I'm applying for UK divorce via the Government's website (paid the fee of £612 and received the paperwork in the post). My husband is abroad (in a country with notorious poor postal service) and we've had no contact for 8 years since I fled the marriage due to his violence. He was removed from the UK when I revoked sponsorship of his spousal visa. He was returned to his native country but could literally be anywhere now, I've no idea of his current whereabouts.
As he lives abroad, I'm the one responsible for serving the papers on him.
I've done this by sending to all 3 email addresses I've ever known him to use (cc'd in the divorce service's email address as proof that I've emailed him).
I've also used a Royal Mail international trackable service to send hard copies of the papers to him. I mailed it to his parents' address (or at least the address they were at last time I saw them about 10 years ago). Post office staff assured me it's fully trackable and is signed for on delivery, but tracking appears to have stop when it left the UK last week. No tracking update on the Royal Mail website since Monday. DHL courier delivery wasn't available to his country (I did look into this before going with the Royal Mail option).
I have no phone number for him (due to DV and threats to kill me, I won't even want to speak to him). No current contact details for any of his family, friends etc. I had 1 phone number for a friend of his who lived in the UK but the number seems to have changed/is no longer in service. All I know about the friend is that he was living in London, and his first name. No other details..
My husband doesn't appear to be on social media idea.
What happens if he doesn't respond? Or can't be contacted?
How long would it take me to get the divorce?
I have lot of evidence of the domestic violence, and his conviction for it. As well as copies of various court orders to protect safety of myself and our child.
Will the divorce still go ahead? How long can I expect it to take? Being the victim of DV and him being from a country where women have far fewer rights, it's out of the question for me to travel to his country and physically look for him in person. I simply couldn't put myself in danger. How can I ensure I get the divorce?