Question: I will be getting married in Ontario next spring and I was divorced abroad. To obtain a marriage license in Ontario, I must get a letter from an Ontario divorce lawyer stating that my divorce should be recognised in Ontario. Is this something you could do for me, and if so, what would be your fees?

Answer: Yes. The process is quite straightforward. You’d need to send me:

1. Your divorce order or decree.
2. A certified translation of your divorce order or decree, if it is not in English.
3. A copy of your marriage licence application.
4. A written statement about where you lived in the year prior to the divorce being granted (this can be 1 sentence, really).

Most American divorces are valid in Ontario, unless you had a somewhat unusual divorce, say in Nevada. Most divorces from Commonwealth countries are valid in Ontario as well.

I’d then write the appropriate opinion letter. I can normally do this within 2 business days of receiving your documents.

The fee is $300+hst Canadian. The easiest way to pay this is normally by credit card if you are not in Ottawa. This fee also includes sending the documents and opinion letter back to you by courier.

To get started, call me at 1-613-519-0320 or email me and I’ll be happy to discuss with you the circumstances of your foreign divorce, and whether it is recognized under Ontario law.

Here is a sample opinion letter about the validity of a foreign divorce order in Ontario
.

Dear Ms Smith:

Re: Application for a marriage licence

You wish to be married in Ontario and have retained me to provide an opinion concerning the recognition in Ontario of a divorce granted on June 16, 2007 by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part in Bergen County, dissolving the marriage of John Smith and Jane Smith (the “Divorce”).

Based on the information contained in the application for your marriage licence, the material you have shown me in support of the application, including the original of the decree of the divorce, and a certified translation thereof, and on the information you have provided to me orally, it is my opinion that the divorce would be recognized in Ontario:

Under subsection 22(1) of the Divorce Act (Canada), because Jane Smith was ordinarily resident in the jurisdiction that granted the divorce for at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the proceedings for the divorce.

I am satisfied that the court that granted the divorce had jurisdiction to do so according to its own law. Furthermore, there is no evidence of fraud or of a denial of natural justice concerning the granting of the divorce.

In my view, therefore, the divorce would be recognized in the Province of Ontario and Jane Smith would, according to the law of Ontario, be considered free at this time to marry.

Yours very truly,

Behrendt Professional Corporation

Here are instructions for obtaining a marriage certificate in Ontario if you were divorced abroad.

Dear Ms Smith:

Re: Application for a marriage licence

As your previous marriage was dissolved in the New Jersey, rather than Canada, you must obtain authorization from the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations before a marriage licence may be issued.

To do so, you must submit the following to:

The Office of the Registrar General
P.O. Box 4600
189 Red River Road
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 6L8

Attention: The Marriage Office

1. A completed marriage licence application signed by both people who want to marry.

2. The original of the decree of divorce (and certified translation). The Ministry will return the decree of divorce to you if you enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope to ensure that this is done.

3. A statement of sole responsibility signed by both of you.

4. My legal opinion, explaining why your decree of divorce should be recognized in the Province of Ontario.

My understanding is that it now takes the Ministry four to five weeks to process the authorization. If you wish to speak with the Ministry directly, they may be reached at 1-800-461-2156.

Yours very truly,

Behrendt Professional Corporation

“Is my divorce from another country recognized in Canada?”

A divorce from another country is valid in Canada if either: (1) when you obtained your divorce you had a “real and substantial” connection to the place where you obtained the divorce; or (2) when you obtained your divorce, either you or your spouse had been ordinarily resident in the place that granted the divorce for a year beforehand.

So, if you normally lived in the place where you divorced, the chances are good that your divorce will be recognized in Canada. On the other hand, if you obtained a quick divorce in a place like the Dominican Republic and otherwise had nothing to do with that place, the chances are that your divorce will NOT be recognized in Canada.

Similarly, I’ve often seen immigrants to Canada from places like Pakistan who, even though they now live in Canada permanently, still obtain a divorce in their original country. The chances are that these divorce will NOT be recognized in Canada.

There are other cases where a foreign divorce won’t be recognized: if the divorce was obtained by fraud, or in some similar way is not genuine.

The relevant statutory law is section 22 of the Divorce Act of Canada, which provides:

(1) A divorce granted, on or after the coming into force of this Act, pursuant to a law of a country or subdivision of a country other than Canada by a tribunal or other authority having jurisdiction to do so shall be recognized for all purposes of determining the marital status in Canada of any person, if either former spouse was ordinarily resident in that country or subdivision for at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of proceedings for the divorce.

(2) A divorce granted, after July 1, 1968, pursuant to a law of a country or subdivision of a country other than Canada by a tribunal or other authority having jurisdiction to do so, on the basis of the domicile of the wife in that country or subdivision determined as if she were unmarried and, if she was a minor, as if she had attained the age of majority, shall be recognized for all purposes of determining the marital status in Canada of any person.

(3) Nothing in this section abrogates or derogates from any other rule of law respecting the recognition of divorces granted otherwise than under this Act.

To get started, call me at 1-613-519-0320 or email me and I’ll be happy to discuss with you the circumstances of your foreign divorce, and whether it is recognized under Ontario law.