New household regulation for non-Muslim expats comes into pressure

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The UAE’s new regulation for non-Muslim expatriates, overlaying issues associated to marriage, divorce, baby custody and inheritance, comes into impact as we speak.

The Federal Personal Status Law, which was introduced in December 2022, is designed to deliver the UAE in step with worldwide practices and to make the nation extra interesting to dwell and work in.

It units down procedures for documenting marriage contracts earlier than courts and finalising divorces, and descriptions the method for settling the monetary claims after divorce.

Joint and equal custody of kids can be mechanically granted to folks after divorce.

The new regulation additionally regulates procedures for inheritance, wills and proof of paternity.

The provisions of the regulation apply to non-Muslim foreigners residing within the UAE except somebody needs to use the regulation of his/her house nation.

“According to this regulation, ladies are granted equal rights with reference to offering witness testimony, inheritance, the best to file for divorce, and joint custody of the kids till they’re 18 years outdated. Subsequently, the kids can have the best to decide on between their dad and mom,” mentioned Dr. Hasan Elhais from Al Rowaad Advocates. 

“This means that women’s testimony in court will be equal to that of a man.”

He defined that with reference to custody, it’s granted equally to each dad and mom except one mother or father submits a request to the court docket looking for to exclude the opposite mother or father based mostly on the most effective curiosity of the kid. 

“In this case, both parents will be able to file requests to court which will then decide what is best for the child.”

He mentioned civil marriage contracts are acknowledged by this regulation and should meet a set of situations that embrace the necessity for spouses to be at the least twenty-one years outdated, and to offer approval by filling out a declaration kind in entrance of the choose.

To file for divorce in keeping with the brand new regulation, one partner should inform the court docket of their want to terminate their marriage, with out having to justify, clarify or blame the opposite partner.

They can request a divorce with out proving that any hurt was finished throughout their marriage. 

“Some of the changes that stand out in this law is its adoption of the Gregorian calendar instead of Hijri and dismissing the requirement to seek family guidance in cases of divorce,” defined Elhais. 

“One more important change is that alimony is now calculated and decided based on several factors that include years of marriage, the financial status of both spouses and the extent of how much the husband is responsible for the divorce,” he added.