FAQs - Family

Couples

• I got married in another EU country, where I am not a national. Do I need to register the marriage in my home country?

  NO - You can ask for the marriage to be registered in your home country, but this is not compulsory. As long as you have complied with the law of the country where you got married, the marriage will automatically be recognised throughout the EU – unless it is a same-sex marriage. These are currently only recognised in 6 EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

• I want to move from my home country to another EU country with my partner. I'm an EU national but he isn't. Does our proof of long-term cohabitation mean my partner automatically acquires an entry right?

  NO - Once you've proved you're in a long-term partnership, every EU country is obliged to "facilitate entry" for your partner.

  However, exactly what you have to do to prove this is often not specified in a country's laws, so your partner could still be refused entry and residence rights.

• I won my claim for maintenance - now I'm wondering how the ruling will be enforced if my ex-partner refuses to pay. Are there EU rules that apply?

  NO - This is governed purely by national laws, which vary from country to country.

  In some countries, the maintenance payments will be secured for you by an attachment order on your former spouse's salary, payable by their employer or bank.

  If this doesn't work, the money can be collected by national tax authorities.

  In some EU countries, public funds are available if your former partner is insolvent.

• I would like to move to another EU country with my registered partner. Do all EU countries have to recognise this partnership?

  NO - Countries which do not have registered partnerships (or other types of partnership equivalent or comparable to marriage) in their own law do not have to recognise partnerships registered abroad.

  However, your new country must recognise your registered partnership as proof of a long-term relationship, which will at least facilitate your partner's entry and residence, for example if they are following you as you move abroad to work.

• My divorce judgement was issued in Sweden. To have it recognised in Poland, do I have to go through Polish courts?

  NO - A divorce (or legal separation or annulment) granted in any EU country (here, Sweden) will automatically be recognised in any other (here, Poland), without any special procedure.

  You can, however, get your Polish documents certifying your marital status updated on the basis of the Swedish judgment once it is final ("final" means appeals against it are no longer possible)

• My fiancé and I both live in Slovakia and we would like to get married in Italy, when we go there on holiday. Do we have an automatic right to get married in another EU country?

  NO - It is up to the Italian authorities to decide if you can get married there. Normally they would only let you do this if you had some kind of link to Italy – for instance at least one of you lives there or has Italian citizenship. But if they do, the marriage will be recognised throughout the EU.

  Once back in Slovakia, you will have to get any official documents proving your marital status updated, on the basis of your Italian marriage certificate.

• My husband and I got married in the Czech Republic and we last lived together in Germany. My husband, who is British, has now moved back to the UK, but I am staying in Germany. Can I file for divorce in the Czech Republic?

  NO - You can only file for divorce in the Czech Republic if you move back and live there for at least six months (if you are Czech) or one year (if you are not). As long as you remain in Germany, you can file for divorce there, as the country where you last both lived together.

• You can only file for divorce in the Czech Republic if you move back and live there for at least six months (if you are Czech) or one year (if you are not). As long as you remain in Germany, you can file for divorce there, as the country where you last both lived together.

  NO - It will not necessarily be the law of the country where the courts handling the case are located.

  Some EU countries have agreed on rules for determining which country's laws apply – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

  But if countries other than these are involved, it can be very hard to predict which laws will apply. Given the uncertainty this can create, with national laws often differing greatly, it is best to consult a specialised lawyer about where to file.

Children

• Can I claim rights to maternity leave benefits if I moved to the United Kingdom to study 6 months ago?

  NO - In the UK, only people who work or have been self-employed are entitled to statutory maternity pay or a maternity allowance.

• I'm Belgian and my father, who is from Luxembourg, has just moved back there. Can I request that a Belgian court decision on my father's parental responsibility (namely to pay maintenance) be recognised and enforced in Luxembourg?

  YES - Any interested party may ask for a judgment on parental responsibility made in one EU country to be recognised and enforced in another.

• I'm in the process of adopting a child from another EU country. Will the child automatically be able to acquire citizenship in my country of residence once the adoption process is complete?

  NO - National law varies in this case: some countries automatically grant foreign children citizenship on adoption and others don't. Check with your national authorities on the procedure to follow.

• Is it possible to transfer a case concerning parental responsibility to a court in another EU country?

  YES - In exceptional cases, if the child has a particular connection with this other country and if the transfer is in the child's best interests.

• My ex-husband and I share the custody of our children. I have an offer of work in another EU country: do I need the father's consent to take the children with me?

  YES - Because taking the children with you could make it difficult for him to take care of the children in line with the custody arrangement – in fact, legally, it might even count as child abduction.

  You would also need his consent even if you had full custody, if only to respect his visiting rights.

  However, another option could be for you to apply for a change in the custody or visiting arrangements – a court might grant a change if it thinks this would be in the children's best interest.

• My ex-husband has taken our child to another country and started legal proceedings there to try and gain custody. If the court there decides my child should not be returned to me, can I appeal the decision?

  YES - But you only have 3 months to appeal that decision. After that, the case will be closed.

• My wife divorced me some years ago in Luxembourg. The court gave her the custody of our children; but she is not respecting my right to visit them. I live in France – can I take the matter to a French court?

  NO - The only court that can deal with matters related to your divorce/legal separation, including parental responsibility and visiting rights, is the first court where the request for divorce was filed.

  So you will have to take your case to that court in Luxembourg – unless you can prove that the children have a particular connection to France.