{"id":848,"date":"2026-04-02T21:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/002.svaroglaw.com\/2020\/11\/20\/divorce-from-foreigners-in-ukraine-as-the-current-trend-of-our-time\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T04:46:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T01:46:46","slug":"rozluchennya-z-inozemczyami-v-ukrayini-yak-aktualna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svaroglaw.com\/en\/blog\/rozluchennya-z-inozemczyami-v-ukrayini-yak-aktualna\/","title":{"rendered":"Divorcing a foreign national in Ukraine in 2026: jurisdiction, timing, cost"},"content":{"rendered":"

A marriage to a citizen of another state is dissolved in Ukraine under the same rules as any other: through the civil registry office if there are no shared children under 18 and both spouses agree, or through the courts in every other case. The court fee on a divorce claim in 2026 is 1,331.20 UAH, and the court gives judgment no earlier than a month after the application is filed.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Article 63 of the Law of Ukraine \u201cOn Private International Law\u201d No. 2709-IV ties the dissolution of a marriage to the law that currently governs its legal effects. In practice Ukrainian courts apply Ukrainian law where the spouses had a common place of residence in Ukraine or where one of them is a Ukrainian citizen living here. That is why divorcing a foreign national in Ukraine differs little in procedure from divorcing a Ukrainian.<\/p>\n

The difference appears at three points: jurisdiction, serving a defendant who lives abroad, and the later recognition of the Ukrainian judgment in the other spouse\u2019s state. These three knots consume most of the time in such cases, so we take each in turn. Note one novelty separately: from 3 September 2026 a joint divorce application can be made through the Diia app, but both spouses need a verified Ukrainian electronic profile.<\/p>\n

When a Ukrainian court will hear the case<\/h2>\n

The grounds of jurisdiction in cases with a foreign element are listed in Article 76 of the Law \u201cOn Private International Law\u201d. A Ukrainian court has jurisdiction where, among other things, the defendant has a place of residence or property in Ukraine, where the claimant is a Ukrainian citizen, and in other cases set by law or by treaty. The general rule of the Civil Procedure Code adds the defendant\u2019s place of residence, while Article 28 allows a divorce claim to be filed where the claimant lives if they have young or minor children in their care or if their health prevents them from travelling to the defendant.<\/p>\n

If the other spouse has already started divorce proceedings in a foreign court, the Ukrainian court refuses to open proceedings: priority belongs to whichever court opened them first. So before filing it is worth finding out whether a process has begun abroad \u2014 otherwise the court fee will have been paid for nothing.<\/p>\n

Which law the court will apply<\/h2>\n

Under Article 60 of Law No. 2709-IV the legal effects of a marriage are governed by the spouses\u2019 common personal law, failing which by the law of their common residence, and only then by the law of the state with which both are most closely connected. Article 63 extends the same connecting factor to the dissolution of the marriage. Spouses may choose the law in a marriage contract, but the choice is limited to the legal systems listed in the statute.<\/p>\n

For the divorce itself the applicable law rarely matters much: the court dissolves the marriage under Ukrainian law and under foreign law alike. Far more often it affects the accompanying claims \u2014 the matrimonial property regime, the level of maintenance, where the child will live. If the flat is in Kyiv and the accounts are in Germany, it is sensible to separate the property part into its own proceedings, with a property division lawyer<\/a> running it alongside the divorce.<\/p>\n

Registry office, Diia or court: three scenarios<\/h2>\n

The civil registry office dissolves a marriage on the spouses\u2019 joint application where they have no shared children under eighteen, under Article 106 of the Family Code. Since 3 September 2026 that application can also be made in the Diia app: one spouse creates it, the other confirms it, and no sooner than a month and two calendar days later a video call with a registry officer takes place. The application can be withdrawn no later than four hours before that call.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Situation<\/th>\nWhere to apply<\/th>\nTime<\/th>\nPayment<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
No children under 18, both agree, both hold a Ukrainian e-profile<\/td>\nDiia or a registry office<\/td>\nregistry office \u2014 1 month; Diia \u2014 1 month and 2 days from the application<\/td>\nregistry office \u2014 duty 8.50 UAH; Diia \u2014 2,871.50 UAH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No children, the foreign spouse has no e-profile but agrees<\/td>\nregistry office on a joint application, the signature abroad is legalised<\/td>\n1 month<\/td>\nstate duty 8.50 UAH plus legalisation and translation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shared minor children, agreement reached<\/td>\ncourt on a joint application, Article 109 of the Family Code<\/td>\nno earlier than 1 month<\/td>\ncourt fee 1,331.20 UAH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The other spouse objects or is out of contact<\/td>\ncourt on one spouse\u2019s claim<\/td>\nfrom 3 months; with service abroad, up to a year<\/td>\ncourt fee 1,331.20 UAH<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

Where there are children, the joint application must be accompanied by a written agreement on which parent the child will live with and how the other will take part in raising them, plus a notarised agreement on the amount and manner of maintenance. The court checks that the agreements do not infringe the child\u2019s rights and only then dissolves the marriage. Where no agreement is reached, child support after the divorce is handled by a child maintenance lawyer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

How to notify a foreign spouse that proceedings are under way<\/h2>\n

A defendant living abroad cannot be summoned by an ordinary court notice. Ukraine is a party to the 1965 Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, ratified on 19 October 2000. The central authority under that Convention is the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine: the court issues the request, the Ministry passes it to the competent authority of the foreign state, and that authority serves the documents and returns the certificate.<\/p>\n

Service of this kind realistically takes from several months to a year, and the court stays the proceedings for that period under Article 251 of the Civil Procedure Code. With states that have bilateral legal assistance treaties with Ukraine the documents often move faster. There is one lawful way to speed things up: arrange for the defendant to file a statement themselves asking the court to hear the case in their absence, certified by a notary abroad and legalised or apostilled.<\/p>\n

Where the defendant\u2019s whereabouts are unknown altogether, the court summons them by an announcement on the official judiciary web portal. This is a lawful route, but it lengthens the case and creates a risk: a foreign court may later refuse to recognise a judgment given without proper service.<\/p>\n

What it costs and how long it takes<\/h2>\n

The court fee on a divorce claim is 0.4 of the subsistence minimum for working-age persons, that is 1,331.20 UAH in 2026. Filing through the Electronic Court subsystem reduces it by 20 %, to 1,064.96 UAH. If the same claim also seeks division of property, that is a monetary claim and is charged separately at 1 % of its value, from 1,331.20 to 16,640 UAH. State registration of the dissolution at the registry office carries a state duty of 8.50 UAH.<\/p>\n

Add to that the translation of the foreign spouse\u2019s documents into Ukrainian with notarial certification, an apostille or consular legalisation, and, if needed, an interpreter at the hearing. Legal support starts at 1,500 UAH for a consultation and 25,000 UAH for full handling of a civil case; the other items are collected on the legal services price list<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

Divorcing a foreign national step by step<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Check whether divorce proceedings have been opened in a foreign court: if they were opened first, the Ukrainian court will refuse to open its own.<\/li>\n
  2. Gather the documents: the marriage certificate, documents about the children, a copy of the defendant\u2019s passport, evidence of where they live abroad. Foreign documents need translation and an apostille or consular legalisation.<\/li>\n
  3. Choose the route: with no children under 18 and mutual consent it is the registry office or Diia; in every other case the court remains.<\/li>\n
  4. Pay the court fee of 1,331.20 UAH and file the claim, stating the defendant\u2019s known address abroad and applying for service under the 1965 Hague Convention.<\/li>\n
  5. If the defendant agrees, obtain a notarised statement from them asking for the case to be heard in their absence: this cuts months off the process.<\/li>\n
  6. Once the judgment is final, register the dissolution at the registry office and, if the judgment is to be used abroad, have it apostilled.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Typical mistakes<\/h2>\n