Marriage Rules in the UAE for UK nationals

The United Arab Emirates is considered a second home for the expatriates. The expatriates love this country mainly because of the warm climate, safety and ample amount of job opportunities. Thus, settling down and marrying in the UAE is also preferred by the expatriates. Getting married in the UAE is exciting but when it comes to making it formalized, it is not an easy task. The paperwork and the procedures for a Dubai court marriage or a marriage to happen in the UAE and get validated across the world are very extensive.

Living in UAE without getting married is not legal. Therefore, if one wishes to get married, he/she should explore all the formalities and paperwork that is supposed to be in place for the marriage to be legalized in the country as well as outside the UAE. For the marriage to happen, both the bride and the groom should be present in the country.

In this article, we will discuss the legalities of getting married in the UAE if you are a British national.

Legal requirements for a UK national for marriage in the UAE-

The legal requirements for a British national to get married in the UAE requires some of the criteria to be fulfilled. These are mentioned below-

1. The legal age for an Anglican marriage is 18 years for both the man and the woman.
2. The bride and the groom must not be relatives by any chance.
3. Two witnesses over 18 years of age must be there who must be present with their ID proofs

The general requirements may vary depending upon the nationality. Therefore, one must approach the marriage lawyers in the UAE for getting clarification on the same. They will help you with all the formalities in regards to the documents and procedures require for your marriage to be validated in the UAE courts.

You should know: Why to get legally married in Dubai UAE

How long one must be a resident of the UAE before one gets married?

There are no residency requirements as such for applying for a marriage in the UAE. The paperwork takes almost 4 weeks. Therefore, one must be prepared for providing all the documents that are needed for the marriage to be validated before planning the marriage.

Documents needed for applying for the marriage by a Britisher in the UAE

The following documents are needed for applying for the marriage by a British national in the Dubai courts.

1. Birth certificates of the bride and the groom.
2. Passport of both the bride and the groom along with the copies of the passports.
3. Passports and the photocopies of the passport of the witness
4. UAE medical certificate and blood test reports issued by the Ministry of Health affiliated medical centers in the UAE
5. Sworn affidavit of both the bride and the groom stating their single status.
6. If the bride or the groom or both have been divorced, then the divorce papers along with the previous marriage certificate must be presented.
7. In case of the applicant being a widow/widower, then in that case death certificate of the previous spouse must be presented.

You should know: Muslim and Christian Marriage in Dubai

Applying for the marriage license or marriage certificate for British nationals in the UAE

The documents listed above must be presented in front of the court for the marriage to be solemnized. Once the judge finds everything in place, he will grant the marriage certificate to the applicant. If the issued marriage certificate is in English, then an official translator has to be approached for translating it into English.

After translation, both the English and the Arabic form of the certificate must be taken to the Notary public Dubai for attestation. After this, it must be certified by the Ministry of justice. The authentication done by the Ministry of justice is in turn authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lastly, the authentication given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is authenticated by the embassy for use in the applicant’s own country. In case the applicants are of different nationalities, the authentication is to be achieved from both the embassies of the applicants.

The process may look lengthy specially if the documents are not in place. In such cases, one can consider marrying in the home country and then returning to the UAE with the marriage certificate and get it attested in the embassy and then make it legal here in the UAE. However, if you are not in a mood to go back or do not have an option to go back currently to the home country and get all the procedure done here along with the paper works, it is best to consult the marriage lawyers in the UAE.

At Dubai Court Marriage, we are having an experienced and skilled set of lawyers who can help you in getting all your paperwork done and finally getting the marriage validated in the UAE as well as your home country.