Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland

Recognition of a divorce judgment issued by a foreign court

The phenomenon of economic emigration has recently reversed the trend and more and more Polish citizens are returning permanently to their country of origin. This gives rise to many practical consequences that must be faced. These consequences include cases of obtaining divorces before foreign courts, which raises a question about the effectiveness of these divorces in Poland.

Registration of a foreign divorce in Poland is called recognition of a divorce decree. It may be carried out before the Civil Registry Office or before a court - depending on the country and date of issue.

Registration of a divorce granted in a European Union country

Fortunately, the above issue has been regulated at the european level, which makes it much easier to complete all formalities. Subsequent regulations issued by the EU legislator introduced the principle according to which a divorce judgment issued in one of the Member States is, in principle, recognized in another Member State without the need to carry out a court procedure - exceptions concern divorce judgments that were issued in a given Member State before its accession to the European Union. Judgments issued in EU countries before May 1, 2004 will require court proceedings.

Record of a foreign divorce in the marriage certificate

Unfortunately, recordof a divorce conducted abroad is not automatically transferred to the appropriate Civil Registry Office in Poland. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the procedure for recognizing a foreign divorce in Poland is completed. For this purpose you will need to have the following documents:

• divorce decree (decree nisi);

• a certificate on an official form confirming the finality of the divorce decree (unless the finality of the decree results from judgment`s content - decree absolute);

• official translation of the above-mentioned documents prepared by a sworn translator.

After completing the above-mentioned documents, you should submit an application to the Civil Registry Office to include record of the divorce in the marriage certificate.

Divorce outside the European Union

But what if the divorce decree was issued in a country that is not a member of the European Union? Fundamentally, this issue depends on the date of such judgment. If it was issued before July 1, 2009, unfortunately the only possibility of carrying out the procedure for recognizing a divorce judgment issued by a foreign court is court proceedings. However, if the divorce decree is dated after July 1, 2009, carrying out the procedure at the Civil Registry Office should be considered fully sufficient, as is the case with divorce decrees issued in the European Union Member States.

Special cases of registering a foreign divorce in Poland

However, a comprehensive assessment of the situation must be made each time, as there are countries, such as Japan, where divorce is decided by an administrative body and not a court, which automatically requires a procedure for recognizing the judgment in court proceedings.

The court case takes place before the district court and the prosecutor participates in it, moreover the application must be accompanied by a number of documents. That's why it's worth using the help of professionals. Contact us and get comprehensive assistance throughout the entire process.