The divorce in Germany is only in the judicial order

 The divorce is possible in Germany only through a court, even if the spouses have no claims to each other, or joint underage children.

 Year of separation as a necessary prerequisite for divorce

 According to § 1566 of the Civil Code of Germany, spouses must live separately for at least 1 year (Trennungsjahr) until the court session on divorce proceedings. In practice, this means that an application for divorce can be submitted no earlier than 8-10 months after the beginning of separation. The preparation of the court session will take 4-2 months depending on the city and the congestion of the court. By that time, the required year of separate living will expire.

Separately, you can live in the walls of one house or one apartment. The main thing is not to have a joint household and not to have intimate relations with each other.

In "severe" cases, a court may allow for the exclusion from the rule of a one-year separation, for example, the spouse's pregnancy from another man or violence.

 "Simply" the residence of one of the spouses with a new partner "a serious case" is not recognized. 

Obligation to be represented by a lawyer

 According to § 114 of the Family Procedural Law (Familienverfahrensgesetz) in the divorce proceedings in Germany, a lawyer is required. He files the divorce petition in court.

The law applicable at the divorce for foreign nationals residing in Germany and its consequences

Since June 2012, the EU Regulation "Rome III" is in effect in the EU, which determines which legislation is applied in cases of divorce of foreign nationals. "Rome III" is also applied in cases where the state concerned, whose nationals are married, is not a party to the Rome III Rules. It is enough that they live on the territory of the EU.

 The provisions of Regulation "Rome III" apply only to material divorce. This includes prerequisites for divorce, for example, the established minimum separation period for spouses. On the issues of process management, property and legal issues related to marriage (obligations for payment of alimony of spouses, parental rights, hereditary issues) Regulation "Rome III" does not apply.

 In accordance with "Rome III" the main role is played by the place of permanent residence of the spouses, and not by their citizenship. This means that when the marriage is dissolved, the law of the state in which the place of permanent residence of the spouses is located at the time of applying to the court is applicable.

 For example: when divorcing citizens of the Russian Federation (even temporarily) residing in Germany, German law will apply.

 If the spouses no longer have a joint permanent residence, the law of the state in which the spouses have their last place of permanent residence applies, except in the event that both spouses or one of the spouses do not live there for more than a year. In this case, the law of the state, whose citizenship was possessed by both spouses at the time of application to the court, applies. If the spouses do not have a single citizenship, then the law of the state in which the court is located, in which the appeal has been received, applies.

 The possibility of choosing the applicable law for divorce in Germany

Regulations "Rome III" establishes the possibility of choosing the applicable law in the dissolution of marriage. For example, spouses of citizens of the Russian Federation residing in Germany can determine that the law of the Russian Federation is applicable to the dissolution of their marriage. This means that the German court will apply the right of the Russian Federation to divorce. This option is suitable, above all, for those who do not want to withstand the minimum period of separation of spouses. The decision on the choice of law can be taken before applying to the court or during the divorce proceedings. It must be notarized and can be written, for example, in a marriage contract.