Tammy2004

Please can anyone offer stories or advice relating to unmarried couples living together in Dubai? A friend and her partner are considering moving there and are worried about how they can live together..

Any advice much appreciated!

Cherrypie

The UAE is a Muslim country and the laws are restricted by Sharia principles. A male and a female may not live together unless in accordance with the UAE laws (ie. they must be married) and cohabitation is a serious offence. Whatever their religion, nationality or culture, if they are discovered, they will be arrested and will face a charge of living together with no legal relationship.

Elles

Having said that, there are a lot of expat couples living out here that are unmarried. I'm not sure how they would go about the visa thing. Give the British consulate a call and they will be able to advise you on such issues.

email - [email protected]
http://www.britain-uae.org/
Telephone: (971) (4) 309 4444
Fax (971) (4) 309 4303 Visa Section

paul&sharon

my cousin has lived in dubai for over a year and has only been married for a few months. they lived there together prior to getting married there and had no problems. the views there seem to be relaxed and as open as we are my cousin would not even think about coming home they both love it out there they only wished they had done it sooner married or not

joseph.creative

heard a lot of unmarried's live together...

make sure the main earner does the rent and then they can rent out a room to you.. that is what one person said to me... a way around it from what I heard.. OR just keep it bloody quiet...

depends on if you mean a couple living togther or people doing a flatshare of opposite sex and not together...

Cherrypie

This is true but it is better to be fully aware of the law and its implications if you are co-habiting. It is obviously difficult to enforce such a law but co-habiting is still illegal and there are stories in the papers every so often of couples who do get caught. Also, the truth is that most of the expat couples living together out there are in fact married ones.

As for the visa, your boyfriend can't apply for one for you as a partner, for obvious reasons. Each would need to apply for their residence visas independently through their employers.

Face81

I never knew it was that serious.....I dont think I have ever heard of any trouble with the law on this issue b4. But its better to be safe than sorry......u know how they can be! freakish!

-Face81