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Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorneyKey points in brief
Marriage to a citizen of another state adds several legal layers to an ordinary divorce: you have to determine which country’s court has jurisdiction, which state’s law applies, how to officially notify a respondent abroad, and how to make sure the decision is recognized both in Ukraine and beyond it. In this article we work through these questions step by step, relying on the legislation in force as of 2026. The material will be useful whether you live in Ukraine or your partner has remained abroad.
Yes, a Ukrainian citizen has the right to dissolve a marriage with a foreigner in a Ukrainian court, and the other spouse’s citizenship does not stand in the way. Ukrainian law does not prohibit divorce with a foreign element. The ground is the same for everyone: a court grants the dissolution of a marriage if it finds that the spouses’ further life together and the preservation of the marriage would run counter to the interests of one of them or of their children (Art. 112 FC). Each spouse has the right to file a claim (Art. 110 FC), and the jurisdiction of Ukrainian courts in cases with a foreign element is established by the Law on Private International Law: among the grounds are the claimant’s residence in Ukraine and other connections of the case with our state. So if you live in Ukraine, it is entirely realistic to dissolve a registered marriage at home, without travelling abroad. The difficulties usually lie not in the right to divorce itself, but in the procedure: notifying the respondent, translations, and timeframes. And if it is you, rather than your partner, who has ended up abroad, remote methods work for you, which we describe in a separate step-by-step guide.
As a general rule, a claim for the dissolution of a marriage is filed with the court at the respondent’s registered place of residence, but there are important exceptions to this rule in the claimant’s favor. If the claimant has young or minor children in their care, or cannot travel to the respondent’s place of residence for health reasons or other valid reasons, the claim may be filed at the claimant’s own place of residence (Art. 28 CPC). By agreement of the spouses, the case is heard at the place of residence of either of them. This is convenient when the foreigner lives outside Ukraine, since there is no need to travel to their country. A separate situation arises when both spouses live abroad. In that case, and also in cases of divorce between a Ukrainian citizen and a foreigner or a stateless person who live outside Ukraine, territorial jurisdiction is set, on the claimant’s motion, by a ruling of a judge of the Supreme Court (Art. 29 CPC). In practice this means an additional preliminary step: first obtaining a ruling on the determination of the court, and only then filing the claim. In its 2025 practice, the Supreme Court stressed that the concept of valid reasons should be interpreted broadly, so as not to deprive a person of access to justice.
For the dissolution of a marriage, Ukrainian courts apply the law determined under Articles 60 and 63 of the Law on Private International Law, while the procedure itself is always conducted under Ukrainian procedural law. Article 63 refers to the rules on the legal consequences of marriage, and Article 60 sets out the sequence: the spouses’ common personal law applies, that is, the law of their common citizenship. If there is no common citizenship, the law of the state in which the spouses have a common place of residence applies, and in its absence the law of the state with which both are most closely connected in some other way. In practice, when the spouses lived in Ukraine or their main connections are concentrated here, the court applies precisely Ukrainian substantive law. Procedural matters, such as how to file a claim, how to summon the parties, how to examine evidence, are always governed by the law of Ukraine as the state of the court. So there is no need to fear exotic wording: in a typical divorce case the court is guided by the Family Code of Ukraine, while the foreign element affects, rather, the notification procedure and document flow.
Yes, divorce through the civil registry office (DRATS) with a foreigner is possible, but only under two conditions at once: the spouses have no shared minor children and both agree to dissolve the marriage (Art. 106 FC). The partner’s citizenship in itself does not take away the right to this fast and inexpensive route, and the state fee for registering the dissolution of a marriage is about UAH 8.50. The problem here is purely organizational: both must express their will. If the foreigner is abroad and cannot come, they submit a separate notarized application; a signature made abroad is certified by a notary or consul, and the document itself is accompanied by a Ukrainian translation. But if there is at least one shared child under 18 or there is no consent, the registry office will refuse, and the matter will have to be resolved through the court. We explain the administrative route, its conditions and timeframes in more detail in a separate article on divorce through the civil registry office.
A respondent living outside Ukraine is officially notified of the hearing through a letter of request for the service of documents under the 1965 Hague Convention. Ukraine is a party to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. The court draws up a letter of request, which is transmitted through the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine to the central authority of the foreign state, and that authority arranges service on the addressee under local rules. The key requirement concerns translation: the statement of claim and its annexes are, as a rule, translated into the official language of the state where the respondent lives, otherwise service may not be carried out. It is precisely because of this international exchange of documents that the proceedings take much longer than an ordinary divorce, since waiting for a response from a foreign authority often stretches into months. With states with which Ukraine has bilateral treaties on legal assistance, letters of request are sent in the manner provided for by such treaties. A separate case is notifying a respondent in an aggressor state, where its own specifics apply; we examine this situation in the material on dissolving a marriage with a citizen of the russian federation.
If the respondent’s place of residence abroad could not be established, they are summoned through an announcement on the official web portal of the judiciary, and from the day of such publication they are deemed to have been properly notified. This is a safeguard against a situation where the partner deliberately hides or has dropped out of sight. Before this, the court takes reasonable steps to find out the address, in particular through available contacts and inquiries. If the respondent is properly notified but does not appear and does not file a response, the court has the right to hold a default hearing and issue a default decision. It is important to understand: proper notification does not necessarily mean that the addressee has actually received the documents, so a foreigner’s silence or evasion does not block the divorce forever, although it does prolong it. At the same time, the respondent may later appeal the default decision or ask for it to be reviewed if they prove valid reasons for their failure to appear, so the court records all procedural steps with particular care.
In addition to the standard divorce package, a case with a foreigner adds notarized translations and, if necessary, an apostille or legalization of foreign documents. The basic set is as follows: the statement of claim, a copy of the marriage certificate, copies of passports and documents about children if any, and also a receipt for payment of the court fee. The foreigner’s passport and their other documents drawn up in a foreign language are accompanied by a Ukrainian translation, the accuracy of which is certified by a notary. If a document was issued abroad and must be officially accepted in Ukraine, for example a foreign marriage certificate, it usually requires an apostille or consular legalization, except where this is waived by an international treaty. We have gathered the exact lists of documents for each divorce route in a separate detailed material. Tip: prepare the translations in advance, since it is precisely they that most often delay filing.
In 2026 the court fee for a claim to dissolve a marriage is about UAH 1,331, and the duration of a case with a foreign element is usually longer because of international correspondence. The fee rate equals 0.4 of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons; since as of 1 January 2026 this figure is UAH 3,328, the fee is approximately UAH 1,331.20. On a joint application by spouses who have children and have concluded an agreement about them (Art. 109 FC), the rate is half as much, about UAH 665.60. When a claim is filed electronically through the Electronic Court system, a reducing coefficient of 0.8 applies, that is, you pay about 80 percent of the amount. Registering a divorce at the civil registry office costs a symbolic UAH 8.50 in state duty. As for timeframes, they depend on how quickly the foreign authority serves the documents: while an ordinary divorce in Ukraine can take about two months, international service adds months of waiting on top of that. We showed how to practically draw up a claim and file it, including online, in a step-by-step guide on the statement of claim.
For a Ukrainian divorce decision to have force abroad, it is usually apostilled or legalized and translated into the language of the relevant state. For countries that are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, an apostille is enough: it is affixed to the court decision by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, after which the document is translated and, if necessary, the translation is certified in the receiving country. For states that have not acceded to this convention, consular legalization is used, and with countries that have a legal assistance treaty with Ukraine, documents are often accepted without additional formalities. We examined the very procedure of apostilling divorce documents, the authorities and the timeframes in a separate step-by-step guide. A practical tip: check in advance with the authority of the foreign state, the registry, or the consulate which exact document they need: the court decision, the marriage dissolution certificate, or an extract from the civil registry, since the requirements of different countries differ.
A foreign divorce decision is in many cases recognized in Ukraine without a separate court process, if it does not require enforcement and a legal assistance treaty is in force between the states. But when there is no such treaty or an authority requires confirmation, the foreign decision is recognized through a Ukrainian court; for this the document is legalized by an apostille or consular legalization and translated into Ukrainian with notarial certification. It is important to remember: until the divorce is properly formalized and reflected in the registers, for Ukraine you may be considered to be married, even if the relationship in fact ended long ago. So the formalities should not be ignored. Questions of dividing joint property and the children’s place of residence are resolved separately from the dissolution of the marriage itself, and where there is a foreign element, such as property or children in different countries, these questions have their own nuances, which are better discussed with an attorney in advance.
No, the other spouse’s consent is not required for a divorce through the court. If the foreigner is against it or does not get in touch, the court can still dissolve the marriage, including in absentia, provided the respondent is properly notified. Mutual consent is needed only for the fast route through the civil registry office and only in the absence of shared minor children.
Yes. The foreigner’s personal presence is not required: they can take part remotely, act through a representative under a power of attorney, or not appear at all. The main thing is to properly notify them of the hearing. If a properly notified respondent fails to appear, the court holds a default hearing and may issue a decision without them.
Mostly yes, but the decision needs to be legalized: affix an apostille for Hague Convention countries or go through consular legalization, and also translate it into the language of the state. The specific requirements depend on the country, so it is worth checking them in advance with the relevant authority or consulate.
Documents are submitted to a Ukrainian court in the Ukrainian language. Materials drawn up in a foreign language are accompanied by a notarized translation. In turn, documents sent to the respondent abroad are translated into the language of their state, so that the foreign authority can properly serve them.
It is hard to predict the exact timeframe. An ordinary divorce in Ukraine often takes about two months, but the international service of documents through the Hague Convention adds months of waiting for a response from the foreign authority. The longest cases are those where the respondent’s address is unknown or they deliberately evade.
If both spouses live outside Ukraine, and also in cases of divorce between a Ukrainian citizen and a foreigner who live abroad, jurisdiction is set, on the claimant’s motion, by a ruling of a judge of the Supreme Court (Art. 29 CPC). First such a ruling is obtained, and then the claim is filed with the court it designates.
No. The former restrictions on dissolving a marriage during the wife’s pregnancy and for a year after the child’s birth were abolished by Law No. 4073-IX, in force since 19 December 2024. As of 2026 there is no such prohibition, and this rule applies regardless of the spouses’ citizenship.
Ilona MelnychukAttorney, Lexon law firmSpecializes in family, civil, and commercial cases. Over 15 years of practice: representing clients’ interests in courts and negotiations.Author: Ilona Melnychuk, attorney In Brief You can dissolve a marriage through the registry office (DRATS, the body for the state registration of civil status
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