Remarriage woes for west Africans who cannot prove legal separation.
WEST AFRICAN immigrants who wed in native tribal ceremonies are facing problems proving their divorce when intending to remarry in Ireland.
Legal sources have informed Metro Éireann that tribal divorce documentation furnished to the Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages is often deemed “not good enough” or “not acceptable”.
Problems can be exacerbated due to clan disputes, as tribal unions – also referred to as customary or traditional marriages – are generally contracted not just between the bride and groom but their families. As such, “verifying affidavits” from both families concerning the divorce are usually sought by the registrar, according to Emeka Ezeani, a solicitor with Ceemex and Co in Dublin.
But the main problem, he added, is “getting the documentation worded correctly in a way that satisfies the registrar of marriages”.
The solicitor said he “very often” receives clients who cannot prove the end of their traditional marriage for the purposes of remarrying, tax or social welfare implications.
A spokesperson for the General Registration Office (GRO), the central civil repository for records on births, marriages and deaths, said that documentation verifying foreign divorces includes the original final court judgment/decree absolute and “a completed standard questionnaire with regard to the domicile of both parties to the divorce”.
Additional documentation may be required depending on where the couple were living at the time of their divorce, added the spokesperson.
The body had “obtained legal advice with regard to the recognition of traditional/customary marriages under Irish law”, and as a general rule foreign marriages are legally recognised in Ireland “if they are celebrated in accordance with the applicable laws relating to marriage in the country in which they are celebrated”.
The Department of Justice also recognises tribal unions and arranged marriages when assessing visa applications, but requires evidence of the marriage having taken place.
The GRO only examines foreign divorces referred to it by a registrar after a couple has given notice of intention to marry or are registering the birth of a child. The office said it had no statistics on how often such referrals occur.
Doubts over the validity of a marriage are ultimately a court matter, concluded the spokesperson.
