Nowadays, couples are more readily to get divorce on mutual agreement basis. The most common ground for divorce is that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 1 year immediately preceding the presentation of the divorce petition and the other party consents to a decree’s being granted.
Conditions:
If the parties to the marriage wish to apply for divorce in court, the application must be made after they have married for at least 1 year, unless the court grants special approval. In addition, one other requirement is that either of the parties to the marriage is a Hong Kong resident, living in Hong Kong and domicile in Hong Kong.
Documents you will have to provide:
(1) The original of Marriage Certificate;
(2) The HKID Cards of the parties (If either of the party is not a HKID Card holder, please provide passport or travel permit instead);
(3) The most recent Hong Kong address proof;
(4) (If Applicable) The birth certificate(s) and student handbook(s) or student identity card(s) of child(ren).
Fee:
If the parties to the marriage consent to the divorce and have been lived apart for at least 1 year, and:-
• there are no children, no application for maintenance or property arrangement between the parties—the fee is HK$5,000, or;
• the parties have child(ren), no application for maintenance or property arrangement—the fee is HK$6,000UP.
If the arrangements for maintenance and property are complicated or are in dispute, please contact us for further quotation.
For your information, there are 4 other grounds for divorce petition:-
1. the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition;
2. the other party has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with him/her;
3. the other party has unreasonable behavior in which the petitioner cannot be expected to live with him/her;
4. the other party has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least 1 year immediately preceding the presentation of the petition.
As a result, applicant can apply divorce without the consent of the other party after they have lived apart for at least 2 years. The court will grant a decree on divorce. However, the applicant has to prove that the other party can be served the divorce documents, and in the case that the applicant has lost contact with the spouse, it is necessary to seek the direction of court and for example, an advertisement of divorce notice may be required.
Other than two years’ separation, for the remaining grounds for divorce, you can also make application after such incident(s) has happened.
In any circumstances, you can contact us for further enquiry.
Some clients may ask: “Can I apply divorce if I cannot locate my husband/wife?”. The answer is “Yes”, but it would be more complicated and the application period will be longer as well.
Fee:
If the application for divorce on the ground other than separation 1 year with consent, the fee will be higher, please contact us for further quotation.
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