Foreigners pondering the possibility of carrying out a divorce procedure in the Dominican Republic normally inquire if such a divorce is considered valid and enforceable abroad. Many foreigners resort to what is commonly referred to a special or quick divorce for foreigners, which Dominican legislation offers in comparison to other legislations, in terms of time and cost. As a result, it is our interest address this issue and offer an answer to this question, in order to clarify any doubts and to help avoid any inconveniences or confusion that may arise to a divorce in the Dominican Republic.
First it is important to point out that a divorce performed in the Dominican Republic with the objective to be presented abroad must comply with certain requirements, permits and legalizations in order to be considered valid in the country where it will be presented. These requirements include the translation of the divorce decree and divorce certificate certified by an authorized translator and a subsequent legalization by the Attorney General’s Office of the Dominican Republic, which is the institution that verifies the signature of the aforementioned translator. This requirement must be fulfilled in the event that the documents are in a different language than that of the country where they will be presented. Having completed this process it is then necessary to legalize the documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, institution that grants a visa for the document for its validity abroad.
As a final step the documents are legalized at the Consulate of the country where they will be presented. This is done because the Consul should legalize and certify that the signature that the document contains is of a foreign government official or office responsible for authorizing such document. It is necessary to point out that the requirement of legalization at the Consulate only applies for countries that have not ratified the "Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”, adopted at The Hague, Netherlands October 5, 1961. This convention aims to eliminate the requirement of diplomatic or consular legalization that have been previously approved in the territory of a state belonging to the convention and to be submitted in another state party of the Convention. This means that if the foreigner is from a country party of the agreement, the steps to make valid the divorce decree and certificate in his/her country culminate with the legalization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs containing a stamp called Apostille confirming the quality and authenticity of the signature.
The concern arises when the foreigner belongs to a country which has a broad and comprehensive legislation on divorce proceedings and especially on foreign divorces. Such is the case of countries like Canada and England. In the case of Canada in its "Divorce Act of 1985 under subsection 22 speaks on" Recognition of Foreign Divorces and specifies that a divorce granted by a country other than Canada shall be recognized for all purposes when 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. In the case of England in its "Family Law Act 1986 in Part II specifies that foreign divorces are recognized only when: the divorce is valid in the country where it was obtained and that the start date of the divorce proceedings one of the spouses has been residing permanently, or is domiciled or is a national when the divorce was obtained.
As a result of the foregoing, a foreigner, prior to proceeding with a divorce in the Dominican Republic should consult the legislation of their country at the corresponding government institutions in order to identify or verify any restrictions applicable to and / or conditions to be met by divorces obtained abroad and to present the divorce decree and certificate. Some countries, while recognizing Dominican divorces, may have particular standards or procedures. We have carried out divorce for foreigners belonging to the United States, Central and South America and Europe and the documents have been submitted and validated without calamity.
The aforementioned quick divorces is a safe, cost-efficient and expedite procedure that presents few complications and which results in a simple process that may in other countries may be rather lengthy and tortuous.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
LEY 1306 BIS SOBRE DIVORCIO EN LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA.
LEY NO.142, QUE MODIFICA LA LEY 1306 BIS, SOBRE DIVORCIO.
CÓDIGO DE BUSTAMANTE.
DIVORCE ACT DE CANADÁ DE 1985.
FAMILY LAW DE INGLATERRA DE 1986.
TODO SOBRE EL DIVORCIO, LIC. MÁXIMO DIAZ, 2000.
WWW.SEREX.GOV.DO
WWW.USEMBASSY.GOV