Divorce with Indo wife but not living Indonesia

[j-dawg-jp]

I'm American and my wife is Indonesian. We got married in Singapore many years ago, moved back to the US for a few years, and now currently living in Singapore again. We have agreed mutually to get divorced. However, Singapore states that we need to be living here for 3 continuous years to get divorced. We've only been here for a year. So we thought we would just go ahead and file for divorce in Jakarta.

Is this possible? Even though I am not a resident in Indonesia? Would the divorce be recognized by the US government?

Has anyone had an experience like this that can give me advice?

Thank you for your help!

[marcus]

(1) ... Is this possible? Even though I am not a resident in Indonesia?

(2) Would the divorce be recognized by the US government?

(3) Has anyone had an experience like this that can give me advice?

(1) The Indonesian Marriage Law does say about divorce but does not specify anything about residency for the divorce process or about divorce for a couple married abroad .
If possible you will need to , at least , validate your marriage in Indonesia , in other words : register your Singaporean marriage at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore and later at an Indonesian city's Kantor Catatan Sipil (Civil Registry) .

You will also need an Indonesian address to receive the letters from the Court (I don't know if Court letters must be delivery to you personally or you can authorize other person to receive them in your behalf) .

(2) I don't know , but I guess it is recognized similarly as marriage cases (see what the US Embassy says about the marriage) .

(3) I never saw any other similar case in more than 10 years in this Forum .


From https://id.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/marriage/

[ ... The United States generally recognizes the validity of marriages legally registered in Indonesia. However, you cannot register your marriage in the United States through a U.S. Embassy, as marriage is a state-specific responsibility... Some states may require your Indonesian marriage certificate/book to be certified. To certify an Indonesian marriage certificate/book, please have it translated into English and take both documents to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (KEMLU). Then make an appointment and bring the certified document to our office; we will authenticate the signature of the MFA officer ... For more information on marriage abroad, please visit the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs website.]