{"id":23815,"date":"2026-08-28T22:28:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T18:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/blog\/divorce-in-canada\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T22:28:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T18:58:57","slug":"divorce-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/blog\/divorce-in-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Divorce in Canada: Requirements, Costs and Your Immigration Status"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Divorce is the legal process a married couple goes through to end their marriage. When it is complete, the court issues a divorce certificate confirming that you are no longer married. If you decide to divorce after <a href=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/immigration-to-canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">immigrating to Canada<\/a>, the rules and requirements are specific to Canada and differ from those of most other countries. This article covers the requirements, the costs and, most importantly for newcomers, what a divorce does and does not do to your immigration status.<\/p>\n<p>One point up front. Divorce, custody and support are family law matters handled by family lawyers and provincial courts. A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant advises on the immigration side: your status, your sponsorship undertaking and your options for staying in Canada. For the divorce itself, retain a family lawyer in your province.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Requirements for an uncontested <b>divorce<\/b> <b>in<\/b> <b>Canada<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Only legally married couples can obtain a divorce in Canada, and only a court can grant one. To apply for a divorce in Canada, all of the following must be true:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You or your spouse were legally married, either under Canadian law or under the law of another country in a marriage that Canada recognises.<\/li>\n<li>The marriage has broken down. Under the Divorce Act this is established in one of three ways: you have lived separate and apart for at least one year, or your spouse committed adultery, or your spouse treated you with physical or mental cruelty. Separation for one year is by far the most common ground and the only one that does not require proving fault.<\/li>\n<li>You or your spouse have been ordinarily resident in the Canadian province or territory where you file for at least one full year before the application. There is a limited exception for non-resident couples who married in Canada and cannot get a divorce where they live.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13254\" src=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-scaled.webp\" alt=\"Requirements for divorce in Canada\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-300x161.webp 300w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-1024x551.webp 1024w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-768x413.webp 768w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-1536x826.webp 1536w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-conditions-2048x1101.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For general information on divorce law and procedure, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/immigration-refugees-citizenship.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Government of Canada website<\/a>. The Divorce Act is administered by the Department of Justice Canada, which publishes plain-language guides on divorce, parenting arrangements and support.<\/p>\n<h2>How to apply for a divorce in Canada<\/h2>\n<p>The Divorce Act is federal legislation, but the provinces and territories run the court process. You complete the forms used in your own province or territory and file them with the court, or instruct a family lawyer to do it for you. You must follow the rules of the court hearing your case, and a filing fee normally applies.<\/p>\n<p>Get legal advice before you start. A family lawyer can explain your rights and obligations, how the law applies to your circumstances, and what additional documents the court will want. Depending on where you live, forms and guidance are available from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The website or office of your provincial or territorial Ministry of the Attorney General or Department of Justice<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The courts, including family law information centres in many courthouses<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Public legal education organisations and legal aid services in your province<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wherever possible, agree the important issues with your spouse before filing: child support, parenting time and decision-making responsibility, spousal support and the division of property. If you cannot agree, you can ask the court to decide, but that takes longer, costs considerably more and puts additional strain on the whole family.<\/p>\n<p>A divorce order does not take effect the day it is granted. In most cases it takes effect 31 days later, and the divorce certificate is issued after that. If you plan to remarry, wait for the certificate.<\/p>\n<h2>Documents needed for an uncontested divorce in Canada<\/h2>\n<p>The exact paperwork depends on the province. In Ontario, for example, an uncontested divorce generally requires an Application (Form 8A) and an Affidavit for Divorce (Form 36), filed with your original marriage certificate or a certified copy. If the marriage certificate is not in English or French, a certified translation is required. Where there are children, you also have to set out the parenting arrangements and child support and file the supporting documents.<\/p>\n<p>Form numbers, filing steps and fees differ in every province and territory, so confirm the requirements with your local court or your province&#8217;s justice website rather than relying on a form number you found online.<\/p>\n<h2>Cost of divorce in Canada<\/h2>\n<p>What a divorce costs in Canada depends on whether it is contested or uncontested and on which province you file in. Court filing fees are set provincially; legal fees are the larger and far more variable component.<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-555\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-555\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Cost type<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Cost range (Canadian dollars)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Court fees<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">CAD 200 to 700<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Lawyer fees (uncontested divorce)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">CAD 1,500 to 3,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Lawyer fees (contested divorce)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">CAD 15,000 to 50,000 or more<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Mediation<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">CAD 150 to 600 per hour<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Divorce certificate<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">About CAD 40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Additional services (if needed)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">CAD 1,000 and up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-555 from cache -->\n<h2>Separation and divorce during a Canadian sponsorship<\/h2>\n<p>Here is how separation and divorce interact with <a href=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/canada-family-sponsorship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">family sponsorship in Canada<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">If you are the sponsored person:<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If your permanent residence application is still in process and you separate or divorce from your sponsor, you must tell Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Failing to report it can be treated as misrepresentation, which carries a finding of inadmissibility, normally for five years, and can lead to the loss of any status you hold.<\/p>\n<p>Once <a href=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/blog\/canada-permanent-residence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canadian permanent residence<\/a> has been granted, a divorce does not affect your immigration status. The one exception is a finding that the relationship was not genuine and was entered into for immigration purposes, which can lead to proceedings to revoke permanent residence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If you are the sponsor:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even if you divorce the person you sponsored, your undertaking stands. For a spouse or partner it runs for three years from the day they become a permanent resident, and it obliges you to provide for their basic needs, including food, shelter, clothing and other everyday necessities. If they receive social assistance during that period, you may be required to repay it.<\/p>\n<p>If the permanent residence application has not yet been finalised, you can withdraw your sponsorship. Once permanent residence has been granted, the undertaking cannot be cancelled, and a divorce does not end it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Two points deserve particular attention:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #993300; color: #ffffff;\">If IRCC suspects the marriage was entered into primarily for immigration purposes, it can investigate further. Where that is established, the outcome can include loss of permanent residence and removal from Canada.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"background-color: #993300; color: #ffffff;\">People experiencing family violence may still have options if the sponsorship is withdrawn, including a temporary resident permit for victims of family violence and an application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How divorce affects permanent residence (PR)<\/h2>\n<p>If you obtained Canadian permanent residence through spousal or partner sponsorship, a separation or divorce does not affect your status. Conditional permanent residence, which required living with the sponsor, was repealed in 2017; there is no cohabitation requirement to keep PR status today.<\/p>\n<p>If the separation or divorce happens while the sponsorship application is still being assessed, the application will not succeed as a spousal application, because the relationship it relies on no longer exists. You must report the change in marital status to IRCC.<\/p>\n<p>Failing to report it can be treated as misrepresentation. In short: a divorce after you receive permanent residence causes no immigration problem, but during the application stage, timely and accurate reporting is critical.<\/p>\n<h2>Temporary resident status after divorcing your sponsor<\/h2>\n<p>If your temporary status depends on your spouse, for example an open work permit or a study permit held as an accompanying family member, a separation or divorce can affect your ability to stay in Canada. You remain authorised until your current permit expires, but you cannot extend or renew it on the basis of a relationship that has ended. You need to apply for new status in your own right, and you should do so before your current permit expires rather than after. Losing status is far harder to fix than maintaining it.<\/p>\n<h2>Legal options for staying in Canada after a divorce<\/h2>\n<p>If you are separating or divorcing in Canada and want to remain, there are routes worth assessing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Temporary Resident Permit (TRP):<\/strong> in situations such as family violence, or where there are other compelling reasons, you may qualify for a permit allowing you to stay in Canada temporarily. IRCC operates a dedicated, fee-exempt TRP for victims of family violence, which can also cover dependent children and comes with an open work permit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (H&amp;C) grounds:<\/strong> where you face abuse or other exceptional circumstances, you can ask IRCC to grant permanent residence outside the normal criteria. H&amp;C is discretionary, applications are assessed individually and approval is never assured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13256\" src=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-scaled.webp\" alt=\"Options after divorce in Canada\" width=\"2560\" height=\"896\" srcset=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-300x105.webp 300w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-1024x359.webp 1024w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-768x269.webp 768w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-1536x538.webp 1536w, https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/divorce-in-canada-ways-2048x717.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Other immigration programs:<\/strong> depending on your work history, education and language ability, you may qualify in your own right through <a href=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/canada-express-entry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Express Entry<\/a> or a <a href=\"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/blog\/canada-provincial-nominee-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Provincial Nominee Program<\/a>. This is often the strongest long-term answer, and it is worth assessing early, while you still hold valid status.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Which of these fits depends entirely on the facts of your case. All decisions rest with IRCC.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>What happens to the divorce if we get back together after separating?<\/strong><br \/>\nIf your application is based on one year of separation, you may live together again for up to 90 days in total to attempt a reconciliation. If it does not work and you separate again, the divorce process continues as though those 90 days had not happened, and the clock is not reset. Living together for more than 90 days does reset it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>How does the process work if we have children?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is far better for parents to agree on child support and parenting arrangements before the divorce is filed. If you cannot agree, the court can decide and issue an order. Courts apply the Federal Child Support Guidelines and decide parenting matters on the best interests of the child.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Where can I get help with a divorce?<\/strong><br \/>\nYour province or territory may offer family justice services such as mediation. These help couples resolve some or all of the issues, including parenting, support and the division of property, before going to court. Legal aid and public legal education services are also available in most provinces for those who qualify.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What divorce in Canada involves for newcomers: the legal grounds and one-year residency rule, the forms and costs, and how separation affects a sponsorship undertaking, permanent residence and dependent work or study permits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":21631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avalvisa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}