Expat Divorce Solicitors UK

Expat and international divorce solicitors Rosleys have made a speciality of serving the British and non-British expatriate community who for one reason or another wish to be divorced in England or need to deal with other family law or property issues in England.

Non residents from all over the world who have a connection with the UK may be able to establish jurisdiction for the purpose of English divorce law. International  Divorce Jurisdiction can be established in a number of ways.  Often one of the international spouses either the husband or the wife is habitually resident in England or Wales whilst the other is working abroad and has become resident abroad.  In such international cases there is no difficulty and the English Courts accept international divorce jurisdiction.

Another common international divorce scenario is where neither party to the international marriage is resident in the UK.  In such cases unless there is an alternative competing EC jurisdiction the British domicile of the Petitioner is sufficient to allow  an international divorce petition to be presented in an English Court.  The difficulties arise if one or other party to the international marriage is resident in an EC country in which case the English Court may not be able to accept a divorce petition. 

You do not have to be British to establish international divorce jurisdiction before the English courts. That is a common misconception.The international divorce jurisdiction is established in the various ways outlined above and it doesn't matter what your actual nationality or background may be unless you are trying to establish the connection through your domicile. If you are in doubt then telephone John Rosley and it should be very easy to clarify this issue.

The choice of international divorce jurisdiction can be a difficult decision.  This is particularly so when the parties to the marriage have a choice of systems and divorce laws that produce radically different outcomes in relation to divorce financial settlements.  The choice must therefore be made carefully and often with the advice of international divorce lawyers in more than one country who assist the client in weighing up options and possibly also their own interests.

The international divorce process is bureaucratic but does not involve personal attendances at Court. Everything can be done by email and by telephone.  With modern communications geography is virtually irrelevant.

Our international divorce package for expatriates offers a fixed fee service at £1,500 plus VAT if appropriate.  Clients resident outside the EC do not pay UK VAT.  The Court fees are currently £340 and are payable in addition.  The international  Divorce package includes all work from the commencement of divorce instructions to the decree absolute in divorce and you will at all times be dealing with John Rosley or Claire McLeod personally who will be available to you at any time by email or telephone.  Your emails will generally be answered by return during office hours or within a very acceptable timescale that may be agreed between us from time to time.  If you would like to discuss anything with us please telephone +44 115 958 0584 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

In offering a fixed fee international Divorce we assume that both parties to the marriage are co-operating with each other and Divorce documents will be acknowledged without unnecessary delays. In cases where we do not have the co-operation of the other party we can go ahead in the normal way and take whatever steps are necessary to prosecute the international divorce  procedures to a successful conclusion irrespective of any lack of co-operation or consent.In such cases our normal hourly rates apply.

We also assist in property and divorce financial settlements in relation to which our normal hourly rates will  apply.  See our web page on Financial Settlements.

Procedure;
To get started all you need to do is telephone us and initially speak to John Rosley who will advise you immediately whether or not you are likely to succeed in dealing with your international Divorce or other international family law  case before the English courts. If your case looks promising a questionnaire will be sent to you by e-mail which you complete giving us most of the information required to begin your case.  Everything is done by e-mail and telephone.  We keep things simple.

What we can do for you;

• We can get you divorced in the UK with the minimum of direct involvement by you personally.
• We can obtain a divorce financial settlement in an English court according to English law.
• We can deal with children's issues in accordance with English standards and values.
• We can assist you to organise contact with children in or out of the UK.
• We can deal with English pension sharing following divorce or other orders relating to pensions.
• We can assist you to realise your UK assets.
• We can do a lot more so just ask us.

 Free telephone consultation;

We offer you a completely free and no obligation consultation of up to 15 minutes on the telephone speaking directly to John Rosley to analyse your issues and advise on the best way forward.You may be surprised at just how much can be achieved in those 15 minutes.  Please telephone in UK office hours +44 115 9580584.

Please look at our related family law pages.