Simple Divorce Papers

If you were married outside of Canada, or if you have moved to another province since your marriage, you may wonder whether you qualify to file for divorce in the province in which you now reside. The first thing to keep in mind is that what matters is where you live and not where you were married. The second thing to keep in mind is that you can apply for divorce in either the province where you now normally reside or in the province in which your spouse now normally resides keeping in mind that it takes 12 months to establish residency in a province.

Let’s use an example. Let’s say you were married in Mexico and then moved to Ontario where you separated a few years later. After your separation your spouse remained in Ontario but you moved to British Columbia six months ago. Under these circumstances you would have a choice: you (or your spouse, or both of you together) can now apply for divorce in Ontario or you (or your spouse, or both of you together) can wait another six months until you have resided in British Columbia for a full year and then apply for divorce in British Columbia.

The only tricky thing to keep in mind if you were married outside of the country is that you will need the original marriage certificate you received from the jurisdiction in which you were married. I am not talking about a document provided by a church but an official government-issued document. If you do not have the original, you need to obtain a certified copy from the issuing jurisdiction. If the document is not in English, you’ll need to provide the court with a translation as well. An Internet search for the words “marriage certificate” and the name of the jurisdiction in which you were married should turn up the contact information you need in order to request a certified copy of your marriage certificate. If you run into trouble the Canadian Embassy with responsibility for the jurisdiction in which you were married should be able to assist you.