Marriages In Dubai

The Sharia law is the law that governs the United Arab Emirates and according to this law, marriage is between a man and a woman and its only after the two are legally married can they be allowed to have children. The United Arab Emirates has in the last few years experienced a huge growth in its economy and this has led to an influx of people, many of them professionals coming from different corners of the world to live and work in Dubai. This is mainly due to the high quality facilities that one will find in this city.

According to the rules of the Islamic faith, marriage is an agreement between two people, a man and a woman that aims at protecting their rights and that of their children. It is a legal requirement that all marriages be registered in a Sharia court based in the UAE. This is to ensure the marriages are in line with the requirements of the law.

People coming to Dubai to work are allowed by the laws of the land to marry citizens of this country. Although this is the case, the rules governing such marriages are different based on certain issues.  If the two people getting married share the same faith, they will have no problems planning their marriage, nevertheless, when the two come from different faiths, planning a wedding might take sometime due to the many requirements that go with such marriages. A good example is when a man who professes the Christian faith is seeking to marry a Muslim woman. The law requires that the man must convert to Islam first before the marriage can be allowed to take place.

In the case where the two are not Muslims, they should both follow the rules of their home countries. Before the two can conduct a wedding, they are required to have a Dubai residence visa. In cases where one of the two spouses is in possession of a visit visa, it is mandatory that he or she undergo a medical check-up before marriage. The checkup should be in a Dubai medical facility.

Where two spouses are interested in a court marriage, they can visit the Dubai courts website and commence registration procedures from there. 

Starting from 2013, all issues relating to marriage and divorces, family matters and reconciliation sessions will be housed in the upcoming Dubai Personal Status Courts Complex in Al Garhoud area, which is expected to be ready for use by then. Among the departments that will be housed in this complex include, a wedding chapel, a center for visitation and 15 court Chambers.

The process of getting married involves a host of legal steps that call for patience especially to people who are not citizens of this country and who want to conduct their marriages here. One should be ready to withstand all the challenges that come on the way, as the authorities must confirm everything before a marriage is legalized.

Below are some legal requirements that need to be fulfilled before one gets married in Dubai.

Legal requirements for expatriates who want to get married in Dubai.

While issues of residence may not be used to stop a marriage in Dubai, the rest of the issues that need to be sorted out before one can be allowed to wed in Dubai may take you up to four weeks. All people wishing to get married in Dubai must be aged 18 years and above and should not have any blood relationship with one another. They will be asked to come with two people who will act as witnesses. The witnesses must be in possession of IDS. These legal requirements may differ based on what is required in your home country and therefore its advisable that people wishing to get married in Dubai check with the embassies of their home countries before they start planning their marriages.

Steps towards getting a marriage license for an expatriate.
The United Arab Emirates is a Muslim nation and therefore people who do not subscribe to the Muslim faith can organize their marriages in churches or at the embassy of their home countries. Some of the documents that you need before marrying in Dubai include, birth certificates for both of you, passports ranging from up to ten years and their photocopies, results of blood tests done at the Health Ministry in Dubai, UAE Medical Fitness Certificate and passport and photocopies of your two witnesses.

In cases where there was a divorce, you need to produce divorce papers as well as your former certificate of marriage. Those who lost a spouse through death need to have a death certificate of their former spouse.

Those whose marriages are conducted in the English language are issued with a marriage certificate written in English; however, the law requires that the certificate be translated to Arabic for it to be legally accepted in the UAE. An official translator must do the translation. Once you are issued with the two versions of your marriage certificate, that is the English and Arabic translation, they should be handed over to Notary Public at the Dubai Courts where they will be certified.

From here, the certificates need to be checked further by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) before the final certification process by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). After that, you are required to visit your home country embassy in Dubai where the certificates will be certified so that they can also be used in your home country if you both come from the same country but if you come from different nationalities, you will have to get the certificates validated by embassies of both countries.

Islamic Marriages for non-UAE nationals.
If the marriage is between two foreigners who both subscribe to the Muslim faith, the law requires that both should be in possession of a valid UAE residence visa. The couple should be in the company of the father of the bride or his attorney to the Dubai’s Court section of marriages. They should also be in possession of the following documents

a)      Two Muslim witnesses who should be men.

b)      The guardian/ parent and the two witnesses must be in possession of passports and copies of their identification documents.

c)      Evidence of death or divorce of former spouse.

In instances where the bride is a practicing Muslim whereas the father is not a Muslim, a letter of no-objection from the embassy of her home country and which should be certified by the foreign affairs ministry must be produced by the bride.

It is only after the above documents are presented and the mandatory fee paid that a UAE marriage license is issued to the couple. After that, for the license to be accepted in your home country, it needs certification from both the justice and foreign affairs ministries. From there, you should take the marriage license to the embassy of your home country for certification.

Islamic Marriages for UAE nationals.
According to the Sharia Law, all marriages involving UAE nationals should be conducted in the Marriage Section of Islamic Courts. The two marriage partners need to be citizens of UAE or should be in possession of UAE residence visas.

According to Sharia Law, the groom needs to be a Muslim although there is no requirement for the bride to be a Muslim. All issues to do with payment of dowry should be sorted out before the marriage can be allowed to proceed. The bride is the person authorized to receive dowry. If the groom is required to pay a specific amount of money in form of dowry, the amount needed to be paid has to be specified before the marriage is allowed to take place.  If no dowry needs to be paid, this needs to be put in writing.  The law requires that the father of the bride should be present in person during the wedding and two Muslim witnesses who are both male.

Below are some of the documents that one needs to produce for a UAE marriage license to be issued.

a)      Original passports of both couples plus photocopies and other identification documents

b)      Where the father of the bride is deceased, the law requires a Sharia Declaration of the father’s death, and a written agreement consenting to the marriage from an uncle or a brother from the side of the bride. In cases where the bride does not have male relatives to consent to the marriage, a written document to prove this is required.

If the father of the bride cannot attend the wedding ceremony, a letter showing that the father agrees to the marriage must be produced.  A copy of the father’s passport to enable the verification of the father’s signature must accompany such a letter.

c)      In marriages where the bride happens to be a Muslim and the father is not a Muslim, a certificate showing the approval of the marriage from the embassy of the bride is required.

d)     If the bride is single because of death or divorce from her former partner, she must produce documents to prove this.

Once the ceremony is complete, the two are issued with a UAE Marriage License, which needs authentication from the Ministry of Justice.

Christian Weddings in Dubai
Christian weddings in Dubai may vary depending on where the couples come from, nevertheless, all Christian weddings in Dubai follow the below procedure.

You need to check the procedure with the embassy of your home country. One is required to carry a passport and sign an official declaration saying you are single and nothing can prevent you from getting married. You also need to confirm if the wedding can be conducted in the embassy premises, otherwise it should be conducted in a church.

In cases where both of you are from different countries, you need to check with both embassies for the right procedure. If for example you come from the US, you need to look for a pastor to conduct the wedding while people from India conduct their weddings at the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi.

In cases where the marriage is conducted in English, the marriage certificate needs to be translated to Arabic by a translator who is authorized by the court. This ensures the validity of the marriage in the UAE.

The two marriage certificates should later be submitted to the Notary Public Office at Dubai Courts for verification. For one to do this, they need to be in possession of a UAE Residence Visa.

After that, the certificates need to be taken to the Ministry of Justice for verification before proceeding to the Ministry of Foreign affairs, for the Ministry of Justice verification to be checked and passed. After that, the final step should be to take the certificates to your home country embassy for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs certification to be verified and passed.

Those who need to know more on the procedures of Christian marriages can visit St.Mary’s Church in Bur Dubai where these issues are discussed in detail on Mondays up to Thursdays and Saturdays between 8am to 12 pm and 4pm to 6pm.

Mixed Religion Weddings in Dubai
In marriages where the man is a Muslim and the woman is not a Muslim, they should both seek help from the Marriage Section of the Dubai Court where all details of Islamic marriages can be explained. When the woman is a Muslim, and the man is not, the marriage can only be conducted in Dubai if the man accepts to convert to Islam.

For those who come from other religions apart from Islam and Christianity, it is advisable to get in touch with the embassies of their respective countries for more details.  Churches do not allow weddings between Christians and non-Christians.