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Planning to Get Married in Dubai? Read This Before You Say ‘I Do’

The wedding is not just about picking up the right partner, the right dress and the right venue for your big day. It’s way more than that. Knowing about all the legal procedures of getting married in Dubai is as important as any other thing to you when planning your wedding. The documents, the certificates, the originality of the documents, everything matters.

To get married in Dubai, the proper paperwork is required because without it, the person may end up in a lot of troubles.  Till the big day arrives, all the required paperwork should be complete and in order to not mess up your big day.

We know there are a lot of formalities the families have to complete before the big day of the couple but with all those formalities, there are some other formalities that cannot be overlooked. The nationality, the religion, the age. All of these things matter for the person to get married in Dubai. So, if you are not sure about all the legalities, you must first learn them or hire a legal consultant to help you with all the proceedings.

There are a certain set of conditions that should be fulfilled by the couple in order to get married in Dubai. Here are some conditions;

  • Age of the couple

The minimum age for a woman to get married is no less than 18 years whereas that for a man is 21.

  • Residence visa

Residence visa of at least one of the spouses is mandatory in Dubai. In other parts of the UAE, both the man and the woman ought to have a residency visa.

  • Pre-marital screening

Both the man and the woman should provide the pre-marital screening certificate from the health authority.

Its time you stop thinking about the wedding dress and the perfect venue for a while and start thinking about all the legal requirements for your wedding. Know about all the paperwork that is required so that you may bring your dream wedding into existence.

Every other day a lot of people register their marriage contracts and all of it is carried out by keeping in mind the legal requirements for getting married in Dubai.

Here are some important points you need to keep in mind before getting married in Dubai;

Marriage paperwork

For Muslim weddings, the marriage contracts should be registered in the Sharia court in UAE. This is to make sure that the wedding has met all the legal requirements as per the Muslim wedding.

For the UAE nationals, the wedding steps are quite simple. All that needed is a groom and a bride with her legal guardians and 2 Muslim witnesses right at the marriage ceremony. Also, a pre-marital certificate should also be obtained from the government hospital or clinic for inheritable diseases.

If needed, Emiratis can get the UAE marriage fund for their financial help as well as marriage counseling. The mass wedding can also be registered if the couple cannot afford.

Getting a guardian is one of the big deals in most of the cases because usually, the fathers do not agree for an Emirati daughter to marry a non-Emirati man. In such a case, the man or the groom should be a Muslim. Also, he must provide his medical documents.

Expats living in Dubai

There are a number of people who are living in Dubai with different nationalities. That is why marriage ceremonies are a serious matter of concern.

There are several conditions that should be fulfilled by the Muslim expats to get married in Dubai.

Submit a form on the website of Dubai court so that you may be assigned a token. One of the parties should be a UAE resident or must have a UAE residency or employment visa in order to get married. The ID cards, passports as well as visa status should be proved as their identity along with a pre-marital certificate. There should be a guardian for the representation of Muslim women as they cannot represent themselves all alone. In short, a woman cannot get married without a guardian.

Non-Islamic marriages

The nationality of each spouse will determine the wedding procedure for non- Islamic marriages. A Muslim man can marry a Non-Muslim woman but the Non-Muslim man cannot get married to a Muslim woman in the UAE.

Non-Muslims can get married in Dubai through their respective embassies instead of the courts. Different non-Muslim couples get married in the church but for that, they must follow all the church procedures for document attestation of their embassies along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice.

Read more about: Procedures for Inter-religious Marriage

Is your wedding date coming up? Do not forget to consider the paperwork with everything else because this is as important as anything. Not sure about the wedding paperwork? Get the consultancy services from Dubai marriage lawyers. They know it all better!

Hazim Darwish

Hazim Darwish, is a Senior Partner of HHS Lawyers in UAE. Practicing law for almost a decade, he has in-depth knowledge on UAE legislation with particular expertise on legal drafting, contract drafting, labor disputes, family law, and regulatory compliance for business organizations. Hazim Darwish also provides counsel on legal rights and obligations in the UAE to clients, including individuals and businesses subject to investigation or prosecution under Criminal Law by major regulators.