Getting Divorced in Manitoba If You Married in Another Country

Many people married in another country and now live in Manitoba. You may wonder whether a Manitoba court can end the marriage, and how to show it was valid when the paperwork came from somewhere else.

This page explains the main Divorce Act rules on breakdown and the court steps. It also flags the points, such as residency, foreign documents and translations, that depend on your facts and should be confirmed before you file.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

The basis for divorce

Under the federal Divorce Act, a court may grant a divorce on application by either or both spouses on the ground that there has been a breakdown of the marriage.

Breakdown is established if you have lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately before the divorce is decided and were living separate and apart when the proceeding began. No court filing or formal legal separation is a precondition.

Residency, proof of marriage and translations

Which court can hear your divorce application, and what residency it requires, depends on where each spouse lives and on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. The same is true if one spouse lives outside Manitoba or Canada, so it is worth checking before you file.

What the court accepts as proof, and whether documents in another language must be translated or certified, can vary. Ask a lawyer or the Court of King's Bench registry what they require rather than assuming.

• Your marriage certificate or registration, if you have it, since which marriage documents the court wants can depend on your situation.
• Immigration records, passports or earlier divorce papers for either spouse, if they relate to your case, though what you need depends on your situation.
• Translations of any documents not in English, since translation requirements vary and are worth confirming before you file.
• Dates showing when you separated and where each of you lived.

Proving separation

Spouses are deemed to have lived separate and apart for any period during which they lived apart and either of them intended to live separate and apart. That is why dates and intention matter.

A period of resumed cohabitation of not more than 90 days, with reconciliation as its primary purpose, does not interrupt the one-year period. You do not have to wait a year to apply, as long as you are living apart when you apply, but the divorce cannot be granted until you have been apart at least one year.

Instead of the one-year wait, breakdown can be established if the spouse the divorce is sought against has committed adultery or treated the other with physical or mental cruelty that makes continued cohabitation intolerable.

Court steps in Manitoba

Family cases are heard in the Court of King's Bench, Family Division. The steps include filing the petition, notice of application or statement of claim, and serving the other party. Other steps include completing prerequisites such as the For the Sake of the Children Program and financial statements. Uncontested divorces follow a different process from the triage model.

Ending the marriage does not by itself settle support or property. Spousal support is decided under Divorce Act s. 15.2, and a property application may not be made more than 60 days after the divorce becomes absolute or takes effect, unless the court extends the time.

What to do next

• Record the date you separated and when you last lived together.
• Collect your marriage documents and ask what proof and translations the court wants.
• Ask a lawyer to confirm residency and any questions about the foreign marriage.
• Consider support, property and parenting issues alongside the divorce.
• After a divorce, you may resume the surname used before marriage or at birth without a formal name change.

Frequently asked questions