The court first gives a separation order for a period of 6 months (decree nisi). This is a cooling period intended to give the couple a chance to redeem the marriage or determine that they have completely lost interest in the marriage

If the parties have failed to redeem the marriage, the court makes a final order (decree absolute). This permanently ends the marriage.

Separation is a situation where a husband and wife stay away from each other for a given period either because they have agreed or this is known as a separation by agreement or because the court has ordered the separation known as judicial separation.

• Separation only suspends certain rights of husband and wife but does not end the marriage.
• The husband and wife are still considered to be married and during the time of separation, none of them can marry another person.
• Separation cannot go beyond two years.

• Divorce is the permanent ending of a marriage.
• It only applies to legally recognised marriages.
• The procedure for divorce depends on the type of marriage the parties had.