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Essentials of a Valid Christian Marriage, Rules and procedure

Christian marriages are believed to be one of the most fantasized marriages in the world. With the outfit that the bride and the groom wear and the bride’s maids following them, every individual of the marriageable age tries to get a chance to witness a Christian marriage. In the UAE, Dubai courts play an essential role in validating any marriage including Christian marriages. Any marriage in Dubai must be registered at the Dubai courts. In this article we are going to discuss the essentials of a valid Christian marriage, their rules and the procedures that is applicable in the UAE.

So, what are the essentials of a valid Christian marriage in UAE?

The first and the foremost thing for a Christian wedding to take place is the church. The couple should ensure that that the church they are going to choose is registered in UAE, this means that the church should be recognized by Dubai courts. Secondly, the parish priest of the church should not be having any reservations in accepting your marriage as many of them allow marriage of people who belong to their own flocks only. All churches in UAE have their own set of rules and requirements and for the marriage purposes in Christian culture, one must consult the church authorities where the wedding is being planned.

Also want to know: Christian Marriage and Registration Procedure in UAE

Rules of a Christian Dubai Court marriage-

All Dubai court marriages follow certain rules. These rules may vary from religion to religion and also changes according to one’s nationality. As far as a Christian wedding in UAE is concerned, certain rules have been set and they must be adhered to.

  1. The Christian weddings in UAE varies as per the nationalities. Procedure for the Christian marriage in Dubai remains more of less the same.
  2. The applicant must visit their embassy with their passports and the affidavit declaring their single status and there is no issue in getting married or the marriage will not stand objectionable at a later stage.
  3. The witness also has to be brought along with and the marriage can take place in the embassy itself or may have to be carried out in a church.
  4. People belonging to different nationalities have to follow different procedure, US citizens need a pastor to get married, while Indian citizens can get the marriage formalities completed in the Indian embassy itself in Abu Dhabi.
  5. The marriage certificate needs to be translated to Arabic by a translator approved by the court for the marriage to be validated in the UAE.
  6. The certificates (both Arabic and English versions) have to be attested by the Notary public UAE. for this residence visas of both the applicants and the emirates ID must be presented. This is then to be brought in front of the Ministry of Justice to get it authenticated.
  7. Then the applicants must approach the Ministry of foreign affairs to further authenticate the authentication given by the ministry of justice.

Further rules about the procedure can be known at St. Mary’s church in Bur Dubai when they talk in the church between 8 am to 12 noon and then between 4pm to 6pm everyday except Fridays and Sundays.

You may want to know: Procedures for Expatriate Marriage in UAE

Documents required for Dubai Court Marriage-

The following documents are needed for authentication a Christian wedding in UAE

  1. Birth certificate, passports, visa copies.
  2. Baptism certificate
  3. Affidavits for marriage
  4. Application for intent of marriage
  5. Proof of applicant being non-Muslim
  6. 2 witness with their passports and their 2 photographs. The witnesses must be 18 yr old or elder.
  7. Death certificate, divorce certificate etc. if applicable.

You may want to know: Interfaith marriage – Hindu groom and Christian bride

General steps of marriage in a Christian community in UAE-

  1. Acquisition of baptism certificate one year prior to marriage date from the church.
  2. Applying for the marriage by filling the marriage application form.
  3. Around 2 months prior to marriage date, canonical marriage is to be attended in the church by paying the reservation fee. Absence from which can lead to cancellation of the reservation fee and hence it has to be paid again to reschedule the same.
  4. Certificate of attendance of the canonical interview is to be obtained from the priest and the pre marriage seminar is got from the church.
  5. Then wedding ban forms are to be acquired and submitted to the church. These banns have to be returned after 3 Sundays after marriage certificate is issued.
  6. The contact information of the sponsors is to be submitted along with the ID proofs.
  7. Lastly, the confession is to be done by both bride and groom which is done a week prior to the marriage.

To have a smooth and hassle-free Christian wedding in UAE, kindly get in tough with us at  Dubai Court Marriage and we will be happy to assist you.

Hazim Darwish Practicing law for almost a decade, he has in-depth knowledge on UAE legislation with particular expertise on 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.
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