Registration of marriage is necessary, regardless of whether the marriage or wedding ceremony took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or abroad. For expatriates or foreign nationals that underwent church or court marriage in UAE, they are to send their application for marriage registration to their respective Consulates or Embassies. If you got married in a church or Sharia court in UAE, register your marriage with the relevant court in UAE as well.

General requirements of marriage registration in UAE:

For a marriage that took place outside UAE, obtain the official marriage license or marriage certificate and the other requirements for marriage registration in UAE, which include the following:

• Personal appearance of the husband and wife
• Duly accomplished form of report of marriage or ROM
• Valid passport of the husband and wife 
• Certified true copies of the marriage certificate (original plus four copies)
• If the date of marriage is a year ago, an affidavit of delayed marriage registration
• Recent passport size photos (colored)
• Applicable fees
• Letter of authorization or power of attorney, if the marriage registration won’t be processed by the couple personally
• Authenticated birth certificate (original and certified copies)
• Certificate of no previous marriage duly authenticated (original and certified copies)

Note: additional requirements will be required if legal capacity in contracting marriage wasn’t processed before the marriage took place.

For previously married applicants (applicants whose previous marriages were annulled or divorced prior to contracting the latest marriage being reported):

• Authenticated judicial decree for absolute divorce that’s issued by a competent court
• Certificate of finality of divorce (the original and certified true copies)
• Authenticated advisory on marriage (has to reflect the annotation on the divorce decree; original and certified true copies)
• Authenticated judicial decree for annulment, if applicable
• Certificate of finality of marriage annulment
• Authenticated marriage certificate or contract
• Report of marriage (along with annotation of annulment)
• Advisory of marriage, duly authenticated (must have annotation on the annulment decree; original and certified true copies)

For widowed marriage registration applicants:

• Authenticated marriage certificate or contract (with previous spouse; original and certified true copies)
• Report of marriage (for marriage with previous spouse; original and certified true copies)
• Authenticated advisory of marriage (original and certified true copies)
• Authenticated death certificate of the deceased spouse (if the deceased spouse is a foreign national, the death certificate must be issued by the consulate or embassy and translated in Arabic or English)

If the application for marriage registration with Embassies or Consulates in UAE will be by mail:

• All the details have to be accurate and true
• Details must be in BLOCK letters and type-written 
• Forms are to be printed on A4 size paper
• Signed forms have to be notarized
• Each form must contain the signatures of the contracting parties to a marriage
• Only one notarial certificate is needed for one document

Take note: embassies and UAE Sharia Court may require several additional documents, as deemed necessary. The processing of marriage registration in UAE can take ten to thirty days upon the receipt of the complete requirements.

Why should I register marriage in UAE?

Once you're legally married, may it be overseas or in the UAE, you may be eligible for any of the following:

• Dependent visa if husband or wife has a residency visa in UAE
• Tourist visa (if from specific countries)
• UAE nationality via citizenship (a foreign national that is married to any UAE national is granted nationality in UAE through citizenship following seven years) from date of application submission to UAE Federal Authority on Identity and Citizenship when the foreign national and UAE national both have a child or more. This period will be increased up to ten years if the couple does not have any children, provided their marriage is ongoing as per the provisions of present Decree-Law.)
• Residency visa (spouse as the sponsor)

What are the premarital general requirements for marriage in UAE?

UAE legislation sees marriage as the legal contract between the husband and wife, aimed at giving sufficient protection to the rights of the children of the couple and the couple themselves. The premarital general requirements if the marriage is performed in the UAE are as follows:

• Approval of both the bride and the groom
• Approval of the bride's legal guardian
• Two male witnesses preset during the marriage ceremony
• At least one (1) party to a marriage contract must have a valid residency visa in UAE (For Dubai court marriage)
• In other- Emirates apart from Dubai, both the groom and the bride need to be UAE residents or holders of UAE residency visas
• Premarital health screening certificate (must be issued from a public or government-approved healthcare facility in the UAE; the premarital screening is mandatory which aims to arrest spread of AIDS and other communicable diseases in the country)

To know more about the process of marriage registration UAE, consult with marriage specialists in UAE such as Dubai Court Marriage.