Reasons for divorce

You can only get a divorce if all of the following apply to you:

• your marriage is legally recognised in the UK
• you’ve been married for at least a year
• you have a permanent home in England or Wales

To end your marriage, you’ll need to show one of these five reasons:

• unreasonable behaviour – anything your partner has done that makes you feel you cannot live with them anymore
• your partner left you at least two years ago – known as ‘desertion’
• your husband or wife has committed adultery (not applicable in a civil partnership)
• you've lived apart from your partner for more than two years and they agree to the divorce
• you’ve lived apart from your partner for more than five years (they do not need to agree to the divorce)

Civil partnerships

Civil partnerships are ended by a dissolution order. The process is the same as for a divorce, except that adultery cannot be a reason for dissolving a civil partnership. In a civil partnership, being unfaithful would be considered ‘unreasonable behaviour’.