My marriage is at an end – How do I dissolve it in Singapore?
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Q: Under what circumstances can I apply for a divorce?
A: The Women’s Charter provides for a single ground for a divorce, namely that your marriage has irretrievably broken down1. In determining this, the court must rely on at least one or more of 5 facts namely2:-
a) that one party has committed adultery and the filing party finds it intolerable to live with that party;
b) that one party has behaved in such a way that the filing party cannot reasonably be expected to live with that party;
c) that one party has deserted the filing party for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ for divorce;
d) that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ for divorce and the defendant consents to a judgment of divorce being granted;
e) that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ for divorce.
Only when any one or more of the above 5 facts are established, will the court grant a divorce of divorce. The court will only do so if it is just and equitable to grant a divorce.
Q: I just got married but want to get a divorce. Can I?
A: The Women’s Charter provides a prohibition to apply for a divorce within the first 3 years of a marriage3. This means that you cannot apply for divorce until 3 years has passed from the date of your marriage registration. However, in certain instances where you can establish “exceptional hardship suffered by the plaintiff or of exceptional depravity on the part of the defendant”, you can apply to the court for permission to file for divorce before the 3 years. It is necessary to specify the exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity.
Q: Must I be Singaporean to apply for a divorce?
A: The court has jurisdiction to hear an application for divorce if one party is domiciled in Singapore or if one party is habitually resident in Singapore for a period of 3 years immediately preceding the commencement of the proceedings.4 This criterion will generally be satisfied if one party is a Singapore Citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident, or has lived in Singapore for a continuous period of 3 years before applying for divorce. It does not matter if you were married in Singapore or abroad, so long as the marriage was legally registered.
Q: How do I annul my marriage?
A: An application for judgment of nullity is to ask the court to rule that your marriage was void from the start or that your marriage has become voidable.5 The result of the application is to say that the marriage should be “revoked”. If successful, you and your spouse will be considered “single” as opposed to “divorced”. There are several grounds on which a marriage can be annulled. These include mental health issues or duress at the time of marriage, venereal disease, wilful refusal or the incapacity to consummate the marriage.