ABU DHABI Ñ The United Arab Emirates, following the lead of other
Gulf Cooperation Council states, has drafted legislation that would restrict
marriages with foreign nationals.
Officials said the bill is meant to halt the rising rate of divorces, a
trend attributed to the union of UAE nationals with foreigners. Currently,
the UAE divorce rate is 8.9 per 1,000 marriages, termed the highest in the
Arab
world.
So far, the UAE is the only GCC state that does not restrict marriage
with foreigners. In April, Saudi Arabia announced new measures that ban any
foreign marriages without official permission.
"We have looked at the experience of other GCC countries and took into
consideration the privacy of the UAE society and the existence of segments
without nationality, as well as our close relations with other countries,"
said Jamal Al Bah, director of the UAE Marriage Fund, which helped formulate
the legislation.
Al Bah said the UAE's high divorce rate has led to social ills. He cited
a large population of single UAE women as well juvenile delinquency.
The terms of the legislation -- drafted by the ministries of Justice and
Islamic Affairs -- have not been disclosed. But officials said they could
include stricter regulations on foreign nationals obtaining UAE citizenship
through marriage.
Currently, a foreigner who marries a UAE national can acquire
citizenship two years after their wedding. Officials said this clause
attracts many who want to remain in the emirates as full citizens.
"Moreover, foreign women can get UAE nationality two years after
marrying a national," Al Bah said. "Hence, if the man divorces his foreign
wife, she would retain her UAE nationality and be enlisted among national
divorced
women."
