SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Loh Wai Mooi, Wang Liansheng, Valerie Goh and Petrina Tan, Bih Li & Lee LLP
• a marriage within specific degrees of kindred relationship and affinity (as set out in the First Schedule of the Women’s Charter 1961); • a marriage that has not been solemnised with a valid marriage licence and by a registrar or a licensed solemniser; and • a marriage of convenience. The following marriages are voidable under Sec - tion 106 of the Women’s Charter 1961: • a marriage that has not been consummated owing to the incapacity of either party or wil - ful refusal by one party to consummate it; • a marriage where one party did not validly consent to it; • a marriage where, at the time of the marriage, a party who is capable of giving valid consent was suffering from a mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to make them unfit for marriage; • a marriage where, at the time of the marriage, one party was suffering from a venereal dis - ease in a communicable form; and • a marriage where, at the time of the marriage, one party was pregnant by some person other than the spouse. An applicant commencing a legal action to annul a marriage must file their originating application in accordance with Form 2B of the Family Jus - tice (General) Rules 2024. 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction Singapore as the Jurisdiction for Divorce A Singapore court has jurisdiction to hear an application for divorce where either or both of the parties: • are domiciled in Singapore at the time of commencement of proceedings; or
• have been habitually resident in Singapore for a period of three years immediately prior to the commencement of proceedings. A Singapore citizen is deemed, until the con - trary is proved, to be domiciled in Singapore. A person’s domicile of origin (ie, their place of birth) would prevail when determining domicile, unless that person acquires a new domicile of choice or dependence subsequently. The party who alleges that a domicile has been changed would bear the burden of proving the claim. A person cannot have more than one domicile at any one time (Peter Rogers May v Pinder Lillian Gek Lian (2006) SGHC 39). The concept of habitual residence is distinct from that of domicile. An individual would be habitually resident in a place that they are ordi - narily or normally resident in, apart from tem - porary or occasional absences of long or short duration. The residence should also be one that is voluntarily adopted, with a degree of settled purpose (Lee Mei-Chih v Chang Kuo Yuan (2012) SGHC 180). Given that Singapore does not recognise same- sex marriages or civil unions, queries as to the jurisdictional grounds for divorce in these cat - egories would be a non-starter in Singapore. Contesting Jurisdiction The applicant who commences an originating application for divorce would need to state, in Form 2A, the basis on which the court has jurisdiction to hear the matter – that is, whether reliance is placed on the parties’ domicile or habitual residence. If a respondent wishes to contest the jurisdiction of the Singapore courts to hear the matter, they will have to indicate this intention in the reply
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