Switzerland Wants to Abolish "Divorced" Status
The Swiss government has supported a proposal to remove the separate status of “divorced” from official documents. Under the initiative, after a divorce, a person will once again be able to list their status as “unmarried,” while information about the divorce itself will remain in government records.
The initiative was proposed by Nadine Gobet, a member of the Swiss Parliament from the Liberal Party. She pointed out that people may continue to list this status on various official forms for years after a divorce. In her view, this requirement no longer makes much sense if the divorce has resolved all legal matters between the former spouses. The fact of the divorce has already occurred and does not alter a person’s current legal status.
Gobet believes that civil status should primarily reflect a person’s current situation, rather than serve as a reminder of events in their personal life. In this context, “divorced” effectively becomes a label of the past. That is why the representative proposes removing it as a separate category.
What Will Replace the “Divorced” Status?
If the proposal is supported, divorced people will be able to revert to the “unmarried” category in official documents. However, information about the divorce will not disappear. It will continue to be stored in state registries and will be accessible to government agencies if necessary. In other words, this is not about erasing a person’s marital history, but about changing how their current status is indicated in documents.
This is an important detail. The authorities will not lose information about the fact that a person was previously married and divorced. The proposal specifically concerns a separate column regarding marital status. Its author wants to ensure that a private event does not remain a permanent characteristic of a person in everyday administrative procedures.
What the Swiss authorities said
On September 10, the Swiss Federal Council stated that it supports this initiative. The government agreed with Gobet’s proposal but did not provide a separate explanation for its decision. The matter must now be considered by parliament. If lawmakers support the proposal, changes to the law will have to be made. In other words, the “divorced” status has not yet been abolished. For now, this is merely about the government’s support for the relevant legislative proposal.
Why This Has Become an Issue for Parliament
Under current Swiss rules, after a marriage is dissolved, a person’s civil status changes to “divorced.” This system is used in official documents and government registries. Supporters of the changes believe that once the legal divorce proceedings are complete, there is no need to constantly indicate this status on everyday forms.
Gobet emphasizes that divorce is a completed legal event. In her view, the constant requirement to identify oneself as “divorced” effectively turns a person’s personal history into an administrative designation. The lawmaker called this a kind of “administrative perpetuation” of a private event. She believes that after a divorce, a person should be able to simply revert to the “unmarried” category.
Does this mean it will be possible to conceal a divorce?
No. Even if the rules change, information about a divorce will remain in government registries. This means that government agencies will be able to obtain the necessary data if it is required for a specific legal or administrative procedure. It is not the information itself that will change, but the way it is reflected in a person’s civil status.
So, in Switzerland, they are essentially proposing to separate two things: a person’s history and their current status.
What’s Next
The initiative must now be considered by the Swiss Parliament. If lawmakers approve it, the government will have to draft the necessary legislative amendments. Until then, people who have divorced will continue to officially have the status of “divorced.” Changes can only take effect after the relevant legislative process is completed.
The initiative has already drawn attention for proposing to change a category that is quite common in official documents. Its supporters see this as a way to interfere less in people’s private lives and avoid turning a past divorce into a permanent label for a person. This was reported by dpa.
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