The couple, Leandro Barreto and François Souyri, said French authorities refused to recognise their UK marriage and told them to divorce then remarry under French law to obtain the same rights for themselves and their adopted son.
At least a dozen same-sex couples have been caught in the same situation, according to PinkNews.
Those affected originally entered into civil partnerships and were offered the right to convert their unions into marriages after the intorduction of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
Those who took up this offer were given marriage certificates backdated to the original date of their civil partnership without any extra ceremony.
It is this 2013 Act which is not recognised in France because there are no witnesses and it is back dated.
Jurisdictional disparity
Carmel Brown, an associate in the London Family team at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth says the case highlights the “huge issue” of jurisdictional disparity across the EU.
“It is likely this could be even further exaggerated with same-sex couples wishing to emigrate to EU countries because of Brexit,” she said.
“As lawyers the advice we give our clients has to be clear and accurate, and disparity in laws across borders in relation to same-sex couples of this nature creates uncertainty and anxiety.”
For example, the situation was complicated in January 2017 when French divorce law was reformed, dropping the requirement for a divorce settlement to be reviewed and approved in court by a judge.
“One of the main risks of the reform is that the new French divorce by mutual consent may not be recognised or enforced in many foreign countries, resulting in greater risk of post-divorce litigation,” explains Brown.
“We would urge any same-sex couples looking to move away from the UK to take specialist advice before deciding how to proceed.”
