International divorce

You likely do not need to travel to the US to get divorced, but the key issue is jurisdiction, not where the marriage license was issued. A Utah marriage does not automatically mean the divorce must happen in Utah. In practice, Utah generally requires that at least one spouse has lived in one Utah county for at least 3 months before filing, so if neither of you is living in Utah or elsewhere in the US, Utah is usually not the practical route. Since you are both living in Shanghai, China may be one possible route, but there is an important distinction. Shanghai’s current divorce registration system does not accept cases where the marriage was not registered in mainland China or at a Chinese embassy or consulate, so a Utah marriage normally cannot be dissolved there through simple administrative registration. However, foreign-related divorces in China can be handled through the courts. Official Chinese guidance states that foreign-related marriages must go through court proceedings, and that a Chinese court may accept the case if at least one spouse has Chinese residency and is physically present in China, or has lived in China continuously for at least one year. There may also be another route through the home jurisdiction of one of the spouses. For example, South African law gives its courts divorce jurisdiction if a party is domiciled there, or has been ordinarily resident there for at least one year before the case is started. So, based on the facts you gave, the realistic answer is this: you probably do not need to go back to the US, but you do need to file in a place that actually has jurisdiction over at least one of you. In your situation, the most likely options are a foreign-related divorce case in China, if the residence requirements can be met, or a divorce in one spouse’s home jurisdiction if that court has jurisdiction. Because recognition of the divorce in other countries can matter later, especially for civil status, future marriage, immigration, and record updates, the filing route should be chosen carefully from the start.

you can try divorce by filing lawsuit to a court in China.