank so you can explain things that the questions do not properly ask. Here you probably should explain exactly what happened and what is your status both in the UK and in your home country.

Disclose everything and provide documents to the best of your ability.

The only difficulty I can see is if you are using a non-married name that does not match your passport or ILR. But again, just explain it on the form and maybe also in a cover letter.

You may also want to speak to a solicitor on how you can make this divorce right within UK law. It looks like you may be able to apply for divorce in the UK under abandonment. Regardless, after speaking with a solicitor you could also explain that you have spoken to a solicitor on terminating the marriage in the UK under UK law.

[Mhunt]

Guys, thanks for your posts

1963British,

I am a man so changing my surname due to marriage/divorce is not an issue.

[krishbr]

hi,
may I ask how did you get through with this? Did you fill the form as Married?

Does a Divorse granted by Indian court valid in the UK?

Thanks.

[John]

Does a Divorce granted by Indian court valid in the UK?

Yes, if the Indian Court is in India!

However in this query, the OP posted "We got divorced at the London consulate of our home country rather than going to the English court.", and whilst that is no doubt recognised under Indian law, it is not recognised by UK law.

[krishbr]

@John,
Thank you.