If you married here, you can -finally- divorce here.
Generally people seek a "no fault" divorce on the grounds of being separated for one year. (For in-Canada divorces, the grounds of adultery and cruelty are also available).
But being apart for a year takes you only half way to a divorce. Rules for people living in Canada are different than the rules for people living outside of Canada when their marriage ends.
For people living in Canada, a person can get a divorce (no matter where the marriage was performed) provided that one of the two lives continuously in one province in Canada for one year before the divorce begins. Even if your marriage was in another country, to a non-Canadian, if you live in one province for a year, you can divorce him or her.
That rule is the rule that applies in most countries of the world to heterosexual marriages: no matter where you married, you are divorced by the law of the jurisdiction one of you is living in after the marriage ends.
But that doesn't work for same sex partners who married in Canada because their home jurisdiction didn't recognize same sex marriage. But that state also won't have same sex divorce...since that would involve recognizing the legitimacy of the marriage in the first place.
Before August 2013, queers who married here could not get a divorce unless one of them moved to Canada for a year to satisfy the residency requirements of the Divorce Act. And people from some countries may not be able to get a visa to come for that purpose.
But the federal government has changed the law to permit a gay or lesbian couple who married here to divorce here.
The requirements are:
If you meet those requirements a divorce is now possible. Our office can assist.
Generally people seek a "no fault" divorce on the grounds of being separated for one year. (For in-Canada divorces, the grounds of adultery and cruelty are also available).
But being apart for a year takes you only half way to a divorce. Rules for people living in Canada are different than the rules for people living outside of Canada when their marriage ends.
For people living in Canada, a person can get a divorce (no matter where the marriage was performed) provided that one of the two lives continuously in one province in Canada for one year before the divorce begins. Even if your marriage was in another country, to a non-Canadian, if you live in one province for a year, you can divorce him or her.
That rule is the rule that applies in most countries of the world to heterosexual marriages: no matter where you married, you are divorced by the law of the jurisdiction one of you is living in after the marriage ends.
But that doesn't work for same sex partners who married in Canada because their home jurisdiction didn't recognize same sex marriage. But that state also won't have same sex divorce...since that would involve recognizing the legitimacy of the marriage in the first place.
Before August 2013, queers who married here could not get a divorce unless one of them moved to Canada for a year to satisfy the residency requirements of the Divorce Act. And people from some countries may not be able to get a visa to come for that purpose.
But the federal government has changed the law to permit a gay or lesbian couple who married here to divorce here.
The requirements are:
- you married in a province in Canada
- you have been separated for one year (no adultery or cruelty grounds are available)
- for that year, each of you has lived in a jurisdiction which does not recognize same sex marriages
- you apply in the same province in which you married
If you meet those requirements a divorce is now possible. Our office can assist.
