Annulment of Marriage in Singapore- Contact us today!

As an annulment lawyer in Singapore, I see many clients seeking advice on annulment of marriage in Singapore.

Differences between annulment of marriage in Singapore and divorce

Annulment of marriage in Singapore voids the marriage. This means that the marriage is deemed never to have taken place. You become single again, rather than a divorcee.
Annulment of marriage in Singapore can take place even when you are married for less than 3 years. To get a divorce in Singapore, you have to be married for more than 3 years.
If you are a foreigner in Singapore, you have to be in Singapore for a minimum period of 3 years before you can file for a divorce in Singapore. There is no such requirement for those seeking an annulment of marriage in Singapore if both parties are residents in Singapore at the time of the filing of the writ.

Grounds for annulment of marriage in Singapore

The most common ground for annulment of marriage in Singapore is one party’s wilful refusal to consummate the marriage with the other party. In these cases, the marriage is voidable. This means that the marriage is not void until parties make an application to Court to void it.

In some instances, the marriage is void even without any positive action taken by parties.

In a recent case, a man and a woman got married at the ROM. Thereafter, the man went through a sex reassignment surgery and became a woman. Eventually, they were informed by the ROM that because they “did not intend from the start to live as one man and one woman”, the marriage was void.

See: Kirsten Han, “A straight married couple became a same-sex one and Singapore’s famous efficiency broke down”, Quartz, 14 June 2017