International divorce in Spain: which court, which law and what happens to children and property

When spouses have different nationalities, homes in several countries or assets abroad, a divorce raises questions a domestic case never does. Which country’s courts can hear it? Whose law applies? Where are decisions about the children taken, and which law governs maintenance and property?

This guide explains the rules as they apply in Spain on 8 October 2026, for expatriate and mixed-nationality couples and families with children or property in several countries. For the general process, see our page on divorce lawyers in Spain.

Five questions, five sets of rules

The court granting the divorce does not apply its own law to everything. Each issue follows a different instrument.

Question	Rules applied by a Spanish court	Main connecting factor
Can a Spanish court grant the divorce?	Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 (Brussels II ter); failing that, Article 22 quater of the Spanish Judiciary Act (LOPJ)	Habitual residence; common nationality
Which law governs the divorce itself?	Regulation (EU) 1259/2010 (Rome III)	The law chosen by the spouses; otherwise their common habitual residence
Who decides on custody, contact and relocation?	Brussels II ter; 1996 and 1980 Hague Conventions	The child’s habitual residence
Maintenance	Regulation (EC) 4/2009; 2007 Hague Protocol	Habitual residence of the person receiving maintenance
Division of property	Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 (marriages from 29 January 2019) or Article 9.2 of the Civil Code (earlier marriages)	First common habitual residence after the wedding; nationality

Which court: jurisdiction under Brussels II ter

Regulation 2019/1111 (Brussels II ter) applies to proceedings started on or after 1 August 2022 in every EU country except Denmark. A Spanish court applies it to British, American or Norwegian spouses exactly as to EU citizens.

Under Article 3, the courts of an EU country can hear a divorce if, in that country:

• both spouses are habitually resident;
• the spouses were last habitually resident, provided one of them still lives there;
• the respondent is habitually resident;
• either spouse is habitually resident, in a joint application;
• the applicant has lived there for at least one year immediately before applying; or
• the applicant has lived there for at least six months immediately before applying and is a national of that country.

The courts of the country of which both spouses are nationals are also competent, wherever the couple lives. Because these grounds are alternatives, two or three countries are often competent at once. A Swedish and German couple living in Marbella can divorce in Spain; if one of them moves back to Germany, the other could also file there, because the respondent would then live in Germany.

Only if no EU country is competent does Spanish domestic law apply: Article 22 quater (c) of the LOPJ, with similar residence grounds.

If divorce proceedings between the same spouses are started in two EU countries, the court seised second must stay its case and, once the first court’s jurisdiction is established, decline it (Article 20). The filing date can therefore decide which courts, and which rules, govern the whole case.

Which law governs the divorce: Rome III

For the divorce itself, Spain applies Regulation 1259/2010 (Rome III). Spain is one of the 17 EU countries taking part (Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden, for example, are not), and the law it designates applies even if it is that of a non-EU country.

Spouses can choose, in a written agreement dated and signed by both, the law of their common habitual residence, of their last common habitual residence if one still lives there, of the nationality of either of them, or of the court seised. The choice can be made until the court is seised. Otherwise Article 8 applies, in this order: the common habitual residence when the court is seised; the last common habitual residence, if it ended less than a year earlier and one spouse still lives there; the common nationality; and finally the law of the court.

For most couples living in Spain, the result is Spanish law: divorce without proving fault, available once three months have passed since the wedding. Rome III covers only the dissolution of the marriage. It expressly excludes property, parental responsibility and maintenance.

Children: custody, relocation and abduction

Decisions about children follow the child. Under Article 7 of Brussels II ter, the courts of the EU country where the child is habitually resident when proceedings start decide on custody, residence and contact, so the divorce court is not automatically the court that decides on the children. Parents can agree on another EU court only under the strict conditions of Article 10, including a substantial connection with that country and agreement that is in the child’s best interests.

Under Spanish law, when parents who share parental authority disagree on an important decision, such as moving the child’s home to another country, either can ask a judge to decide, after hearing the child if sufficiently mature and in any case if over twelve (Article 156 of the Civil Code).

If one parent takes or keeps a child abroad in breach of the other’s custody rights, the 1980 Hague Convention provides a fast procedure to return children under 16. Spain has applied it since 1987 and the UK since 1986. Between EU countries, Brussels II ter adds stricter rules: the courts of the child’s previous home keep jurisdiction for a time (Article 9), and return cannot be refused for grave risk if adequate arrangements have been made to protect the child after return (Article 27).

With non-EU countries that have joined it, the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention also gives jurisdiction to the country of the child’s habitual residence. It has been in force for Spain since 2011 and for the UK since 2012.

Maintenance for children and former spouses

Maintenance falls under Regulation 4/2009. The competent courts are those where the defendant lives, where the person claiming maintenance lives, or the court hearing the divorce or custody case, unless that court’s jurisdiction rests only on one party’s nationality. For maintenance between spouses, but never for children under 18, the couple can agree in writing on a court.

The applicable law comes from the 2007 Hague Protocol. The general rule is the law of the habitual residence of the person receiving maintenance. Between spouses, either can object if another country’s law, typically that of the last common habitual residence, has a closer connection with the marriage. Couples can also choose the law, with safeguards against manifestly unfair results.

Spanish law also provides for a compensatory payment (pensión compensatoria) where the divorce leaves one spouse economically worse off than during the marriage (Article 97 of the Civil Code). It can be temporary, indefinite or a lump sum.

Property: which matrimonial regime applies

The answer depends on when you married.

Marriages from 29 January 2019

For couples who married, or chose the law of their property regime, from 29 January 2019, Spain applies Regulation 2016/1103. Without a choice, the regime is governed by the law of the first common habitual residence after the wedding; failing that, common nationality at the time of the wedding; failing that, the country with which both had the closest connection. That law covers all their assets, wherever they are.

A British couple who married in 2020 and moved straight to Málaga would, without a choice, have their property governed by Spanish law. In Andalusia that means the Civil Code, whose default regime is the community of acquisitions (sociedad de gananciales): most assets acquired during the marriage belong to both. Spain is not uniform, though. Catalonia, for example, has separation of property as its default.

The court granting the divorce can usually also rule on the property regime. If its jurisdiction rests only on the applicant’s own residence of one year (or six months for nationals), the spouses must agree to that (Article 5 of Regulation 2016/1103).

Marriages before 29 January 2019

Spanish courts apply Article 9.2 of the Civil Code: the spouses’ common nationality at the time of the wedding; failing that, a law chosen in an authentic document before the wedding; failing that, their common habitual residence immediately after the wedding; and failing that, the place of the wedding.

Two people of the same nationality who married before 2019 and later moved to Spain will often find that their national law governs their property. Where that law works very differently from Spanish law, take advice before negotiating. If the settlement involves selling a Spanish property, our property lawyers in Spain handle the sale.

UK couples after Brexit

EU family regulations stopped applying to the UK at the end of 2020. Under Article 67 of the Withdrawal Agreement, proceedings started before then continue under the old EU rules on jurisdiction and recognition. For later proceedings:

• Jurisdiction. Spanish courts still apply Brussels II ter, which depends on residence, not nationality. A British couple living in Spain can divorce here on the same grounds as anyone else.
• Applicable law. Rome III is universal, so it applies to British spouses too.
• Parallel proceedings. The EU «first seised» rule no longer operates between Spain and the UK. A Spanish court may stay its case in favour of earlier proceedings abroad only under Article 39 of Law 29/2015, which requires, among other things, that the foreign judgment is likely to be recognised in Spain.
• Children. Both countries are parties to the 1996 and 1980 Hague Conventions.
• Maintenance. The UK ratified the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention in its own right in 2020, so it remains a party; maintenance decisions can be recognised and enforced between the two countries under it.
• UK divorces in Spain. Spain is not a party to the 1970 Hague Convention on the recognition of divorces, so a UK divorce in proceedings started after 2020 needs recognition under Spanish law.

Recognition of a Spanish divorce in the UK is a matter of UK law.

Recognising a foreign divorce in Spain

A foreign divorce must be recognised before it can be registered in Spain or relied on here, for example to remarry.

Divorces from EU countries (except Denmark) are recognised without any special procedure, and civil-status records can be updated on the basis of a final decision (Article 30 of Brussels II ter). Binding divorce agreements and authentic instruments, such as a notarial divorce, are recognised in the same way (Article 65).

Divorces from outside the EU, including UK proceedings started after 2020, need one of two routes: exequatur before a Spanish court under Articles 41 and following of Law 29/2015, or registration through the Civil Registry, where the registrar checks, among other things, that the foreign court based its jurisdiction on criteria equivalent to Spanish ones and that both parties were properly notified (Article 96 of Law 20/2011). If your residence in Spain depends on your marriage, see also our immigration lawyers in Spain.

The Spanish route: notary or court

Route	When it is available	Key points
Before a notary	Mutual consent; no minor children who are not emancipated and no adult children with court-ordered support measures	Both spouses sign in person, assisted by a practising lawyer, before the notary of the last common domicile or of the domicile or habitual residence of either spouse
Agreed divorce in court	Mutual consent with minor children, or where the couple prefers the court	The judge approves the agreement unless it harms the children or is seriously prejudicial to one spouse; each spouse ratifies the petition separately
Contested divorce	No agreement	Since 3 April 2025, a prior attempt at negotiation is generally required before filing (Organic Law 1/2025)

In every route, at least three months must have passed since the wedding. Only a contested application can be filed earlier, where there is a risk to the life, physical integrity, freedom, moral integrity or sexual freedom of the applicant or the children (Articles 81 and 86 of the Civil Code). Spanish consulates cannot authorise a divorce deed (Article 87). Adult or emancipated children without income of their own who live in the family home must consent before the notary to the measures that affect them (Article 82).

What the regulatory agreement must contain

Every agreed divorce rests on the convenio regulador. Under Article 90 of the Civil Code it covers, where applicable: the care of the children and the time each parent spends with them; contact with grandparents if needed; family pets; the use of the family home; contributions to expenses and maintenance, with how they are updated and secured; the liquidation of the property regime; and any compensatory payment.

In an international divorce it should also deal with points domestic templates ignore: the currency of payments, enforcement if the paying spouse moves abroad, assets and pensions in other countries, and the children’s travel between countries.

Choosing where to file: forum shopping, explained neutrally

When more than one country’s courts are competent, choosing between them is legitimate. Courts check their own jurisdiction, and a divorce obtained on a false claim of residence risks not being recognised elsewhere. The factors worth comparing are:

• which law each court would apply to maintenance and property;
• whether a compensatory payment or its equivalent exists, and how it is calculated;
• where the children live, since their arrangements will usually be decided there;
• how easily the judgment can be enforced where the assets are;
• speed, cost, language and whether a «first seised» rule makes the filing date decisive.

If you receive papers from a foreign court, do not ignore them: objections to its jurisdiction must be raised in time.

How we handle international divorces

Peralta Rojas Abogados was founded in 2017 by David Peralta Rojas, who previously worked at Garrigues and is a member of the Seville Bar Association (ICAS no. 15174). We act in English and Spanish throughout Spain, with meetings in Seville, Marbella and Cádiz by appointment and by video call. If you cannot come to Spain, many steps can be taken under a notarial power of attorney, though a notarial divorce must be signed in person.

We attend hearings in person at any court in Spain; travel is agreed with you in the written quote. The initial consultation costs €150, VAT included, and is followed by a closed quote in writing. We do not give a price for a divorce before reviewing your situation. For family law in Andalusia, see our divorce and family lawyers in Seville.

Frequently asked questions

Can we get divorced in Spain if neither of us is Spanish?

Yes. Jurisdiction depends mainly on habitual residence, not nationality. If you both live in Spain, the respondent lives here, or the applicant has lived here for at least a year before applying, a Spanish court can usually hear the divorce.

We married abroad. Will Spanish law decide how our property is divided?

Not necessarily. For marriages from 29 January 2019, the law of your first common habitual residence after the wedding usually applies unless you chose another. For earlier marriages, Spanish courts look first at your common nationality at the time of the wedding.

Can I move abroad with my children after the divorce?

If you share parental authority, only with the other parent’s agreement or a court’s authorisation. Taking or keeping a child abroad without it can be a wrongful removal under the 1980 Hague Convention.

Is my UK divorce valid in Spain?

If the UK proceedings started before 1 January 2021, the old EU recognition rules apply. For later proceedings you need exequatur before a Spanish court or registration through the Spanish Civil Registry.

Can we divorce before a Spanish notary if we have no children?

Yes, if you agree on everything, have no minor children who are not emancipated or adult children with court-ordered support measures, three months have passed since the wedding and Spain has jurisdiction. Both of you must sign in person with a lawyer; consulates cannot do it.

My spouse has started divorce proceedings in another country. What should I do?

Take advice quickly. Between EU countries the court seised first normally keeps the case. Outside the EU other rules apply, and objections to jurisdiction must be raised in time.

How much does an international divorce lawyer in Spain cost?

Our initial consultation costs €150, VAT included. After reviewing your situation we give you a closed quote in writing. We attend hearings in person at any court in Spain; travel is agreed with you in the written quote.

Talk to us about your situation

In a first meeting we review where each of you and your children live, your nationalities, when and where you married, any agreement on applicable law, the assets in each country and whether proceedings have started anywhere. We then explain which court and which law are likely to apply and which route makes sense, and give you a closed quote in writing.