The quickest and easiest way to get a divorce is to meet the following divorce requirements:
- Both parties agree to sign and file with Court a "Joint Petition for Divorce";
- The Court has jurisdiction over the joint petition for divorce:
- either party is required to be domiciled in Hong Kong;
- either party was ordinarily resident in Hong Kong within the 3 years preceding the petition; or
- At the time of the petition, either party has close connection to Hong Kong;
- The petition for divorce must be filed after at least one year of marriage;
- Before filing the petition, both parties have lived separately for at least one consecutive year;
- Both parties have reached a written agreement on an arrangement of custody, access, maintenance and other financial arrangements for children under the age of 18; and filed such an agreement with Court; and
- Both parties have reached a written agreement on the distribution of marriage assets, maintenance and all other post-divorce financial arrangements; and filed such an agreement with Court.
When filing a "Joint Petition for Divorce" on the ground of one year of separation, all relevant legal proceedings will commence immediately. If the court finds that the joint petition meets the requirements for divorce, a Decree Absolute for divorce, along with orders for child custody/visitation, division of marital assets, and other related financial arrangements, may be granted within 4-6 months.
A "Joint Petition for Divorce" based on one year of separation is the simplest and quickest method of obtaining a divorce, potentially completed within 4-6 months, which is significantly faster than a contentious divorce process (which may take 3-4 years or even longer). However, if the parties fail to provide accurate and complete information to the court, the court may issue endless requests for additional information until all legal requirements are satisfied. In such cases, it could take a year or more to obtain the Decree Absolute and other ancillary relief orders.
In the worst-case scenario, if the court issues continuous requests and ultimately finds that the parties fail to meet the minimum requirements for divorce, the court may dismiss and cancel the joint petition. This would result in a significant waste of time, especially if the parties fail to understand and/or meet the jurisdictional requirements, the one-year separation requirement, or other legal prerequisites.
To ensure that accurate and complete information is provided to the court in one submission and to confirm that the minimum requirements for divorce are met, thereby shortening the timeline for the joint petition to 4-6 months, it is strongly recommended that both parties seek assistance from a practising solicitor. For most individuals without legal training, even the legal requirements for the simplest and quickest form of divorce can be complex. In any case, an experienced divorce solicitor can expedite the divorce process and ensure that the divorce is concluded in the most appropriate manner.
If a divorce applicant cannot afford legal fees, they may consider applying for legal aid from the Legal Aid Department. The department will assess the applicant’s financial resources (i.e., means test) and the merits of the case (i.e., whether there is sufficient reason to pursue litigation) to determine whether legal aid will be granted. Under the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme, if the applicant’s financial resources do not exceed the limit of HKD 420,400, they may be eligible for legal aid. Financial resources are calculated as the applicant’s monthly disposable income multiplied by 12, plus their disposable assets (excluding the value of their primary residence). Legal aid is available to both Hong Kong residents and non-residents. If the applicant’s financial resources fall within the statutory limit and the case has sufficient merits, legal aid will be granted.
For example: If the divorce applicant has a monthly income of HKD 18,000, their annual disposable income would be HKD 216,000. Additionally, they have cash assets of HKD 100,000 and stock assets worth HKD 50,000. They also own a self-occupied property. Therefore, their total financial resources amount to HKD 366,000 (excluding the value of the property), which is below the limit of HKD 420,400. Thus, under the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme, the applicant would have a strong chance of successfully obtaining legal aid.
