You were married in Cyprus – Will you have to get a divorce in the Rabbincal court?

In most cases, before a Jewish woman married in a civil marriage can re-marry, the Rabbinical Court demands compliance with the strict requirements of Jewish Law in respect of divorce (“get lechumra”). That is since, although under Jewish Law, marriage between Jews who are Israeli residents and citizens should be carried out under Jewish Law, there is a chance that the marriage might qualify as a Jewish marriage and in order to avoid difficult consequences such as bigamy and bastardy, stringent requirements in respect of divorce (“get lechumra”) are applied.

It should also be noted, that even if the second marriage is of a civil (rather than religious) character, in most cases you may still be required to go through a procedure of “get lechumra” at the Rabbinical Court in order to dissolve the first civil marriage and aquire the necessary documentation for the second marriage.