The contract of marriage in the UAE is a simple concept for both muslim and non muslim expatriates. For muslims inside the UAE, marriage is contracted through a ‘nikkah’ in the local courts. The procedure is a convenient one and the result is a ‘nikkah nama’ or a certificate of marriage for the husband and the wife, a copy of which is retained with the courts. No further actions needs to be taken.

For non-muslims, marriage is conducted through the church or the temple or any other state-recognized place of worship depending on the religion of the husband and wife. Since the UAE is diverse and a witness to marriages between different nationalities, the contract of marriage can also be conducted in the embassy of the husband or the wife. The embassy rules will apply in such cases and the documentary requirements would have to be satisfied according to the concerned embassy. They would then be issued with a marriage certificate, which would then need to be attested by the foreign office in the UAE and translated into Arabic, to be a legitimate document.