New Brunswick Divorce Residency Requirements

Before you can file for divorce in New Brunswick, the Court of King's Bench needs to confirm it has jurisdiction over your case. That comes down to one question: has at least one spouse lived in the province long enough to qualify?

The 12-Month Rule

Under Section 3(1) of the federal Divorce Act, at least one spouse must have been ordinarily resident in New Brunswick for a continuous period of 12 months immediately before the divorce proceeding is started.

Either spouse can satisfy this requirement. If you moved to New Brunswick a year ago but your spouse lives in Alberta, you can file in New Brunswick. If your spouse has lived in New Brunswick for years but you recently moved away, your spouse's residency qualifies — though you'd typically want to file where you currently live for practical reasons.

What "Ordinarily Resident" Means

Ordinary residence is a legal concept with a specific meaning developed through case law. In Thomson v. Minister of National Revenue, the court defined it as the place where a person regularly, normally, or customarily lives — their "real home."

To satisfy this standard, your primary daily life must be centered in New Brunswick: employment, housing, banking, and family ties. It's not about citizenship, birthplace, or where you plan to live someday — it's where you actually live right now and have lived continuously for the past year.

Canadian citizenship is not required. Permanent residents, temporary residents, and non-citizens can all file for divorce in New Brunswick as long as they meet the 12-month residency threshold.

How to Prove Residency

You'll establish residency in your sworn Affidavit of Evidence, which is part of the Trial Record. The court evaluates documentary proof showing 12 continuous months in the province:

• New Brunswick driver's licence (with issue date)
• Provincial health card (Medicare)
• Lease agreement or mortgage documents for a New Brunswick address
• Utility bills (hydro, internet, gas) showing consistent service at a provincial address
• Employment records showing a New Brunswick workplace
• Bank statements mailed to a New Brunswick address
• Children's school enrollment records

No single document is decisive. The court looks at the overall picture. The stronger and more varied your documentation, the fewer questions the judge will have during the desk review.

Temporary Absences

Temporary absences from the province don't break the 12-month clock, provided you maintain a settled intention to return and haven't established a primary home elsewhere.

Business travel, short-term work assignments in another province, vacations, family visits, and medical treatment outside the province are all acceptable temporary absences. The key question the court asks: did you intend to return to New Brunswick, and was your life still centered here during the absence?

Extended absences are more complicated. If you were posted elsewhere indefinitely, even if you kept a New Brunswick mailing address, the court may find you were no longer ordinarily resident.

When Residency Starts

An important nuance from Molson v. Molson: if you move to New Brunswick with the settled intention of making it your home, ordinary residence begins from the day you arrive. You don't need to wait for a lease to begin or a driver's licence to be issued. The 12-month clock starts on the day your daily life is centered in the province.

Conversely, per Hinter v. Hinter, you stop being ordinarily resident the moment you leave indefinitely — even if you have a vague plan to come back someday.

Military Families and CFB Gagetown

Military families posted to CFB Gagetown or other New Brunswick bases satisfy the residency requirement the same way civilians do. If at least one spouse has been posted to and living on or near the base for 12 months, they're ordinarily resident in New Brunswick.

The distinction matters for military families who move frequently: the 12-month residency attaches to the province where you're currently stationed, not your province of enlistment or your "home of record" for military purposes.

If you were posted to New Brunswick less than 12 months ago, you may be able to file in the province you left — residency there may not have fully ended if you were transferred rather than leaving voluntarily.

What If Neither Spouse Lives in New Brunswick?

If neither spouse has been ordinarily resident in any Canadian province for 12 months, the Divorce Act still provides options. You can file in the province where either spouse last had ordinary residence, though this is rare.

If both spouses live in different provinces and both meet the 12-month threshold in their respective province, either can file in their own province. There's no legal advantage to one province over another for the divorce itself — the Divorce Act is federal law — though provincial rules on property division and procedure differ.

Confirming Your Eligibility

If you meet the 12-month residency requirement, the next step is identifying your judicial district (which determines whether you use Rule 72 or Rule 81 forms) and beginning the petition process. The New Brunswick Divorce Filing Process Guide walks you through the complete eligibility check and filing sequence with district-specific instructions.

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