From: Ten questions and answers on registration and divorce of transnational marriage, by Xuhui Court, Shanghai, China
Answer: If the defendant is a foreign party and the person is abroad, and the plaintiff knows the defendant's specific foreign address, the process of foreign-related service will be very cumbersome. It is necessary to translate pleadings, evidence, notice of proof, notice of response, summons and other materials. The translation cycle will be relatively long (sometimes several months). The corresponding materials and documents will be sent to the Supreme Court through the Foreign Affairs Department of the high court for foreign-related service, which takes a long time. Most cases will be held 10 months or even a year after filing. If it is not successfully served or there is no response, it can only be published in the newspaper again (people's court newspaper), and the corresponding documents and summons will be served for a period of several months. It is often one year after the case is filed that it fails to enter the court proceedings. Most cases of divorce involving foreign affairs are heard in absentia, and the trial time is often short, but the delivery period is long.