Annulment of Marriage in Belarus
In Belarus, a marriage may be terminated either by dissolution (divorce) or by being declared invalid by a court. These are two fundamentally different legal outcomes. A divorce ends a valid marriage from the date of the court decision. An annulment declares that the marriage was never legally valid — it is treated as if it never existed from the moment it was registered.
Grounds for declaring a marriage invalid
Under the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Marriage and the Family (KoBS), a marriage may be declared invalid on the following grounds:
- absence of free and mutual consent of one or both parties at the time of registration;
- failure to reach the minimum marriage age (18 years);
- legal incapacity of one or both parties at the time of registration;
- direct blood relation between the parties (ascendant and descendant line);
- marriage between full or half siblings, or between an adoptive parent and an adopted child;
- one or both parties being in another registered marriage at the time;
- concealment by one party of circumstances that would have prevented the marriage.
A marriage may also be declared invalid if it was registered without any genuine intention to create a family — a fictitious marriage.
Fictitious marriage in Belarus
A marriage is considered fictitious only if neither party intended to create a family at the time of registration. If only one party lacked this intention, the marriage may still be declared invalid — but on the grounds of deception, i.e. lack of genuine mutual consent.
A marriage cannot be declared fictitious if the parties actually began living as a family before the case was heard by the court.
Fictitious marriages involving foreign nationals
The conclusion of a fictitious marriage by a foreign national with a Belarusian citizen — or with a foreign national permanently residing in Belarus — solely for the purpose of obtaining a temporary or permanent residence permit is a specific ground for annulment under Belarusian law.
The internal affairs bodies are authorised to investigate such marriages and may file a claim for annulment. Evidence that a marriage may be fictitious includes: reports from civil registry bodies that one or both spouses have another registered marriage; written statements from relatives, neighbours or colleagues; inspection reports from internal affairs officers on whether the spouses actually cohabit; inconsistencies in the spouses’ accounts of their personal circumstances and how they met; the spouses having never met before filing the marriage application, or having met only briefly; the spouses not sharing a common language; one spouse receiving financial or other benefits for entering into the marriage; a significant age difference between the spouses; and prior marriages by one or both spouses concluded without intention to create a family.
The legal consequence of annulling a marriage concluded by a foreign national for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit is the cancellation of that permit.
Who may bring a claim for annulment
A claim for declaring a marriage invalid may be brought by: either spouse; a person whose rights have been violated by the marriage; a guardianship authority; a prosecutor; or — in cases involving a foreign national who married for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit — the internal affairs bodies.
If the applicant does not fall into one of these categories, the court will refuse to initiate proceedings.
A claim in respect of a marriage concluded with a minor may be brought by the minor spouse themselves, a guardianship authority, or a prosecutor. If the minor spouse has reached the age of majority by the time the case is heard, the marriage can be declared invalid only at that person’s own request.
Note: an existing court decision on divorce that has entered into force is an obstacle to initiating annulment proceedings in respect of the same marriage.
Court procedure
Annulment proceedings are conducted as adversarial (claim) proceedings. The claim is filed at the place of residence of the defendant. The court first establishes whether the claimant has standing to bring the claim. If necessary, the court may hear claims for both divorce and annulment in a single set of proceedings.
When considering the claim, the court may find that the circumstances which prevented the marriage have since disappeared — for example, the parties have reached marriageable age, or one party’s incapacity has been lifted. In such cases the court may, on its own initiative, refuse to grant the claim and recognise the marriage as valid from the date those circumstances ceased.
If the court grants the claim, the marriage is declared invalid from the moment of its conclusion — not from the date of the judgment. Within ten days of the judgment entering into force, the court sends a copy to the civil registry office at the place of registration of the marriage. The marriage marks in the identity documents of both parties are cancelled.
Consequences of annulment
Property. Property acquired jointly by persons in a marriage subsequently declared invalid is subject to division under the rules of shared ownership — not joint marital ownership. The court establishes the share of each party in the jointly acquired property. This is a different and generally less favourable regime than the standard equal division that applies on divorce.
However, if one spouse concealed from the other the existence of circumstances preventing the marriage, the court may apply the standard divorce rules to the division of property and may also order that spouse to pay maintenance to the other.
Children. Annulment does not affect the rights of children born during the marriage. The rights of children are fully protected regardless of whether their parents’ marriage is declared invalid. The parents may also conclude a Children’s Agreement in the usual way.
Surname. A spouse who was unaware of the impediment to the marriage has the right to retain the surname chosen at the time of registration.
Capacity of a minor spouse. If a minor married and thereby acquired full legal capacity, annulment of the marriage does not automatically remove that capacity. However, the court has the right to decide that the minor loses full legal capacity from a date determined by the court.
Minimum age for marriage — a note
The standard minimum age for marriage in Belarus is 18 years. Exceptions apply in cases of pregnancy, birth of a child, or emancipation of a minor before reaching adulthood. In such cases the registry office may reduce the minimum age by up to three years, at the request of the parties — no parental consent is required.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between annulment and divorce? A divorce ends a valid marriage going forward. An annulment declares the marriage never had legal force — it is treated as never having existed. This affects property rights, inheritance and other legal consequences differently.
Can a marriage be annulled after it has already been dissolved by divorce? No. An existing court decision on divorce that has entered into force prevents annulment proceedings from being initiated in respect of the same marriage.
Does annulment affect the rights of our children? No. Children born in a marriage that is subsequently declared invalid have exactly the same rights as children born in any other marriage.
Can the authorities initiate annulment proceedings without either spouse filing a claim?Yes. In cases involving a fictitious marriage concluded by a foreign national for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit, the internal affairs bodies are authorised to file a claim independently.
If the marriage is annulled, do I lose the right to use my married surname? Not necessarily. If you were unaware of the impediment to the marriage, you have the right to keep the surname you chose at registration.
From our practice
Annulment of a fictitious marriage — foreign national, residence permit obtained. Internal affairs bodies contacted us for consultation on a case where a foreign national had married a Belarusian citizen shortly after arriving in Belarus and applied for a temporary residence permit immediately after. Officers’ inspection reports showed the spouses had never lived together and had met only twice before the marriage application. The marriage was declared invalid by the court. The residence permit was subsequently cancelled.
Marriage declared invalid — one party already married. A woman came to us after discovering that her husband had a registered marriage in another country that had never been dissolved. We filed a claim for annulment on her behalf, supported by documentation from the foreign civil registry. The court declared the marriage invalid from the moment of its conclusion. Our client retained her married surname as she had been unaware of the impediment.
How we can help
Our advocates have extensive experience representing clients in marriage annulment proceedings in Belarus, including cases involving foreign nationals. We advise in English and Russian and can assist remotely.
We provide oral and written consultations on grounds for annulment, full representation in court proceedings, and advice on the consequences of annulment for property, children and residence permits.
📧 [email protected] 📞 +375 29 142 27 19
