Like India, the government of United Arab Emirates (UAE) allows emigrants to tie knot with its natives. Let’s say, an Indian mechanical engineer desires to wedlock with the local girl of Dubai (one of the metro cities of UAE). He can do so since the ‘Foreign Marriage Act-1969 has permission for it.

But the emigrant has to walk through several formalities prior. This article particularly consists of ‘all about’ the formalities to get singleness certificate. Since it is one of the essentials to solemnize marriage, therefore, this article would answer to A to Z complexities that may pop up when you’re likely to marry there.

Let’s kick start with the eligibility of the prospective spouses in the UAE.

Eligibility of Emigrants from India:

· Resident visa holder of UAE

· Carry the valid passport and singleness certificate from Indian Embassy

Lawful Formalities Prior to Marriage:

For respecting law of that country, the prospective spouse should walk through the predefined formalities. ‘What are these’-let’s catch them all:

1. Before 30 days of solemnizing marriage:

· Physical presence of bride and bridegroom before the marriage registrar is mandatory.

· The prospective spouses should bring along the three witnesses who should have residence visa.

· The would-be spouses should have dully filled ‘Notice of Intended Marriage’, ‘Singleness Certificate from Indian Embassy’ or ‘Single Status Affidavit’ and declaration in newspaper.

· Publish the notice of prospective marriage in the newspaper of the local area & the state/city of residency in the prescribed format.

· Specify the date of solemnizing marriage before 30 days of marriage but prior to publication of notice in the newspaper.

2. A day before solemnizing marriage:

· Submission of original passports of the would-be spouses to the Marriage officer.

3. On the day of marriage:

· The would-be spouses should be physically present accompanying the three witnesses and their identity proofs.

Required Documents for Marriage:

The marriage is solemnized before the consular officer. More or less, the mention of almost all documents for the intended marriage in the UAE is done above. For crystal clear picture of all documents, here is the list to specify separately for our reader’s convenience:

· Notice of intended marriage

· No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the parents of the would-be spouses. It is issued by the Foreign Ministry of the UAE.

· Original passport & visa of the prospective bride, bridegroom and the three witnesses. The latter’s passport would be required for verification purpose only.

· Photocopy of the residence visa & passport of the three witnesses for submission to the Marriage Officer.

· Photocopy of the Indian would be-spouse’ passport and residence visa.

Notice of Intended Marriage:

Don’t be so puzzled over this notice! It’s like any notice published in newspaper for declaration of change of name or non-availability of birth certificate. Its format is already prescribed by the government authority. Therefore, it should be drafted and later, published in the same format.

Points to consider for drafting the ‘notice’

· Notice for circulation should be published in the newspaper that is widely popular.

· It should be published in the UAE and the home town at permanent location of the bride and bridegroom.

· If both would-be spouses hail from the similar place in India, no separate publication is required. Publish it at one place.

· Present the original copy of the same for submission.

All these supporting documents are handed over to the witnesses and the hosts after the solemnization of marriage.

How to get the unmarried certificate in UK from the Indian embassy?

Since the emigrants stays far away from India, they can visit the Indian embassy there for withdrawing unmarried certificate. It’s known as ‘No Impediment Certificate’ there. In India, the absence of competent authority that issues the bachelorhood certificate causes differences in its format.

The applicant must enclose these documents to get it:

· Notarized Single Status Affidavit by District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate

· Identity proof, like voter ID, ration card, adhaar card etc.

· Birth proof, like birth certificate, school leaving certificate etc.

· Residential proof, like utility bill, electricity bill etc.

· Decree Absolute, if the applicant is a divorcee

These documents should be through attestation services of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India. Otherwise, the unmarried certificate can be rejected. It is so because the certificate is sent to the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the UAE.

Hi :) My name is Muskan Agarwal. I am very headstrong and go getter in whatever i do. I work as a paralegal in the team and try to bring value in my work.

Muskan Agarwal

Muskan@startupsolicitors.com