Family Law-Getting Married in Dubai UAE: All you need to know

Getting married in the UAE as an expat is not a new phenomenon.  Dubai is one of the few places in the world which is home to millions of expats. UAE being a Muslim country follows the Sharia Law and has some set of pre-determined requirements that must be fulfilled when it comes to marriage.

Here’s a quick preview of Pre-marital requirements for an expat marriage:

1. Consent of the bride to the marriage
2. Emirates ID of both couple
3. Valid passports along with the visa status
4. At least one person (groom, bride or the bride’s guardian) in the marriage must have a valid UAE residence visa
5. A positive pre-marital health certificate of both the bride and groom (mandatory)

Marital requirements for Muslim Expats

Marriage ceremony in UAE, for all Muslims irrespective of their nationality is governed by the Sharia Law and should meet following criteria:

1. Bride and groom must be at least 18 years old
2. Spouse’s age should not be twice the other
3. Consent of the bride’s guardian
4. Presence of both couple

Marital requirements for Muslim Expats

Marriage ceremony in UAE, for all Muslims irrespective of their nationality is governed by the Sharia Law and should meet following criteria:

1. Bride and groom must be at least 18 years old
2. Spouse’s age should not be twice the other
3. Consent of the bride’s guardian
4. Presence of both couple
5. Attendance of bride’s father or his representative or subsequent male guardian upon father’s death.
6. Presence of two Muslim witnesses
7. Divorced or widowed woman must show the evidence of such status
8. If the bride is Muslim and her father is Non-Muslim, she needs a ‘No Objection’ letter from her embassy or consulate
9. If a male expat wants to marry an Emirati woman, the male needs to meet certain criteria as:

• Must not be stateless
• Must be a resident of the UAE
• Must obtain a certificate of good conduct from the UAE.

10. Male Muslim (expat or non-expat) can only marry Non-Muslim woman belonging to Christian or a Jews. No other woman of other religion is permitted to marry a Muslim man unless they convert to Islam.

Marital requirements for Non-Muslim expats

In the presence of two witnesses, Non-Muslims expats (18 years of age) can get married in Dubai and have their marriage registered at the concerned embassies or consulates of their home countries in the UAE. If marriage takes place between the Non-Muslims expats of different countries, then they need to register it in the respective embassy or consulate of their own country.

Documents or marriage formalities are regulated by the embassies or consulates and may vary from one embassy to another. So it’s better to follow up on such requirements. However, one may require to present additional documents as:

1. Two witness with their ID proof
2. Copy of couples passport
3. Couple’s birth certificate
4. Proof of divorce or widow

Note: All the documents issued from another country other than the UAE needs to be legally translated into Arabic and verified by the Ministry of that country, UAE Ministry Foreign Affairs and UAE Ministry of Justice.

Should you require further information and guidance on getting married in the UAE, don’t hesitate to contact US.