Switzerland - Apply for Divorce

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Procedure

Joint Petition

1. Create an agreement on how to deal with consequences of the divorce (child custody, maintenance payments, the division of property and assets and legal fees, etc.) The agreement should normally be drawn up before a notary, although this is not a legal requirement.
2. Submit the agreement together along with a written petition to the court. Some courts provide pre-printed forms but you can also write a letter signed by both partners saying that you want to divorce.
3. Your situation will dictate what documents you will be required to submit to the court.

Unilateral Petition

1. If one of the spouses do not consent to the divorce, either one may submit a unilateral application to the court.

Granting of the Divorce Petition

• The judge will inform the individuals communes of residence and origin of the divorce. The communes of origin will then record the divorce in the civil registry.

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Required Documents

• Your situation will dictate what documents you will be required to submit to the court.

Office Locations & Contacts

Federal Office of Justice (FOJ)

Federal Office of Justice

Bundesrain 20

CH-3003 Berne

Tel: +41 31 322 43 11

Contact form: http://www.bj.admin.ch/content/bj/en/misc/conform.html?contactid=0360&backpagepath=/content/bj/en/tools/kontakte

Civil Registry

Eidg. Amt fr das Zivilstandswesen

Bundesrain 20

CH-3003 Berne

Tel. Numbers: +41 31 322 42 42,

Fax: +41 31 324 26 55

Contact Form: http://www.bj.admin.ch/content/bj/en/misc/conform.html?contactid=0028&backpagepath=/content/bj/en/tools/kontakte

Eligibility

Joint Petition

• consent of both parties
• no need to state the grounds for the divorce

Unilateral Petition

• spouses have lived apart for a minimum of two years.
• In some cases, a divorce can be granted even if the minimum of two years of spouses living apart requirement was not met if it is unreasonable to expect one of the spouses to continue with the marriage, for example in the case of physical abuse.

Fees

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Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents which can be used by people who would like to follow this procedure.    

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

Where to file your divorce

In Switzerland

Competent court in your or your partners place of residence. Ask a judicial authority or a lawyer if you are not sure which court to contact.

• Note: If both spouses consent to a divorce, they can only file for divorce in the place where they live if they have lived in Switzerland for at least a year. Otherwise, the petition for divorce must be submitted in the place where the spouse lives.

Spouses are Swiss and lives abroad

Divorce can only be filed in Switzerland if it is impossible or unreasonable to submit the petition for divorce abroad in the place where one or both of the spouses lives. In this case, the petition for divorce may be filed in the place of origin of one of the spouses.

To search which court you shall file your divorce.

https://www.ch.ch/en/divorce-court-information/

Required Information

A list which displays the kind of information which is required to complete the procedure.
e.g.
1. Date of Birth.
2. City or County of Birth.

Need for the Document

Dissolution of marriage or divorce is the termination of marital union between married couple. It results in cancellation of all legal duties and responsibilities between husband and wife. Application for a divorce may be filed by both (Joint Petition) or either of the spouses (Unilateral Petition).

It is much easier if both spouses agree to obtain a divorce and file a joint application. It is not necessary to explain the grounds for the divorce if spouses decided to file a Joint Petition.

Information which might help

Application for divorce follows the Swiss Code of Civil Law, Part 2: Family Law, 1st Division: Marital Law, 4th Heading: Divorce and Separation, Articles 111 149.

To know more about divorce and grounds for filing a divorce you may follow this link:

http://ceflonline.net/wp-content/uploads/Switzerland-Divorce.pdf

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• Divorce in Switzerland

https://www.ch.ch/en/divorce/

• Confederation, cantons and communes (Switzerland)

https://www.ch.ch/en/divorce-procedure/

• Federal Department of Justice and Police

http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/ejpd/en/home.html

Others

More information which might help people.