The Saudi Ministry of Justice has passed a decree making it easier for Arabic-speaking expats to get married. Marriage officers in the Kingdom now have the power to issue home-based marriage contracts for expats, just like Saudi citizens, making the procedure much easier for the couple to be.
Before this decision was announced, all wedding ceremonies for expats could only be held in courts. The first marriage under this new decree was held in Jeddah from the home of the happy newlyweds, and the picture of the documented contract went viral.
As pointed out by Arab News, this service is currently for non-Saudis who speak Arabic and is “available in the personal status courts in Riyadh and Madinah in this initial stage. It will extend to 14 other personal status courts in other areas, namely, the courts of Makkah, Jeddah, Buraidah, Dammam, Taif, Tabuk and Al-Ahsa, as well as the general courts in Alkhobar, Hafr Al-Batin, Najran, Al-Kharj and Abha.” There are plans to make it available to non-Arabic speakers in the future.
Ibraheem Al-Shareef, a Saudi legal marriage officer, told the news portal that this “permission is given to specific marriage officers under certain conditions where they get a book of contracts to document the expats’ marriage contracts from their homes.”
Previously, marriage contract petitions needed to be submitted by expats via a form at the court or electronically, registering for an appointment for the contract, which would then have to be issued at the court. Under the new decree, these petitions can now be submitted by the marriage officer instead.
“It is important to have a valid Iqama ID, also the presence of the wife’s guardian, in case if she was divorced a divorce contract should be there […] No fees are specified to be given to the marriage officer; it is optional,” explained Al-Shareef.
According to StepFeed, this “new order will also lessen pressure on Saudi courts, which were often overcrowded given the fact every court wedding ceremony had to be attended by the couple getting married, the bride's male guardian and two witnesses.”
