Courts enforce rule requiring residence visas for marriage

Federal Courts are growing strict with expatriates who wish to marry here. Sharia courts are now turning down applicants if one partner does not have a UAE residence visa. Sources from the courts said it was just a regulatory issue concerning the marriage of expatriates here which aimed at controlling abuses of the federal residency law. According to the regulation which was enforced strictly in recent months, women or men on visit visas cannot tie the knot in the UAE, judicial officials told Gulf News. Lawyer Abdul Munaim Bin Swaidan told Gulf News the regulations are there to control expatriates' entry into the country and that the marriage contract will not be used to obtain a residence visa here. "This is federal rules and regulations in order to control abuses of the residency law in the UAE ...," said the lawyer. A senior official from the Ministry of Justice said women who are on visit or tourist visas cannot marry in the UAE and the same applies to men. Bride and groom People can sign the marriage contract in the Emirates provided the bride and groom have valid residence visas. The official was commenting on a complaint by a Tunisian expatriate, identified as Radwan, who brought his Algerian fiancee last week on a visit in order to marry her. "I just started my new job in a local bank here. I cannot leave work and go on vacation to marry in my country or in the country of my wife," said Radwan. Radwan said he brought his Algerian fiancee on a three-month visit visa to marry her and then she will go back. "I'm financially unstable yet, so I cannot bring my fiancee on a residence visa," he said. "We cannot postpone our marriage also because of issues related to my family and her family," he said. Radwan claimed he approached Ajman Sharia court to marry in Ajman because his residence visa was issued there, but his application was rejected. He said a Sharjah court also rejected his application. Radwan claimed the Dubai courts allows the marriages of women or men who are on a visit to the country provided one of them has a Dubai residence visa. New rule: Check on illegal means Lawyer Abdul Munaim Bin Swaidan said people can go back to their home country and marry over there and then bring their wives here. "Or they can send power of attorney to any of their relatives back home to finalise the marriage ... on their behalf," he said. He said some people bring women on visit visas claiming that they will marry them. "They issue them residence visas as a cover for some illegal practices," he said.