jam25mack

I do wonder what happened to you as this is by far and away your favourite subject to comment on on here.

As for the 'couple of dozen cases', is that actually true or a tad embellished? Most of us here I think would struggle to come up with just one example of someone 'they knew' getting busted for co-habiting when not married..... and after being here over a decade and being a social kinda chap I know a lot of folk, and then there's you who knows of at least 24 examples.....

Dubaiexile

Sounds like a pub story!!

carcajou

Actually true. Two or three dozen is not a lot, and I know a lot more people who did it and had no ramifications. But it does happen and people need to be careful. The best way to be careful, is to not break the law in the first place.

I will just add to that, Westerners usually don't understand where the threat comes from - it's not from the police doing random stings, mining corridor security cameras or spying on you. Someone has to file a complaint. These things very rarely - if ever - arise out of religious or cultural piety. It's usually because of some personal dispute or some cold-blooded chance of personal gain or benefit.

I also believe you probably know a few people who this happened to, and don't realise it. Ever know anybody who left the country suddenly? People who got fired, never saw it coming and claimed it was due to company incompetence? Sick relatives and need to quit and move back home urgently to take care of them? Surprise job offer somewhere else? Etc etc. Maybe that's true, maybe that's not, but people don't like coming out and saying they were caught co-habitating and are being kicked out of the country for it, I certainly knew scores of people who left for Reason X but fed to co-workers that it was for Reason Y.