How does divorce work in Singapore?

One ground, six facts

The Women's Charter allows the court to end a marriage only if it is satisfied that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. That is the one ground. To prove it, the person applying must rely on at least one of six facts set out in the law:

• Adultery by the other spouse, where the applicant finds it intolerable to keep living with them.
• Behaviour by the other spouse that makes it unreasonable to expect the applicant to keep living with them.
• Desertion by the other spouse for a continuous period of at least two years.
• Living apart for at least three years, where the other spouse consents to the divorce.
• Living apart for at least four years, where no consent is needed.
• Mutual agreement by both spouses that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

Divorce by mutual agreement

The sixth fact came into force on 1 July 2024. It lets a couple end the marriage without one of them blaming the other, and without first living apart for years. The spouses can accept joint responsibility for the breakdown, and they may file together as joint applicants.

It is not a shortcut. The couple must give the court their reasons for concluding the marriage is over, the efforts they made to reconcile, and the thought they have given to arrangements for any children and for their finances. If the court thinks reconciliation is reasonably possible, it must reject the agreement, and it may direct the couple to mediation, counselling or family support programmes.

Both spouses have to agree. If one of them does not, this fact cannot be used, and the case goes ahead on another fact as a contested divorce.

The three-year rule and other conditions

In general, a divorce application cannot be filed until three years have passed since the date of the marriage. This applies whichever fact you rely on, including mutual agreement. The court can allow an earlier application only where the applicant shows exceptional hardship, or exceptional depravity on the part of the other spouse.

There must also be a sufficient link to Singapore. In broad terms, at least one spouse must be domiciled in Singapore, or must have been habitually resident here for at least three years before the application is filed.

Stage one: ending the marriage

Under the Family Justice Rules 2024, which apply to cases started on or after 15 October 2024, a divorce begins with a single Originating Application filed in the Family Justice Courts. The person filing is called the applicant and the other spouse is the respondent.

If both spouses agree on the divorce and the fact relied on before filing, the case can go on the simplified track. If they do not, it goes on the normal track, where the respondent can contest the application and the court may need to hold a trial. Once the court is satisfied that the marriage has broken down, it grants an interim judgment. This dissolves the marriage in principle, but the divorce is not yet final.

Stage two: ancillary matters and final judgment

The second stage deals with what the law calls ancillary matters: arrangements for the children, maintenance for a spouse or the children, and the division of matrimonial assets. The spouses can settle these between themselves, often with help from mediation. If they cannot, each files a sworn affidavit setting out their assets, income and expenses, and the court decides at an ancillary matters hearing.

The final judgment can be obtained once the ancillary matters are resolved and at least three months have passed since the interim judgment, whichever is later. Only then is the divorce complete and either spouse free to remarry.

If you have children under 21

Parents with a child under 21 must complete the Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme before filing, whatever fact they rely on and whichever track the case takes. The certificate of completion is filed with the divorce application.