Divorce in Sweden?

Question

Hejsan.
I was married in Kuwait city to my Filipino wife now living in the Philippines, and the marriage has been registered in Philippines as to register my daughter (13years old).
I would now like to end this marriage, but in Philippines divorce is not permitted and the proses of annulment is very complicated, so a Filipino lawyer has recommended to me that I should register the marriage in Sweden and the take out a divorce in Sweden as well. would this be possible ?

Answer 1

Hello!

Thank you for your question! In order for you to be able to take out a divorce in Sweden you have to be connected to Sweden in a way that according to Swedish law gives the Swedish court jurisdiction. This would for example be possible if you are a Swedish citizen and now living here. If you are a Swedish citizen but no longer live in Sweden, you have to have been living here earlier and after you turned 18 years old in order for the Swedish court to get jurisdiction.

If you are not a Swedish citizen, the Swedish court will get jurisdiction after you have lived here for a year, or if your wife is now living here.

The main principle is that if the Swedish court has jurisdiction over a divorce case the matter will be settled according to Swedish law, which gives you the right to divorce without any specific reasons for it. If you have custody over your daughter, who is under 16 years old, and she is living with either you or your wife you will have to wait six months (betänketid).

There are some exceptions to the main principle that the case will be settled according to Swedish law. Since I do not know in what way you are connected to Sweden I will not discuss them now, but if you want to you are welcome to leave a “kommentar” explaining your circumstances more thoroughly and I will get back to you!

Kind regards,