Marital laws in Abu Dhabi

Hey Mike, When you say, "accompany her and share the same accommodations", I am assuming you mean, "live with her". In the UAE it is illegal for unmarried couples to live together. And this is the case throughout all of the United Arab Emirates. If caught by the authorities living with your girlfriend and not married, I do believe you can actually face jail time for that and then get deported back to your home country. It may also cause her to lose her employment. And what would make the situation worse in your case is that, from reading your comment, it sounds like your partner is not even divorced from her husband at this time. This would definitely make matters much worse in the UAE since technically they view this as you having and adulteress relationship with a married woman. Hope this helps.

Is it ok to visit as a tourist and not be married?

Hi Anonymous,

As ROL above says. If you are moving to Abu Dhabi as an unmarried couple and plan to live together, it won't be looked upon well by the authorities and the local people. While legislation says unmarried couples cannot live together, this law is not always enforced strictly. But its not advisable to take the list.

If you are travelling as a tourist, it shouldn't be a problem especially if you are staying at a hotel.While hotels do have the right to ask to see a marriage certificate, in most cases they won't. Lots of Westerners travel to the UAE and as long as you act discreetly in public you shouldn't have too much of an issue.

Hope this helps. 

Shantalie

My husband moved to Abu Dhabi with a married women and is living as man and wife. We are still married although she recently divorced. My husband has left me with huge debts. What can I do?