Question:
I am married to a Swedish man, and we reside in Sweden. I wish to divorce and want the process to be completed as quickly as possible. My question, therefore, is how long it takes to finalize a divorce in Sweden and what steps I can take to expedite the process.
/Lee
Reply:
The time required to obtain a divorce in Sweden primarily depends on whether a mandatory reflection period (referred to as “betänketid”) is necessary. If no reflection period is required, the divorce may be granted within a few days. However, if a reflection period is required, the earliest the divorce can be granted is after six months.
A reflection period is typically required in the following circumstances:
- If either spouse requests a reflection period, or
- If either spouse has a child under the age of 16 residing at home.
If the spouses have lived apart for more than two years, the divorce can be granted without a reflection period, even under the circumstances mentioned above.
We have written a dedicated article on the topic of reflection periods in Swedish divorce law, which can be accessed via the following link: Divorce and Consideration Time According to Swedish Law.
While you cannot significantly accelerate the processing of your divorce application, you can ensure that the application is complete and correctly drafted when submitted to the district court (“tingsrätten”). This will help avoid delays caused by requests for additional information or corrections to the application.
