Registration of divorce
17.05.2023 / 08:32 | Aktualizováno: 17.05.2023 / 09:32
If a Czech citizen divorces outside the Czech Republic, he or she must register the divorce in the Czech Republic. A Czech citizen can apply for registration of the divorce at the competent Czech office that registered his or her marriage, at the Registry Office in Brno if the marriage was entered into abroad, or through the Czech embassy abroad. The application filed with the embassy is then forwarded to the relevant Czech registry office in the Czech Republic, which enters the divorce in the registry book, makes an entry in the Czech population register and issues a Czech marriage certificate with a note of the divorce.
The application for registration of the divorce must be submitted in person and the following documents must be submitted, all of which must be in originals or certified photocopies:
1. Czech marriage certificate; and
2. a valid Czech identity document (which also certifies the holder's Czech citizenship), i.e. a valid passport or ID card; and
3. a foreign divorce decree bearing an apostille and an officially certified translation into Czech, including the apostille. In the case of a court order before an Australian court, this court order must be presented.
An administrative fee according to the current fee schedule is payable for submitting an application for registration of a matrimonial event to the Registry Office in Brno. The estimated processing time is approx. 2 - 3 months.
Change of surname after divorce (change back to the previous surname)
A spouse who has taken the surname of the other spouse may notify the registry office within six months after the divorce that he/she is taking back his/her former surname. The notification is made at any registry office. This can also be done through the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Canberra. The documents listed above must be provided and the application can be made at the same time as the application for registration of the divorce (see the form attached below).
If the above six-month period is missed after the divorce decree becomes final, a return to the former surname must be dealt with by way of a standard separate application for permission to change the surname.
The person who has taken back his or her former surname is obliged to use it from the date on which a certificate to that effect was issued by the registry office which received the notification. Once the former surname has been adopted, new documents must be applied for.
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METHOD OF APPLICATION
For organisational reasons, all applications are accepted only during pre-arranged appointments. Please send us an email so that we can contact you. E-mail: consular_canberra@mzv.cz
Thank you for your understanding.