A petitioner could issue a petition for divorce on the basis of being habitually resident in the UK, even though she would also have habitual residence elsewhere. In this case she had been in England for 161 days out of the year in question. Nevertheless, ordinary residence meant habitual and normal residence adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes apart from temporary absences. That interpretation was appropriate to be applied to the terms ‘ordinarily’ and ‘habitually’ resident, and that meaning should be adopted consistently in the interpretation of family law statutes.
Citations:
Times 18-Jul-2001, Gazette 05-Jul-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 873, [2002] Fam 72
Links:
Statutes:
Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 5(2)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Mark v Mark HL 30-Jun-2005
The petitioner sought to divorce her husband. Both were Nigerian nationals, and had married under a valid polygamous marriage in Nigeria. She claimed that the courts had jurisdiction because of her habitual residence here despite the fact that her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family, Immigration
Updated: 25 May 2022; Ref: scu.136125