Franco-British couples, expatriates in London, a return to France after years across the Channel: since 1 January 2021, EU regulations no longer apply between France and the United Kingdom. Each country applies its own rules, often with very different results, particularly financially. Choice of court and timing are decisive.
An initial overview, not a consultation
This page outlines English law and its connections with French law. It is an initial overview, not a consultation: every situation depends on specific facts and local law changes. For each case, I work with a colleague based in London, who confirms these initial details for your circumstances and acts before local courts when necessary.
0 — Your situation
You live in London and your spouse wants to return to France with the children. You are French, married to a British national and living in France. You divorced in England and want to rely on the judgment in France, or vice versa. Your spouse began proceedings in London while you lived in Paris.
1 — Which court?
In England. At the application date, English courts have jurisdiction if both spouses are habitually resident in England and Wales; both last lived there and one remains; the respondent lives there; for a joint application, either lives there; the applicant has lived there for a year, or six months if also domiciled there; or either spouse is domiciled there (Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973, section 5(2)).
Domicile: an English concept. English domicile has no equivalent in French law: it combines residence and an intention to settle permanently. Domicile of origin persists until a new domicile is proved. A British national living in Paris for twenty years may remain domiciled in England, whereas a French woman living in London for several years may not be domiciled there.
Parallel proceedings. Both courts may have jurisdiction simultaneously, and the EU first-seised rule no longer applies between them. The English court may stay proceedings if fairness, including convenience for the parties, requires the foreign case to be heard first. The French court may, without being obliged, defer to the English court seised first if its future decision can be recognized in France. Strategy therefore begins in the first weeks, before any application.
2 — Which law?
Before the English court. English courts always apply English law to divorce and its financial consequences, whatever the spouses’ nationality or domicile.
3 — Recognition
In England. A French judicial divorce is recognized if either spouse was habitually resident, domiciled or a national in France when proceedings began. Recognition may be refused if the other spouse was not informed or could not participate, or if manifestly contrary to public policy.
Divorce without a judge. English courts have not yet classified French mutual-consent divorce signed by lawyers and deposited with a notary. Where either spouse has strong UK connections, a French judicial divorce approving your agreement is safer.
4 — Your relationship
Divorce under English law. Since 6 April 2022, divorce is without fault: a statement by either or both spouses that the marriage has irretrievably broken down is sufficient. The marriage must have lasted a year. A conditional order cannot be sought until twenty weeks after proceedings begin, and the final order follows at least six weeks later.
After a French divorce. Even after a French divorce, a spouse connected to England through domicile, one year’s habitual residence or a former matrimonial home there may, with prior court permission, seek further financial relief (Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, Part III). This remedies absent or inadequate provision, rather than seeking a more generous top-up. It requires recognition of the foreign divorce in England and that the applicant has not remarried.
5 — Your children
France and the United Kingdom are parties to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention, which continue after Brexit. In principle, jurisdiction lies where the child is habitually resident and decisions are recognized in the other country. After wrongful removal, immediate return can be requested through central authorities: England’s International Child Abduction and Contact Unit and France’s Ministry of Justice.
Under English law, the child’s welfare is paramount and parental involvement is presumed beneficial. Courts determine residence and relationships with each parent through child arrangements orders, may prohibit a specific step such as moving abroad, or decide a particular issue through a specific issue order.
Moving abroad with a child requires the other parent’s consent or court permission. Where an order specifies residence, the parent with whom the child lives may take them outside the UK for less than a month without further consent. Beyond this, taking a child under sixteen outside the UK without the required consents is a criminal offense.
6 — Your assets
No matrimonial property regime. English law has no matrimonial property regime. The court distributes assets and income using statutory criteria, prioritizing minor children: resources and needs, living standards, age, marriage length and contributions, including homemaking. Case law centers on needs, compensation for career sacrifices and sharing the fruits of marriage, with equality as a reference point. Results often favor the lower-income spouse more than French separate property.
Marriage agreements. A French marriage agreement is not applied automatically. English courts give effect to agreements entered freely with full understanding of the consequences unless holding spouses to them would be unfair, particularly regarding children’s needs.
English courts address all spouses’ assets, including those in France, and can divide pension rights through a pension sharing order. French courts liquidate matrimonial property and determine compensatory payments under their own rules: comparing both outcomes is often the first task.
For maintenance, France and the UK apply the 2007 Hague Convention; the UK has been a party in its own right since 1 January 2021. Decisions are recognized and enforced through central authorities. Other property decisions fall under neither EU regulations nor the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, which excludes family law: enforcement follows each country’s ordinary rules.
Points to watch
Applying to the French court first no longer blocks the English court, which decides whether to stay its case.
One spouse’s English domicile suffices for jurisdiction, even after years living in France.
An agreement signed in France must be designed for England: form of divorce, full financial disclosure and fairness of distribution.
7 — My support
An international consultation compares options in France and England before either spouse applies to court. I work with my colleague in England, who confirms English-law analysis and acts before English courts if necessary. Negotiation or international family mediation, in French or English, seeks an agreement designed for recognition in both countries.
Official texts and sources
Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973, section 5 and schedule 1
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (sections 1, 24B and 25)
Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, Part III
Family Law Act 1986, recognition of foreign divorces (sections 45 to 54)
Children Act 1989 (sections 1, 8 and 13)
Child Abduction Act 1984, section 1
UK Supreme Court, Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42
UK Supreme Court, Potanin v Potanin [2024] UKSC 3
Court of Appeal, Re F (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882
UK government: UK–EU divorces since 2021
UK government consultation: A fairer end to relationships (2026)
Hague Conference: status of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention
Hague Conference: status of the 1996 Child Protection Convention
Hague Conference: status of the 2007 Maintenance Convention