Divorce in Belarus when one spouse is a foreigner: court or registry office, children, property

Can the divorce be handled in Belarus?

Under the Code on Marriage and Family, a marriage between a Belarusian citizen and a foreign national is dissolved in Belarus under Belarusian law. The same applies to a marriage between foreigners if at least one of them holds a Belarusian permanent residence permit. Foreigners without such a permit are generally divorced through the consulates of their states.

Belarusian courts have jurisdiction over a divorce case if the claimant lives in Belarus or if at least one spouse is a Belarusian citizen. If a Belarusian citizen and the spouse both live abroad permanently, the case may be heard by a Belarusian court on the instruction of the Supreme Court.

Registry office or court

Registry office

The registry office dissolves a marriage by mutual consent of spouses who have no common minor children and no dispute about property. The divorce is registered on a date agreed with the spouses, not earlier than one month and not later than two months after the joint application. If one spouse cannot come for a valid reason, the signature on the application must be certified, and the divorce may be registered in that spouse's absence on the basis of a notarised application.

Court

In all other cases, for example where there are minor children or one spouse does not agree, the divorce goes through the court. When accepting the claim, the court gives the spouses three months for reconciliation and for reaching agreement on the children and property. The court may also postpone the case and set an additional period for reconciliation within six months. Without a reconciliation period the court dissolves the marriage if the other spouse has been declared missing or legally incapable, or sentenced to at least three years of imprisonment.

A foreign spouse does not always have to attend in person: an advocate can represent you under a power of attorney. In court you have the right to an interpreter free of charge. The marriage is ended on the day the court decision enters into force.

Children

If the parents disagree, the court decides with whom the children will live, how the other parent will take part in their upbringing and contact, and the amount of child support, unless these matters are settled by a marriage contract or an agreement. Without an agreement, child support is set as a share of the parent's earnings: 25% for one child, 33% for two and 50% for three or more, with minimum amounts for parents who are able to work.

Belarus applies the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. If a child who lived in Belarus is wrongfully taken or kept abroad, or vice versa, a parent may apply for the child's return or for rights of access through the Ministry of Justice or directly to the competent authority or court.

Property

Property acquired during the marriage is joint property of the spouses, no matter in whose name it was bought, unless a marriage contract provides otherwise. On division, the shares are equal; the court may depart from equality in the interests of minor children or for other weighty reasons, for example if one spouse wasted common property. Property each spouse owned before the marriage, and gifts or inheritance received during it, are personal property.

Property may be divided together with the divorce or later, by the court or by a notarised agreement. Disputes about real estate located in Belarus are heard only by Belarusian courts; property abroad may be governed by the law of the country where it is located.

Recognition of the divorce abroad and in Belarus

Whether another country recognises a Belarusian divorce depends on that country's law and its treaties with Belarus. In practice you will need a copy of the court decision with a mark that it has entered into force, or a divorce certificate, with an apostille and a certified translation.

The reverse situation is also common. A divorce of a Belarusian citizen and a foreigner obtained abroad in accordance with local law is recognised in Belarus if one of the spouses lived abroad at that time. Foreign civil status documents are accepted with legalisation or an apostille, depending on the country; documents from countries that are parties to the CIS conventions on legal assistance, such as Russia, need neither.

I prepare the claim and agreements in Russian, explain them in English, and represent clients in courts throughout Belarus.