What is international family law?

International family law refers to family legal issues that cross borders or involve more than one country. This could be where a UK national is navigating divorce proceedings in another country, where there are overseas assets that need to be divided in a divorce, or when arrangements need to be made for children who live or spend much of their time in another country or have dual nationality. This can be particularly challenging due to the varying laws in different countries, which add a layer of complexity to proceedings. It can be hard to manage a separation or divorce at any time, but when international issues are involved, it’s even more important to make sure that you have the right legal advice

How long does an international divorce take?

How long the proceedings take will vary from country to country. In England and Wales, a divorce now takes a minimum of 26 weeks to complete. However, the process often takes longer as the divorce is usuallynot finalised until there is a financial settlement in place.

I have moved abroad. Can I still get divorced in England?

Yes, you can, provided you meet certain criteria (please see the international divorce section above) and no divorce proceedings have been started in another country. If you are concerned that your ex might start proceedings elsewhere, speak to us. You may need to act urgently to ensure that proceedings take place in the country that achieves the best possible financial settlement for you.

My ex has taken our children abroad and refuses to bring them back to the UK. What do I do?

A lot depends on where your children have been taken. You will need to act quickly. Contact us for clear advice on international child abduction .

Where is the best place to divorce?

If you are able to choose between two or more countries to start divorce proceedings, you will need to consider the pros and cons of each carefully. Alongside speaking to specialist international family lawyers like us, you will need to speak to family lawyers in each of those countries to understand the consequences of your decision. We frequently coordinate advice from multiple countries for our international clients and can help you with the decision-making process.

I married in another country. Can I get divorced here?

Where you were married does not affect whether you can divorce in England and Wales. What matters primarily is your domicile and/or where you and your spouse usually live. If you are concerned about whether your overseas marriage is recognised (valid) here, get in touch.

International family law

It is increasingly common for a divorce or relationship breakdown to involve more than one country. For international families, there can be additional legal and practical issues to deal with.

Whether you are at the start or the end of a relationship, it is important to get advice and guidance from a specialist international family lawyer early on if you or your partner:

Live or work abroad
Were married (or divorced) overseas
Have moved to the UK with your family
Own property in another country
Are thinking about relocating

Separating couples who have more than one nationality, or who live or work in different countries, may have a choice about where they can divorce or where any disagreements regarding arrangements for their children and their finances can be resolved. This is important to consider carefully with the help of expert international family lawyers because family law varies greatly between countries. Choosing the right place to deal with any dispute in a divorce can have an enormous impact on the outcome.

But international family law is not just about the end of a relationship – it is also about the start of one and building a family along the way. Many international families will come from countries where prenuptial agreements and marital property regimes are common, and they need advice on what the legal position is here.

Another major life decision we help our clients with, which can be affected by international family law, is surrogacy. People living in, or from, the UK may choose to enter into a surrogacy arrangement overseas and need advice on how to ensure that they are legally recognised as their child’s parents here in the UK.

Our lawyers

Our international family lawyers advise clients across the globe on a wide range of issues including pre-marital agreements, divorce and separation, children arrangements and financial arrangements. Our team includes four Fellows of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, a worldwide association of family lawyers who are recognised by their peers as the most experienced and skilled family law specialists in their country.

Crucially, we have a worldwide network of foreign lawyers, contacts and best friend firms who can work with us to offer specialist support and expertise, enabling us to provide a seamless service.

Our recent work includes:

Coordinating advice for a client who had the option of divorcing in three European countries, making best use of our international family law network.
Preparing a pre-nuptial agreement for a wealthy client where – if a divorce were to happen – it could take place in several countries across several continents, all with vastly different outcomes.
Successfully arguing that divorce and financial proceedings should take place in England (and not Indonesia) resulting in our client receiving a more generous financial settlement.
Advising an Australian couple who were living together under a de facto marriage under Australian law on the legal status of their relationship under English law after they had relocated to England.
Drafting an English pre-nuptial agreement for a British entrepreneur whose fiancée was from one EU country and they were going to live in another. We worked closely with family lawyers from those two other jurisdictions to ensure the agreement would work in all three jurisdictions.
Acting for grandparents based in England whose grandchildren were the subject of care proceedings and would be placed overseas.
Acting for parents who had had a child through a surrogacy arrangement in California, ensuring that all nationality and immigration issues were dealt with in the four countries with which the family had ties.

In international family law, issues often arise relating to things such as immigration, questions about property situated here or abroad, as well as succession or tax planning. We work closely with our colleagues across Mills & Reeve who are experts in these areas to ensure that our clients benefit from straightforward, practical advice that cuts through the complexities.

What you need to know

International divorce
One of the most frequent questions we get asked is “can I divorce in England or Wales?.” After all, London is known as the divorce capital of the world.

Even if you or your ex live overseas, you may be able to divorce in England or Wales. You will need to establish a link to England or Wales to establish “jurisdiction.” This is commonly done through living in the UK but can be established through other connections, including historical and family connections. You can get divorced in England or Wales if all the following are true:
- You’ve been married for over a year.
- Your relationship has permanently broken down.
- Your marriage is legally recognised in the UK (including same-sex marriage).
- You or your ex have a sufficient connection with England or Wales. One or more of the following needs to be true:
  - You or your ex were domiciled in England or Wales when divorce proceedings begin.
  - Your ex is habitually resident in England or Wales.
  - You are habitually resident in England or Wales and have been living here for at least 12 months immediately before you issued your divorce petition.
  - You are domiciled in England or Wales and have been living here for at least six months immediately before you issued your divorce petition.
  - You or your spouse were last habitually resident in England or Wales and one of you still lives here.
If you can divorce in more than one country, it is important to consider which country you are going to start legal proceedings in. Divorce law varies from country to country and the outcome of an international divorce – and more importantly the financial settlement – will be determined by the country where the legal proceedings are taking place. You will need to think about what assets you have and how they might be divided or shared depending on where the divorce happens. Alongside the outcome you can expect, there are lots of things to think about including:
- Language
- How long proceedings will take to get resolved
- Access and cost of legal advice
- Enforcing your financial settlement
We can help you to get family law advice in other countries so you are aware of your options and can make an informed decision.

It is often important to take quick and decisive action to ensure that the divorce takes place in the country that is the most beneficial to you. Prior to the UK’s exit from the EU, if you were starting divorce proceedings within the EU, you had to “race” for jurisdiction because the country in which the divorce application was first successfully filed “won” the case. The rules changed following Brexit.

Now, if there is a dispute as to whether England and Wales or any other country (including an EU country) should deal with the divorce, the country with the closest connection to the couple will be given jurisdiction and any decisions about the divorce, financial settlements or children arrangements will take place there. Speed is still incredibly important, but there will be more consideration about which country is the most appropriate. For example, where you and your ex lived during your relationship and where any property is located will be relevant questions. We regularly advise clients facing these decisions and can act swiftly in the most urgent cases.
International prenuptial agreements
International family law is about more than just deciding where to divorce. We are experts in international prenuptial agreements and regularly help a wide range of clients with foreign connections to plan for the future.

Different countries have different laws related to prenuptial agreements, which can cause problems if you move to another country or move to England and Wales from abroad. Whether a prenuptial agreement remains valid is determined by the circumstances of the case, the terms of agreement and – most importantly – the country’s law. In some countries:
- Prenuptial agreements are not recognised at all, eg, in Malaysia
- Prenuptial agreements (or marital property regimes or marriage contracts) are normal, eg, in France, Italy and Germany
- Couples are free to enter into pre-nuptial agreements, but the courts can step in to prevent substantial unfairness or hardship, eg, in England and Wales, Massachusetts and Australia
There are also different regimes across the world where:
- Pre-nuptial agreements are very detailed and tailored to the individual wishes of the couple, eg, in England and Wales
- Rather than entering into a detailed agreement, couples simply choose whether their assets will be subject to a community of property regime (shared) or a separation of property regime (retained), eg, in Germany
- In some countries, the regime is automatically applied or there is a default regime
- Each time one member of a married couple purchases property in some countries, they can elect whether it will be treated as separate property or part of the matrimonial “pot”
Situations get complicated when a couple has a prenuptial or other marital agreement from one country and relocates to another with different laws and traditions. Lots of cases have gone through the courts in England and Wales where a divorcing couple with an international prenuptial agreement has disagreed over whether it should be followed. Generally speaking:
- When couples have had full financial disclosure and individual legal advice on the terms of the agreement, it is more likely to be upheld in this country.
- Even if an agreement is not upheld in full, its existence can influence a judge to award a lower financial settlement than they would have if there had been no agreement.
- Sometimes pre-nuptial agreements can influence not only the financial settlement, but also which country’s courts will deal with the divorce proceedings.
- Some terms in certain agreements can restrict the court’s ability to deal with all aspects of a financial settlement.
Our clients often come from countries which have automatic rules about how assets are owned during a marriage and divided on divorce. Legal advice is essential. We can empower you with the right advice about the type of agreement(s) you need (whether in England or elsewhere) and the interplay between domestic and foreign documents so your financial position is protected wherever you are in the world.
International children arrangements
Making arrangements for children poses unique issues for international families. We have lots of advice on these pages:
International family mediation

In many international family law disputes, there is always the opportunity of using non-court solutions to resolve things. Within our team of mediators, we have experience of successfully resolving international children and financial cases. When complex jurisdictional disputes arise, the issues are polarised. Often the courts, lawyers and other experts from two or more jurisdictions become involved.

Disputes can take a very long time and a great deal of expense to resolve. When the stakes are high, mediation offers a unique opportunity to help find a quick and cost-effective resolution. It can, enable you, the wider family and particularly any children involved to be able to move forwards rather than being in an extended and expensive limbo, often with long-lasting psychological and emotional impact.

How does international mediation work?

That depends on each individual case. It can be online or in person, involve a separating couple or multiple family members and their lawyers and other advisers. It can take place as one or two long meetings or a series of meetings over several weeks. We may also meet with the children affected by the issues in dispute so that they are able to share their views with the mediator in confidence, who may then share messages with the parents and other family members if the children agree.

It is extremely easy in complex jurisdictional disputes for all involved to get caught up in the legal battle and in the complexity. Mediation enables a “time-out” and an opportunity to find a workable outcome, to bring the conflict and cost to an end. The success rate is high and the additional cost of mediation is usually relatively low.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is international family law?

International family law refers to family legal issues that cross borders or involve more than one country. This could be where a UK national is navigating divorce proceedings in another country, where there are overseas assets that need to be divided in a divorce, or when arrangements need to be made for children who live or spend much of their time in another country or have dual nationality.

This can be particularly challenging due to the varying laws in different countries, which add a layer of complexity to proceedings. It can be hard to manage a separation or divorce at any time, but when international issues are involved, it’s even more important to make sure that you have the right legal advice
How long does an international divorce take?

How long the proceedings take will vary from country to country. In England and Wales, a divorce now takes a minimum of 26 weeks to complete. However, the process often takes longer as the divorce is usuallynot finalised until there is a financial settlement in place.
I have moved abroad. Can I still get divorced in England?

Yes, you can, provided you meet certain criteria (please see the international divorce section above) and no divorce proceedings have been started in another country. If you are concerned that your ex might start proceedings elsewhere, speak to us. You may need to act urgently to ensure that proceedings take place in the country that achieves the best possible financial settlement for you.
My ex has taken our children abroad and refuses to bring them back to the UK. What do I do?

A lot depends on where your children have been taken. You will need to act quickly. Contact us for clear advice on international child abduction.
Where is the best place to divorce?

If you are able to choose between two or more countries to start divorce proceedings, you will need to consider the pros and cons of each carefully. Alongside speaking to specialist international family lawyers like us, you will need to speak to family lawyers in each of those countries to understand the consequences of your decision. We frequently coordinate advice from multiple countries for our international clients and can help you with the decision-making process.
I married in another country. Can I get divorced here?

Where you were married does not affect whether you can divorce in England and Wales. What matters primarily is your domicile and/or where you and your spouse usually live. If you are concerned about whether your overseas marriage is recognised (valid) here, get in touch.

Videos from our international family lawyers

In this vlog, Caitlin Jenkins, the familylawvlogger, introduces her Mills & Reeve colleague Amy Starnes, one of the specialist children law experts at Mills & Reeve. They discuss Amy's particular area of expertise in advising clients where one of the parents wishes to relocate to another country with the child or children, and the other parent wants the child or children to remain living with them in England & Wales.

International family law

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