The war separated thousands of families physically before it did legally. A person has lived in another country for the third year, the relationship is long over — yet in the register the marriage still stands. And while it stands, its consequences keep working: joint ownership of property, inheritance rights, the presumption of paternity, consent for a child to travel abroad. A marriage in Ukraine can be dissolved at a distance, and there is no need to come back to do it. But the route does not depend on where you live.

One spouse abroad, the other in Ukraine

This is the most common situation, and also the simplest — provided the spouses have reached agreement.

No children and mutual consent — the civil registry office

The spouse who is abroad does not have to travel. They sign an application for divorce together with consent to registration in their absence, and have the signature certified — by a notary in the country of residence or at a Ukrainian consulate. If the document is in a foreign language, an official translation into Ukrainian is required. The originals are sent to the spouse in Ukraine, who files both applications with the civil registry office (DRACS).

Then there is a one-month waiting period. If neither application has been withdrawn during that month, the office registers the divorce and issues a certificate.

With children or without consent — the court

Here distance is no help: the case goes to court. But attending in person is not required — and that is exactly what people who put off a divorce "until they come back" most often do not know.

Jurisdiction. The general rule is the respondent's registered place of residence. However, the claimant may file at their own place of residence if they are raising minor children or cannot travel to the respondent for health or other good reasons. The spouses may also agree to file at the place of residence of either of them.

How to take part without coming. Three tools work, and they can be combined: a representative under a power of attorney runs the case entirely; an application to hear the case in your absence removes the need to appear; a video link through the "Electronic Court" system lets you speak yourself — the request is filed at least five days before the hearing.

If there is consent but also children, the spouses file a joint application with a written agreement on who the children will live with and how the other parent will take part in their maintenance and upbringing. It is faster and cheaper than a contested case.

When both spouses are abroad

There are three options, and their consequences are not the same.

A consulate

A Ukrainian consular office registers a divorce if at least one spouse permanently resides abroad, there is mutual consent and there are no minor children of the marriage. The conditions are the same as for the civil registry office — only the place of filing changes.

A Ukrainian court

This is possible, but not automatic. Ukrainian courts hear cases with a foreign element on grounds set by law — in particular under the parties' agreement on jurisdiction, where the respondent has a residence or property in Ukraine, and in cases concerning the personal status of a Ukrainian citizen. If no ground fits and the court cannot be determined, jurisdiction is assigned by the Supreme Court — a separate procedure that takes time.

A foreign court

You can also divorce in a court of your country of residence. But this is where the main trap begins — the one that brings people to us years after their divorce.

If the marriage has already been dissolved abroad

A foreign divorce judgment does not need enforcement — it has to be recognised. The application is filed with the court at the respondent's place of residence or stay in Ukraine, or, if that is unknown, where their property is located.

Once proceedings are opened, the other party has a month to object. The court gives at least ten days' notice of the hearing.

What is filed with the court:

1. a duly certified copy of the foreign judgment;
2. a document confirming that the judgment has become final — unless this is stated in the judgment itself;
3. a certified translation into Ukrainian;
4. a document confirming the representative's authority, if a lawyer files the application.

Four mistakes for which courts return these applications. First, the translation is certified but the copy of the judgment itself is not: these are two different documents, and both must be certified. Second, there is no proof that the judgment has become final. Third, the respondent's place of residence in Ukraine is not confirmed. Fourth, there is no proof that the respondent was duly notified of the foreign proceedings; without it, the recognition can be challenged.

After recognition, the judgment is submitted to the civil registry office, which enters the details in the register. Only from that moment is the marriage considered dissolved for Ukraine too.

Dividing property: a separate case that is most often lost on time limits

A divorce does not divide anything by itself. These are two different processes: a marriage can be dissolved in a month, while property is divided for years — or never divided at all. For those who have left, this is especially painful: the flat remained in Ukraine, there is no access to the documents, and the former husband or wife lives in it and says nothing.

As a general rule, everything acquired during the marriage is the spouses' joint property, regardless of whose name it is in or who earned how much. The exceptions are gifts, inheritance, personal belongings and things bought with personal funds, and each of these exceptions has to be proven with documents.

Three routes

1. A division agreement. The fastest and cheapest option, if agreement is realistic. For real estate a notarised form is mandatory — without it the agreement is worthless. It can be signed at a distance: through a representative under a power of attorney or at a consulate.
2. Court. When agreement has failed. The court fee is 1 per cent of the value of the claim, that is of what is being divided: in 2026, from UAH 1,331.20 to UAH 9,984.
3. Doing nothing. Formally the property remains joint even after the divorce. But every year of inaction is a risk that the other party will dispose of it, and that the time limit mentioned above has already run out.

If the property is in different countries

A simple rule applies: real estate is divided under the law of the country where it is located. A Ukrainian court can rule on a flat in Ukraine — and its judgment will be enforced here. A Ukrainian court can also rule on a house in another country, but enforcing that judgment there is a separate story, which depends on that state's law and on whether there is a legal assistance treaty.

Disputes over real estate are heard by the court where the property is located. This is exclusive jurisdiction — the parties cannot agree on another court, and filing wherever is "more convenient" ends with the claim being returned.

How much it costs and how long it takes

The court fee is calculated from the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, which on 1 January 2026 is UAH 3,328: 0.4 of that sum is UAH 1,331.20. Claims for maintenance are exempt from the court fee.

What to do

In short

The route is determined by children and consent, not by the country you live in. With no children and mutual consent, the marriage is dissolved by the civil registry office or a consulate — there is no need to travel; a notarised application with a translation and a month of waiting are enough. With children or without consent — only a court, but even there you need not appear: a representative under a power of attorney, an application to hear the case in your absence or a video link will do. If both spouses are abroad, the jurisdiction of a Ukrainian court has to be justified separately. And above all: a divorce obtained abroad does not exist for Ukraine until a Ukrainian court recognises it.