Toronto, ON -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/07/2017 -- Many people find love after a divorce, some find love so strong that they choose to marry again. It may occur that an individual wants to remarry in Canada but happened to have been divorced in another country. It is then a requirement of Canadian law that the person get a foreign divorce opinion letter from a lawyer. This article will discuss when Canada recognizes a divorce from another country and factors taken into consideration to recognize a foreign divorce.

A foreign divorce opinion letter is required when a person wants to get married in Canada and one of the parties to the new marriage has been divorced outside of Canada. The main purpose of the foreign divorce opinion letter is to validate the foreign divorce in Canada. Therefore, before the new marriage is licensed the Minister of Government Services must issue an authorization before the marriage license is issued.

The question of recognition of divorce from another country may arise in a number of contexts, for example:

* A woman has moved to Canada after obtaining a divorce in her country of origin

* A woman returns to her country of origin and obtained a divorce while she is there

* Her spouse returns to their country of origin and obtained a divorce without her knowledge or consent

* She needs to establish the validity of a foreign divorce from a previous marriage in order to allow her to sponsor her new spouse to come to Canada or to be sponsored by a Canadian spouse so she can come to Canada

* She does not want the foreign divorce to be legally recognized in Canada because it would preclude her from seeking spousal support in Canada

* Her spouse has unilaterally obtained a religious divorce outside Canada and she does not want to be divorced from him

The foreign divorce opinion letter is drafted by a lawyer who takes a number of factors into consideration in order to confirm the validity of the foreign divorce. One attorney from the Bluetown Law Firm stated that "in order to determine whether a foreign divorce is to be recognized in Canada a variety of factors must be taken into consideration before giving an opinion as to whether the foreign divorce would be recognized in Canada. One factor that an Ontario lawyer should take into consideration before determining whether the foreign divorce would be recognized in Canada is whether the divorce meets the requirements of Section 22(1) of the Divorce Act RSC 1985, c 3 (2nd Supp)", which provides as follows: "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 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."

The lawyer further stated that "an Ontario lawyer should consider two significant factors pointed out in the excerpt: one, whether the country or subdivision of a country had jurisdiction to issue the divorce and two, if the former spouse was ordinarily resident in that country or subdivision for at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of proceedings for the divorce."

About Bluetown Law Firm
The Bluetown Law Firm is a law firm of renowned professionals who practice family law. The law firm provides family law related services including uncontested divorce consultation. If you require uncontested divorce in Ontario contact the Bluetown Law Firm today.