Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

38. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 121 of 22 May and 133 of 1 July 2025, to provide additional guidance in relation to a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40773/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is the designated authority to issue a Certificate of Freedom to Marry to Irish citizens who are getting married abroad. This is not an Irish requirement but is a requirement of the country where the applicant is getting married. To apply for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry, an online questionnaire about the applicant and the upcoming marriage or civil partnership must be submitted. Based on this questionnaire, the applicant is presented with one or more statutory declarations to complete as well as a checklist of supporting documentation required to submit with the application. The Civil Letter of Freedom to Marry will issue if the application is in order and the applicant is deemed free to marry.

One of the statutory declarations which may be required relates to a foreign divorce. The Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act 1986 governs the recognition of foreign divorces granted on or after the coming into operation of the Act on 2 October 1986. Section 5 of the 1986 Act provides that a foreign divorce may only be recognised in Ireland if it was granted in the country where either spouse was domiciled on the date the divorce proceedings were instituted. The determination of “domicile” includes an assessment of the intention of the person to remain indefinitely in the foreign jurisdiction.

It is not possible to approve an application if the Department is not satisfied, based on the statutory declaration provided and documentation submitted, that the applicant meets the legal requirements for recognition of foreign divorces at this time. Where there is an issue as to whether a foreign divorce is entitled to recognition, section 29 of the Family Law Act 1995 allows a person to apply to an Irish court for a declaration as to marital status, including a declaration as to whether a foreign divorce is entitled to recognition in the State.

Full information on the application process is available on the Department's website under www.ireland.ie/marriageabroad.

My Department's Marriages Abroad Unit can also be contacted for further guidance at marriagesabroad@dfa.ie.