Q&As

One party to a marriage has been living in the USA on a temporary work visa for four years, and that visa may be extended for a further two years after which they will need to return to the UK. They pay tax in the UK. Can that party issue divorce proceedings in the court in England and Wales?

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Produced in partnership with David Salter

Published on: 25 November 2022

The jurisdictional requirements for issuing an application for divorce after 6 April 2022 are contained in section 5(2) of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 (DMPA 1973) (as amended). Jurisdiction is based upon a mixture of habitual residence and domicile. While the query does not indicate the habitual residence or domicile of the proposed respondent, it is assumed for the purpose of this reply that the proposed respondent is both habitually resident and domiciled in England and Wales.

Habitual residence for the purpose of divorce is more directed to a person's fixed centre of interests than the length of residency. A person can only have one habitual residence at any one time, although a person can be a resident in

David Salter

Solicitor (non-practising)

David Salter has enjoyed a varied career in family law with over 45 years’ experience. He served as National Head of Family Law at Addleshaw Goddard and, subsequently, as Joint National Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve, retiring in 2018.

From 1997-1999, David was Chairman of Resolution, also acting as the first Chairman of Resolution’s Accreditation Committee. He subsequently became President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers from 2010 to 2012, having previously served as the Academy's European Chapter President.

He has sat in various part-time judicial posts since 1985 sitting regularly as a deputy High Court judge and Recorder in the Family Court until March 2022. He now conducts private financial dispute resolution appointments.

David was one of the original members of the Family Procedure Rules Committee which framed the 2010 Rules, serving a ten-year term from 2004 to 2014.

He is a prolific author on a variety of family topics with an acknowledged expertise in relation to pensions on divorce. He is a contributor to the Family Court Practice (The Red Book), Butterworths Family Law Service, Rayden and Jackson, the International Family Law Practice and LexisPSL Family.