Estonia - Apply for Divorce

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Procedure

Divorce at the vital statistics office

1. To apply for a divorce, spouses must personally submit a joint written application (link to the form provided under 'Documents to Use' section). If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at a vital statistics office in person for submission of a joint application, he or she may submit a separate notarized authenticated application.
2. Applicants will also need to submit a document certifying the contraction of marriage. The submission of the document or information is not required if the information necessary for making an entry can be obtained from the population register.
3. The state fee must be paid before submitting the application.
4. A divorce will not be granted earlier than one month and later than three months from the date of submission of an application.
5. On the day of the granting of the divorce: If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at a vital statistics office on the day of the divorce, the spouse may submit a consent to the divorce without the presence of the spouse which is authenticated by a notary or consular officer.
6. Upon the request of the applicants, an official shall issue a certificate of divorce after making the divorce entry. The certificate may be issued to both applicants. Applicants will be asked to pay the state fee for making the divorce entry.

Divorce by the notary:

1. The notary may grant divorce upon agreement of the spouses based on a joint application that is filled out at the notarys office.
2. Divorcing spouses will need to bring their identification documents and if the marriage being dissolved is not registered in the population register, a document certifying the contraction of marriage.
   If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at a notary in person for submission of a joint application, he or she may submit a separate notarized authenticated application. All foreign documents shall be translated into Estonian and the translation shall be certified by a notary, sworn translator or consular officer.
3. After receiving the application, the notary will appoint a date for the granting of the divorce.
4. Both spouses must be present at the day of the divorce. If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at the notary at the time specified, the spouse may submit a separate consent to the divorce without the presence of the spouse which is authenticated by a notary or consular officer.
5. The Notary fee is paid upon divorce and this includes accepting the application for divorce, counseling prescribed by the Notary Fees Act and preparing an entry.

Divorce by court

If the spouses have disputes over the divorce or circumstances pertaining to the divorce or if the vital statistics office is not competent to grant the divorce.

The State fee must be paid when submitting a statement of claim for obtaining divorce.

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Required Documents

Divorce at the vital statistics office:

• Joint Written Application
• If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at a vital statistics office in person for submission of a joint application, he or she may submit a separate notarized authenticated application.
• Document certifying the contraction of marriage. The submission of the document or information is not required if the information necessary for making an entry can be obtained from the population register.

Note: Documents in foreign languages shall be submitted to the vital statistics office along with a translation certified by a notary, consular office or sworn translator. A foreign document which is the basis for a marriage entry shall be legalised or authenticated by a certificate (apostille), unless otherwise prescribed by an international agreement.

Divorce by the notary:

• Joint Written Application
• Valid identification
• If the marriage being dissolved is not registered in the population register, a document certifying the contraction of marriage.
  If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at a notary in person for submission of a joint application, he or she may submit a separate notarized authenticated application. All foreign documents shall be translated into Estonian and the translation shall be certified by a notary, sworn translator or consular officer.
• If a spouse cannot appear with good reason at the notary at the time specified, the spouse may submit a separate consent to the divorce without the presence of the spouse which is authenticated by a notary or consular officer.

Office Locations & Contacts

Tallinn Vital Statistics Office

Prnu mnt 67
10135 Tallinn (map)
Phone: 645 7480

Direct phones:
Marriage: 6457483
Divorce: 6457498
Births: 6457488
Deaths: 6457493
Change of Name: 6457486
Operations abroad: 6457481

Fax: 645 7491
The Manager Of Karin Smith
E-post: [email protected]

Eligibility

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Fees

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Validity

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e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Joint Written Application

Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

A divorce may be granted in these cases:

• Based on the mutual agreement of the spouses at a vital statistics office. Vital statistics offices competent to grant divorce are county governments and the Tallinn vital statistics office.
  A vital statistics office may grant a divorce if the place of residence of both spouses is in Estonia.
• By the notary or by court in the case of a dispute.

Required Information

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e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or County of Birth.

Need for the Document

This procedure provides information on how you can apply for a divorce in Estonia.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

Estonian State Portal

Others

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