Divorce in Jamaica When You or Your Spouse Lives Abroad

The place of the wedding decides nothing. What matters is the connection to Jamaica when the petition is filed. The Supreme Court can hear the divorce if either spouse is a Jamaican citizen, is domiciled in Jamaica or has lived in Jamaica for the twelve months before filing. For most Jamaicans abroad, citizenship is the plain route. Our column on who can file and when sets out the tests.

The ground is the same as for everyone else. The marriage has broken down and cannot be mended, shown by at least twelve months apart before filing with no real prospect of getting back together. The court still wants to know when the marriage ended and whether the two of you ever tried again.

The petition is prepared here for filing in the Supreme Court and you sign it where you live. A signature taken the wrong way is a petition that cannot be filed, so we send signing instructions with the papers.

Your spouse must receive the papers, and the court must see proof of how and when. Service abroad takes longer and costs more than service in Jamaica. If you do not know where your spouse is, the case does not simply carry on. The court has to be asked to allow another way of serving, which is a separate application, and it adds months.

An undefended petition is usually decided on the papers, with nobody appearing, though a judge can ask for more evidence or a hearing.

Decree Nisi does not end the marriage. After a wait the law fixes, the petitioner applies for Decree Absolute, and that decree ends it. A spouse living abroad uses a certified copy of the Decree Absolute in the country where they live. We obtain it from the Registry and send it to you.

Usually not. Instructions are taken by telephone, email and video call, and the documents are signed abroad. That is the usual course, not a promise: a flaw in service or a direction from the judge can mean an attendance. We take uncontested divorces only, so a spouse who fights the petition turns it into a case we cannot run for you.

Silence is different. Once the papers are proved to have reached your spouse and the time to respond has passed, the court is asked to treat the petition as undefended.

One last trap. If your spouse was already married to someone else on your wedding day, your marriage may be void and the right proceeding may be nullity rather than divorce.

The law that governs divorce in Jamaica sets the connection the court needs and the wait between the two decrees: Matrimonial Causes Act.

To our reader: send us a copy of the marriage certificate and tell us where your husband is and when the marriage ended. We will tell you whether the petition can be filed, what moves the date (see our cost and timing column) and what the file starts with.