If the Hong Kong divorce procedure is a unilateral petition for divorce, the petitioner must fill out a "petition for divorce" and personally send it to the registry of the Family Court. If both parties agree to jointly file a divorce petition to the court, both parties shall fill out a Joint Application and personally send it to the Family Court Registry. Unless approved by the court, divorce petition can be filed at least one year after marriage. The petitioner must prove that he/she has reason (or basis) to believe that the marriage has come to an end, that is, the "marriage has broken down to irretrievable" as referred to by the court. The court will accept one or more of the following reasons as proof:
 The spouse has committed adultery, but the petitioner believes that he/she cannot bear to live with him/her.
 The spouse's conduct makes it impossible to reasonably expect the petitioner to live with him/her.
 Before filing the divorce petition, the petitioner and his spouse had lived separately for at least one consecutive year, and his spouse also agreed to divorce.
 Before filing the petition for divorce, the petitioner and his spouse had lived separately for at least two consecutive years.
 Legal basis
 Article 1076 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China [Divorce by agreement] If the husband and wife divorce voluntarily, they shall sign a written divorce agreement and apply for divorce registration in person at the marriage registration authority.
 The divorce agreement shall specify the intention of both parties to divorce voluntarily and the consensus on matters such as child rearing, property and debt handling.